Blog #15 Theme-Inhumanity (The Grapes of Wrath)

One of the repeated themes throughout the story is a conflict, or inhumanity between people and other people. The people in the story are categorized on many aspects. They are mainly put into groups depending on their place in the totem pole, or “popularity” aspect. The people with more money, or the rich people, are seated at the top of the totem pole. The people who are considered “poor” are seated at the bottom of the totem pole. This is where power comes into play. The people at the top of the totem pole believe they have more power than those seated at the bottom of the totem pole, and from an outsiders opinion, they do. In the story though, you see how common people survive the wraths of the higher class men. For example (Steinbeck 33) the families on the farmlands, specifically the Joad family, are kicked off the land and forced elsewhere to find work in order to survive. Frightened, yet determined, the Joad family survived the long drive to California because they had motivation for a better future. As the journey continued though, people were scared. Authorities had power over them. In certain towns the migrants, or so called “Okies”, would gather along the highway to set up their camps (Steinbeck 282-283). Not only were the Okies scared, but the local people became very scared and nervous also. The townspeople had to claim and defend their property from the migrant people. Throughout most of the story, the people have not gotten along with each other. Of course the families stuck together, but once they were mixed in with other migrants, townspeople, and authorities, their actions spoke louder than their words. The journey would have been a lot easier if the other people were eliminated. Yes, food, water, and shelter were main problems along the journey, but they only account for half of the sufferings. The other half of suffering came from the people they ran into along the way

Bibliographic Citation: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. Los Gatos, California. Viking Press. 1939