Parvaneh Ashktorab
ENG 1B
Nov, 23, 2011
Rough draft
People and Injustice
John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in Salinas, a city in the state of California. He grew up with his family who worked on a farm in a valley by the coast. Steinbeck entered high school at age fifteen while he lived in his hometown Salinas, California. He had decided to become a professional writer, but his first novel was not published until he was twenty seven years old in 1929. During that time the stock market crashed and brought on the Great Depression. He became a very professional writer in 1930, which was the period during the Great Depression until his death in 1968 (Steinbeck Vii). His book, “In Dubious Battle” was rejected by the publisher Pascal Covici at the Viking Press (Viii). The publisher considered the Marxist ideology of the strike planner inaccurate and he thought that Steinbeck did not know what was going on (ix). Covici believed that the novel might insult people at both ends of the political party. After that, Covici’s office figured out that his books had several bids from other publishers. He wrote to Steinbeck offering to publish “In Dubious Battle”. This novel reached the best-seller’s list and also received amazing reviews from people on both the political left and right. During the Great Depression, people wanted the freedom and basic right to their pursuit of happiness, and obtain justified wages for their skills and abilities; even today, in the 21st century, these complicated situations have not changed and are making the poor people poorer and rich people richer.
According to John Steinbeck’s “In Dubious Battle”, there are many people who suffered while they lived in 1930. There were people who worked for the wealthy that did not understand the unfair life of farmers. Jim was one of the characters who touched by this unjust situation in 1930. Jim had a miserable personal life. He was ashamed of his family’s life. His mom had a weak personality and she always obeyed her husband. At that time, women did not have any power, and they had to zip their lips and stay quiet. For example, his mom wanted to practice her religion and go to church, but her husband did not allow her to practice her catholic religion so she could not go to church. Jim had a father who worked and got drunk at various times (13). Jim’s father was beaten by the police and he hated to work for the government because he was forced to work like a slave. Workers in this tale mostly did not get treated properly by their bosses. For this reason, Jim wanted to do something. While Jim worked in Tumlman’s Department store, he was out to look at the crowded street, he climbed on a big tree to see better. And then he heard a sound from behind, a cop slugged and arrested him (15). When Jim was released from jail after being arrested for vagrancy, he met Mac, who had organized a big party among farmers that followed ideas of Marxist society. Mac is one of the persons who were in charge of organizing protests. He was sent by the party to gather the men in Torgas Valley, and to go on an angry strike for higher wages. At that time farmers usually had a hard job with low wages. Jim knew he could not stand up against the government alone; he had to find a party which was more organized, so he joined Mac’s party. They established a gathering in order to have a strike against the government. Mac says, “It’s like this, by tomorrow a couple of thousand men will be on strike, and the apple picking will stop” (118). Mac had read a paper which got him angry about the paper on that date. On the paper the editor wrote “when our highways are no longer safe for American citizen, or their homes safe firebrands, we believe the time for action has come” (298). Although, Mac got angry, he was strong to act his decision with his friends, Jim, Harry Nilson, and Dick. People participated in the strike because the capitalists kept all farmers working like slaves and Jim thought that Marxist society may open windows with the ideology that help would be provided for farmers, workers, and poor people.
The other story which is belonging to John Steinbeck is “the grapes of wrath”. It is about farmers who were poor in 20th century at the same time of the Great Depression. ‘The Grapes of Wrath drives its epic scope from the way that Steinbeck uses the story of Joad family to portray the plight of thousand of Dust Bowls farmers’ (Sparks’s notes 1-3). There were many people who did struggle and challenge themselves to get fair wages for their life to live very simple, but they could not. In this book there is an example for living in hard situation. The example is about when a turtle is on his back and he cannot turn back and continue his way to go, but his extended foot swung slowly up and down like in the tempo (Steinbeck 25). The life of all farmers was the same as the turtle flip it in the back. Joad and his family was one the farmers who had a very bad situation to live, and like to have better life, for this reason, Joad’s family was one of the people who would like to move from their home Oklahoma to California to get a job for their life. It took long time to get there; meanwhile they had a hard time during the way with many difficulties for themselves and their truck. In the meantime, they stopped to fix their truck, and then repair man talked about tearfully of the injustices of his job. Tom Joad, and casy who was friend of tom Joad told the man they are going to California for a job. The repair man told them that there is no job in California, despite what the paper promise. They may need 800 workers, but 20,000 workers showed up already (259). The man says that his wife and children starved to death because he took them to find work in California, but Casy told him that the Joads may have a different experience than the man did. When many families moved to California, they realized that people have much social issue such as battle between poor and rich people. On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food. And the anger began to ferment. (388)
After many years, the same situations are happening today in 2011, in the United States. People are protesting against capitalism. They are not happy with their government and they want to, by protesting, show they are suffering with this situation.
Poor people get poorer and the rich people get richer. There are so many mob groups and protesters that are angry with the policy that the government is running in this country. For example, there are many protests nearby the San Jose area, in San Francisco and Berkley. According to the news on Aug, 15, 2011, Jeyon Cochran, a protester, stood in the door of the Bay Area Rapid Transit train at the Civic Center in San Francisco. His strategy was to protest public safety on train platforms (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu).
Indeed, there are other groups who are huge protesters such as students and other people who have been demonstrating in Berkley at Oakland city. Those protesters are likely to move forward with a variety of plans to try and enforce their demands on the transit system.
According to the New York Times, people in New York City are protesting the bank system and other institutions. These Mobs and protesters are acting as the same as the protesters at the time of 1930. They are angry because the government does not accomplish their needs in the twenty-first century. People believe the government only serves the rich, while they do not care about those who are middle class and the poor.
The protesters at Wall Street are not just demanding change. It is for many people who could not find a job, pay their debt, or keep their home. In the end, the protesters today, just like those in 1930, are gathering together because of discrimination to the majority of people who are either middle class or poor.
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