Alienation in the Grapes of Wrath

1084 Words5 Pages
An effective way of illustrating a society’s moral values and views towards a particular group within that society is to describe events and tell stories from the perspective and point of view of a person within the specific societal group. In the case of John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath, which is set in California, society at large is represented by the rich California landowners as their wealth and influence allows them to shape and dominate events and determine what is considered normal, acceptable behavior. However, the landowners’ attitudes and actions alienated another group of California society, the migrant workers, and this alienation from society at large of the migrant workers, essentially establishing them as a distinct lower caste is a central theme of Steinbeck’s novel. This alienated group is represented by Tom Joad, and it is Tom who tells the story and gives us an insight into the differences in values, views, and attitudes between the migrant class and the landowners that is the foundation of the alienation and resentment that is so prevalent throughout the novel. Tom Joad represents society’s poor, whose main priority is just surviving and working towards a better life; this is in contrast to the rich landowners of California who most value wealth and land. This difference in priorities has brought about a societal gap resulting in animosity between the two groups and feelings of alienation among the poor, migrant community. In the 1930’s thousands of families flocked to California searching for a better life, but their hopes and dreams were soon thwarted by the relentless greed and hostility of California’s well-established and wealthy landowners. The migrants came to California searching for a better life, looking for a stable source of work and income, but the rich landowners had no sympathy or compassion toward the migrants; they viewed
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