P3+NPlascencia

**// In Confronting Injustices  //**
 * // How Morals Aid an Individual  //**

Every person is endowed with a sense of discernment to help dictate what they believe is right or wrong. In hard times, a person’s discernment can be altered or pushed aside in desperation for survival. John Steinbeck’s //The Grapes of Wrath// represents the harsh times of the Great Depression and of the Dust Bowl where individuals were pushed to and beyond their limits in their need for survival. Also, in “Homeless” and “Civil Disobedience: Part I and III”, individuals are tested in how they handle right and wrong as well as injustices. It is up to the individual to maintain his or her ethics when confronting injustices thrust upon them; they must make this confrontation in a way as to uphold their morals, yet still find a manageable way to survive. An individual must use his or her ethics and morals to dictate what they believe as right and wrong and use their ethics as their backbone when confronting injustices.

People have always used their morals to differentiate between right and wrong. Oftentimes, an individuals morals with be shaped by their parents in their upbringing, by their society, and most definitely by their own discernment. The author of “Homeless” reflects how her morals caused her to decide what was considered wrong before really knowing what was actually right or wrong. The author stated, “You are where you live. She was somebody.” (“Homeless”). She presumed that all homeless people were taboo bad and the fact that they didn’t live in houses reflects the actual person; the author’s presumptions were most likely shaped by her upbringing and most definitely shaped by society. In realization, the author learns that a homeless woman actually used to be somebody, which turned the author’s presumption completely around. This is an example of how an individual used their ethics to dictate right over wrong, (in this case wrong is being homeless); unfortunately, an individual’s assertations are not always accurate but are still used to differentiate between right and wrong.

Individuals need to use their morals in order to successfully survive in this world. In the //Grapes of Wrath,// Steinbeck speaks of a car that aims to hit a turtle on the road. “His front wheel struck the edge of the shell, flipped the turtle like a tiddly-wink, spun it like a coin, and rolled it off the highway.” (Chapter 3, //Grapes of Wrath//). The car symbolizes hardships brought upon an individual, represented by the turtle. The turtle’s shell represents the ethics of that individual; all necessary for its life and survival. When the car hit the turtle, it chipped off a piece of shell. Although part of its “ethics” was now missing, the turtle was still able to survive. It is the role of the individual to still proceed on in life, judging right from wrong, even when that person’s life is shaken up, turned on end, and chipped away at. This reflects how Americans living during the Great Depression still needed to make decisions between right and wrong even though their lives were completely thrashed. They did this by utilizing the morals and ethics that were still untainted or manipulated to make the right decision.

Individuals need to use their ethics to stand up for themselves and others in injustices. Unjust actions were almost an omnipotent force in the Great Depression. Motifs for these unjust actions were fueled by desperation for survival. Both the conductors of unjust actions and the victims shared one thing in common: a need for survival. Car salesmen in the //Grapes of Wrath// were a supreme example of performing unjust actions out of survival. “Now look here. I’m givin’ you my shirt, and’ you took all this time. I might a made three sales while I been talkin’ to you. I’m disgusted. Yeah, sign right there. All right sir.” (Chapter 7, //Grapes of Wrath//) This car salesman is so concerned with making as many sales as possible for his income that he pushes his values aside and acts out rudely against the customer. He acts this way because that it the only way that he knows how to make a living. The customers needed to have used their own morals as a firm backbone and confronted the car salesman, but they too were in such desperation that they pushed those aside as well. The “Okies”, as they were called, “splashed through the water, to the towns, to the country stores, to the relief offices, to beg for food, to cringe and bed for food, to beg for relief, to try to steal, to lie. And under the begging, under the cringing, a hopeless anger began to smolder.” (Chapter 29, //Grapes of Wrath//) This shows how the Okies were forced to push aside or throw away their ethics to be able to make it to the next day. As it said, they cringed as they resorted to begging and living like an animal. Everyone was not able to exhibit their true beliefs because the time and society was causing them to bury parts of their morals. Also, “the movement changed them; the highways, the camps along the road, the fear of hunger and the hunger itself, changed them.” (Chapter 21, //Grapes of Wrath//) The people of the Great Depression were under an extreme amount of stress and on the verge of being destitute; this is why their morals went astray. All in all, the effects of the Great Depression caused individuals to alter their morals and ethics to have a chance at surviving.

The role of the individual in confronting injustices is to stand firm in what they believe in. Thoreau stands up for his beliefs by choosing to not pay taxes. Through even serving jail time, he stays true to his ethics and stands strong as a person. Thoreau stated that he would, “quietly declare war with the State, after my fashion, though I will still make what use and get what advantage of her I can, as is usual in such cases.” (“Civil Disobedience: Part III”) The injustice here was that the government did not allow freedom of choice in choosing how directly and individual can be involved in government. This is a perfect example of how an individual can use their ethics to stand up for injustices done against them. “It is not a man's duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; …at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support.” (“Civil Disobedience: Part I”) Thoreau basically states that an individual is not obligated to fix a wrong, but simply to stand behind his morals and to not support it. So, a person needs to just stay true to his colors and that is the best he can do to confront injustices.

In conclusion, it is the role of the individual to use his or her beliefs to confront injustices and to dictate what they believe is right and wrong. Sometimes, a person’s beliefs can alter their perception of what is actually considered right and wrong; other times it is key to this differentiation. Also, many individuals are forced to push their beliefs aside in exchange for a better chance of survival. Finally, the way that an individual can confront injustice is to simply stray true to their morals and to not support the injustice.

**NPlascencia** Period 3 AP English April 17, 2008