Nicole+Irigoyen

Individuals Standing Together The role of an individual in confronting injustice is to come together with other individuals who also disagree with a common and sensible injustice and try to change the opposing injustice. In //The Grapes Of Wrath//, in chapter 3, injustice is shown in a symbolic way, through a turtle. While the slow turtle makes its way across the highway, a truck driver swerves to intentionally hit it, “His front wheel struck the edge of the shell, slipped the turtle like a tiddly-wink, spun it like a coin, and rolled it off the highway.” (Pg 15). The turtle and its journey represents the Joad family and their struggles. The turtle has a goal of crossing the road and is unfairly targeted by a truck driver, while the Joads are just one family of the entire population being forced off their land by the tractors.

The turtle and the Joads have the same passive attitude towards their injustice, and are unsure of how to confront it. “Some of the owner men were kind because hey hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel... And all of them were caught in something larger then themselves.”(Pg 31). Both injustices were larger then possible to be solved, the industrialization of the United States had driven many people off their land, “There in the Middle and Southwest had lived a simple agrarian folk who had not changed with industry, who had not farmed with machines or known the power and danger of machines in private hands.” (Pg 283).

In //The Grapes of Wrath//, each individual that tried to rise above the injustice and change the unfair system was deemed a ‘red’ and either shot or taken into custody by the authorities, “Took three regiments to kill a hundred braves—always.” (Pg 325).

Also, individuals confront injustice by changing their circumstances. If an individual is faced with an injustice, and cannot change the injustice, the best was is to change the circumstances around the injustice. In the beginning of the book, the dust bowl of the 1930's strikes Oklahoma and its neighboring states. Each farmer that is left with barren land now has to face the unfortunate consequence of no crops, “And as the sharp sun struck day after day, the leaves of the young corn became less stiff... the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward.” (Pg 1). The farmers tried to confront this injustice by changing their location, and moving to California.

While the Joads try to get on the road, the crooked car salesmen sell cars that scantily run for expensive prices, “God, if I could only get a hundred jalopies. I don’t care if they run or not.” (Pg 3). This is an injustice society accepts because we understand that we are not experts in the field of cars, and there is a certain amount of trust we put into the salesmen to sell us a working car that is right for us.

In chapter 27, individuals who pick the cotton, put rocks into their bags to add more weight to balance the crooked scales. In this way, each individual changed their circumstances of being underpaid by adding rocks to achieve the salary they deserve. “His scales is fixed. Sometimes he’s right, you got rocks in your sack. Sometimes you’re right, the scales is crooked. Sometimes both; rocks an’ crooked scales. Always argue, always fight.” (Pg 407).

An individual judges right from wrong in several different ways, the first way to be considered in judging right from wrong is making the right decision based on their own moral standards. Moral standards have been instilled from personal experiences that expand over time, or have been passed down through people who have influence over your choices. “I don’t believe that one is born compassionate. Compassion is not a character trait like a sunny disposition. It must be learned, and it is learned by having adversity at our windows, coming through the gates of our yards, the walls of our towns, adversity that becomes so familiar that we begin to identify and empathize with it.” (On Compassion).

Another way an individual judges right from wrong is by understanding what is socially acceptable, and making decisions that follow the moral standards of society. In "The Ways We Lie", by Stephanie Ericsson, she explains what a stereotype is, “The stereotype explains a situation with just enough truth to seem unquestionable.” (The Ways We Lie). Stereotypes in //The Grapes Of Wrath// are exemplified by the native Californians calling all migrant farmers ‘okies’. They do not understand the situations or goals of the farmers, and from that comes the negative connotation of the word ‘okie’. In The Grapes Of Wrath, the farmers are faced with every hardship; from malevolent name calling, to hunger, homelessness, losing family members, and a destitute lifestyle. Although many injustices were never conquered, through the end of the book the Joads continue to confront injustice, change their circumstances, and judge right from wrong.

Works Cited: Steinbeck, John. __Grapes of Wrath__. New York, N.Y: Penguin, 1992.

Ericsson, Stephanie. "The Ways We Lie." 30 Mar. 2009 < [] >.   Ascher, Barbara L. "On Compassion." 30 Mar. 2009 < [] >. N. Irigoyen