A Comparison of Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and

Migrant Workers in The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck wrote about what surrounded him. At the time he was report, the nineteen-thirties, a considerable depression was plaguing the United States. some people were out of work. Many farmers were losing their farms and homes. An extreme drought had also wrecked the farms of the Midwest and made them into what is now referred to as the system bowl. It was a terrible time to be poor, and most were. People died of malnutrition every day. In California, where Steinbeck resided, migrant workers dominated the workforce. Thousands traveled from all around to plump down fruit in the farms of the Salinas Valley for minuscule wages. Thousands more could not find suitable Many people theorize why the depression happened. Speculation in the stock market was one reason. The dust bowl also multiplied the depressions effects. The depression did happen to coincide with another event though. It happened soon after t he stopping point frontier vanished from the United States. There was no longer free land for the taking. The long held American dream was no longer simple and cheap to achieve. Many Americans simply wanted their own plot to take and set up their lives, but the depression made this an impossibility. Steinbeck wrote about this class of people. Throughout his writing he uses many minor themes and biblical references to get his point across, but the ubiquitous theme is the story of the poor, depression era migrant worker simply nerve-wracking to retain dignity, achieve the ever important American dream of owning their own plot of land, and end the depravity that is the life of a migrant worker. Characters in Steinbecks writing always have dreams. Many of the cha... ...h-Allusions. 2001 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.123helpme/2690.html Groene, Horst. The Dispossessed Farmer. Bloom 23-24.Of Mice and Men-Lonely Characters. 2001 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.essay ban k.co.uk/free_coursework/1148.html Of Mice and Men and Migrant Workers. 2001 3pp. Online. 22 March 2003. www.123helpme/1105.html Parini, Jay. The Masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath. 2002 3pp. Online. 6 March 2003. http//web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/81433&dyn=9tar_fmt?sw_aep=unio58461 Railton, Stephen. The Joads and Their Oppressors. Bloom 31. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York, NY Penguin Books, 2002. -. Of Mice and Men. New York, NY Penguin Books, 2002. Visser, Nicholas. Audience and Closure in The Grapes of Wrath. 1994 13pp. Online. http//web4.infotrac.galegroup.com/0136&dyn=45tar_fmt?sw_aep=unio58461