FREE ESSAY ON GRAPES OF WRATH

GRAPES OF WRATH

"Grampa took up the land, and he had to kill the Indians and drive them away. And Pa was
born here... Then a bad year came and he had to borrow a little money. An' we was born
here. And Pa had to borrow money. The bank owned the land then, but we stayed and we got
a little bit of what we raised"(45). In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath,
Steinbeck illustrates and advocates drastic change in the economy during the Great
Depression and the Dust Bowl of the early 1930's. He depicts this transformation using
the Joad family, illuminating their struggle in these hard times. In this novel there is
an agricultural evolution with three distinct stages. In the beginning Grama and Grampa
owned their land and they produced their product for themselves. The second stage is that
of sharecropping, where Pa had lost ownership of the land but continued to farm and he
makes a small profit of trade. The final stage is that where money and profit rule all,
and corporations take total control and the "family businesses" are destroyed. The
economy of this time changes dramatically and many suffered because of it. 
In the beginning farmers had to "be" the land in order to survive. The farmers had to
know every detail, and they had to devote their every moment to make sure the crop would
be successful. "We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on
it, died on it...That's what makes it ours-being born on it, working it, dying on it.
That makes ownership..."(45). At this time the land was owned by the families and they
were the ones that worked on it so they could survive. They were a part of the land. "If
a man owns a little property, that property is him, it's part of him, and it's like
him...Even if he isn't successful he's big with his property"(50).
The first real step toward the economic evolution starts with the initiation of
sharecropping. The families would work hard and do well and then a bad year would come
and so the crop failed. The families had to borrow a little money form the banks so they
could get back on their feet. Then, another poor crop, and the families have to eat so
they borrow a little more money from the banks. Soon without knowing what has happened
the families no longer own their land, they are tenants. The farm to pay back their debts
to the bank. Some families may be able to pay back their debt, but most are lost in the
never-ending circle of getting ahead only to fall behind again. 
In the final stage of this economic evolution, corporations take over and profits are the
only concern in any situation. This is the most complex stage of the two previous time
periods. This period is a mixture of corporations taking over and "old" farmers either
doing what is necessary for them to feed their children or they flee to California where
work is "guaranteed". "...Because those creature don't breathe air, don't eat side-meat.
They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money..."(43). An example of a "ex-farmer"
providing for his family is that of the tractor driver. He does what the corporation asks
of him and in return he gets three dollars every day. "The tenant system won't work any
more. One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve of fourteen families. Pay him a
wage and take all the crop" (44). These "monsters" are willing to do anything in order to
gain more money. "They send out han'bills all over hell. They need three thousan' and
they get six thousan'. They get them men for what they wanta pay. If ya don' wanta take
what they pay, goddamn it, thy's a thousan' men waitin' for your job"(335). In this final
stage of the agricultural evolution money is the only real thing and people do what they
must in order to get their money.
It is obvious to see that John Steinbeck advocates economic change in his novel. There
are three very distinct phases that are illustrated in this novel. In the beginning it
was the about the family and in the end it was all about the money. There is a drastic
change that occurred in this time period that affected millions and Steinbeck depicts
this in his novel.