P4+AMartinez

A murmur amongst a crowd will surely never be heard, however when a crowd becomes a voice, there is a certainty that that voice will be heard. Life is an everlasting giver of injustices and when given to deal with obstacles, rather than taking the initiative to be the change in the world, society allows injustices in the world to change them. Through his work Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck shows societies primary flaw: the tendency to neglect the value of unity. If society had the ability to acknowledge the power of unity, injustices would become outdated; however in reality, individuals and society lack the willingness to take a chance to generate change and subject themselves to injustices.

Without a shepherd, a flock of sheep can go astray; with a shepherd, a flock of sheep can be guided to the shepherd's desired destination. Of all the states that the Joads could have gone to, they chose to migrate to California and upon their arrival, came to realize California wasn't as sunny as others had illustrated it. It doesn't take a genius or a brave person to ignite a movement or change, as long as they have support, they will succeed and their message will be spread. Unlike other's, the Joads didn't turn back and head off somewhere else to look for success, they faced the maltreatment they received from the Californian's and stuck it out because "For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments" (Ch. 14). The Joad family perfectly illustrates that society will only follow in numbers and never look at the possible positive or negative outcomes of being a follower. Back in the era of WWII, it took one man, a thousand men to destroy about six million lives. It is key to understand that one person is only valuable if they have more than just their ideas to start a revolution of transformation.

Resourcefulness can be seen in different ways: recycling of paper or plastic, carefulness in light consumption, and even scavenging in dumpsters for food (Eighner). The Joads demonstrate character because they stay in California to work for survival even with the dimming hopes of success. They truly believe that they will be able to change their lives for the better if they stay. They really have no other option and as seen throughout the novel, they make a lot of the little they have. Even if their situation, they may be seen as ignorant and poor, they keep in mind on their goal and that is to start anew in order to live their lives without starvation or real misery.

When the thought of family comes up, instinctively society has the ideology that family can consist of only intermediate blood –that is not always the case. During the physical journey that the Joads take on, there is also a rebirth of knowledge. The Joads already have the mindset that the unification of their family is vital in order for them to survive. After coming to the harsh realization that California is not the easiest place to start anew, the Joads have to assimilate to their new way of life even if it means swallowing their pride to earn their pay. The Joads do not rise very quickly to what society today would consider a suitable home or lifestyle, the Joads live off in Hoovervilles in their car, however as redefined by Anna Quindlen, a home can be anywhere as long as an individual feels safe and secure, and the Joads make what they have quite the comfortable abode. "Twenty families became one family" (Ch. 17). Stepping into this new lifestyle there is no time to be individualistic, as there is a clear-cut separation between the Californians and Okies. The Joads acknowledge that they and the others have become a family consisted of many people, but what they don't realize is that if they really disliked the way they were being treated, this new family could've ignited strikes against the landowners and gotten what they had wanted which was simply decent pay and work, nothing more; but because of fear or desperation no one steps up to make all of their lives different.

Ignorance is seen as a negative characteristic, however if looked at carefully, it is a characteristic that individuals are succumbed to learn and practice. In society today, there are many problems in which have come to the media's attention only because government has manipulated that attention to what they want the public eye to see, making society blind to the real issues of their country. The Joads as well as the other immigrants that live in California don’t realize that the landowners know a truth that if they were to realize, would empower and drastically change their lives. “We got to keep these here people down or they’ll take the country. They’ll take the country” (Ch. 19). As more immigrants flow into California, the tenants, officers, and landowners come to see that they’re being outnumbered and take no hesitation to control the immigrant’s activities. They recall the times of the Mexicans and American squatters and fear that the Okies will be the new American squatters, who will drive them (“Mexicans”) off their land. They show no compassion because they fear their overthrow. So to not give their land up without a fight an undeclared war erupts between the Oklahomans and Californians.

People are the only type of living forms in this world that can be dishonest. There is a myriad of lies that can be used and whether or not people would like to acknowledge it or not, they are there. Depending on the lie that is used, one can reveal a deeper insight of what an individual is like. The officers lie to the immigrants in the sense that they don’t allow them to mingle in big groups due to helping keep “order” in their community, but why they truly apply this “law” is to keep them from reaching this realization in the value of their number. “I discovered that telling the truth all the time is nearly impossible. It means living with some serious consequences” (Ericson). Just because the officers lie to the immigrants doesn’t label them as bad people, they are just trying to protect their way of living. It is quite inevitable to lie and sometimes it is necessary in order for an individual to maintain themselves at a higher position than others.

As the conditions of their lives begin to worsen, the Joads have no idea of where to turn next. Work is not abundant and the numbers of the immigrants still keeps increasing, there are people dying and children crying. “In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage” (Ch. 25). Even with all this poverty and hunger consuming the immigrants, they do nothing to improve their living conditions. Even the crops and “wild-life” around them depict the hardships they are facing. Towards the end of the novel there are groups of men who unite and begin to plan ways to change their lives but still there is not much action taken.

Dignity and rage are characteristics that can be seen to go hand in hand. As the rain pours harder the inner cries of the immigrants can almost be heard. The women in the Hoovervilles can see that their men are down almost to their breaking points. Women are no longer subject to be housekeepers, they too begin to participate in working jobs because it’s come down to everyone in families having to work in order to make ends meet. “… the terror came over them, and their faces were gray with terror. The children cried with hunger, and there was no food” (Ch. 29). The wages that the immigrants are being paid are miserable yet the workload is not lessened. The sense of injustice is lingering in the hearts of the immigrants and due to this, their anger rises. They come to realize that as long as they keep in mind that they are being done wrong, their anger against the oppressors, they will not lose their dignity. This anger that they maintain helps preserver their self-respect and motivates to keep working hard in order to live.

To conclude, a person alone cannot make a difference, they can ignite and idea for reform but they need support like the human body needs a skeleton to stand tall. The Joads as well as the other immigrants never fully understand the value of their numbers and instead of all uniting to fight for the same cause, the men group themselves together in weak attempts to reform the unjust system they have to live under. Steinbeck illustrates the consequences that society will have to endure when they do not step up to others when they’re trying to step on them. Living a life controlled by other’s is no life to live at all and it’s better to know when it’s time to fight for something society believes in because if society had nothing to die for, what exactly do they have to live for? Like Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” So how does an individual confront injustices? Typically, in order to prevent from catching negative attention, the individual will won't confront injustices if it could perturb their image or lives. Confronting any injustices doesn't take courage, it takes the willingness to take a risk and embrace whatever comes after the confrontation.