Jillian+Beck

Individuals judge right from wrong in many ways and are influenced by various outside entities during this judgment process. Initially, an individual judges right from wrong based on their morals. Society plays a big part in shaping the morals of individuals; therefore society indirectly influences an individual’s ability to judge right from wrong. When confronting injustice, an individual is influenced by their personal status and situation. In //The Grapes of Wrath//, John Steinbeck addresses the process of how an individual judges right from wrong and subsequently confronts injustice in many differing facets. By presenting multiple seemingly small instances of injustice, Steinbeck reveals the larger injustice plaguing America: the entire corrupted infrastructure it is founded upon. Although pessimistic in this revelation, Steinbeck provides ample insight into how Americans can take steps towards rooting out the injustice and restoring a just infrastructure. Furthermore, Steinbeck advocates truth and selflessness when facing injustice and insists that the only way for an individual to confront America’s injustice is to do their part in fighting the system now, so the injustice can be eliminated for the future.
 * Confrontation for the Future **

Steinbeck uses chapter one to inform the reader that the actual injustice is the corrupt system of America, through the depiction of consequences faced by Americans in the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. In this chapter, the infamous dust storms in the Midwest during the thirties are the tangible effects that Steinbeck utilizes to reveal the actual injustice. “…the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.”(3) By saying “scarred earth,” Steinbeck alludes to the idea that the foundation of American society, like the foundation of the farms in the Midwest, is the underlying problem. The fact that even rain cannot aid the beaten earth, puts forth the depressing idea that nothing can fix the earth (or in the larger picture, America) until the injustice is located and fixed. “…as the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward.”(3) Although the image of the plant wilting may at first be disregarded because of its apparent insignificance, it is in fact imperative to the development of Steinbeck’s argument. Steinbeck uses the plant to symbolize America and the leaves to symbolize all of the Americans. When the infrastructure holding America together is weak or unjust, the Americans face the fatal effects, just as the leaves face the effects of a weak stem. Steinbeck argues that without drastic renovation, the corrupted system that America grows from will ultimately lead to the destruction of all Americans.

In chapter twenty-five, Steinbeck not only continues to reveal the deeper injustice, but also subtly furthers his purpose with his meticulous exploration of his title, //The Grapes of Wrath//. Throughout the chapter, Steinbeck uses vivid imagery to illustrate California’s plentiful abundance of fruit and vegetation. When comparing the health of the land in California to that of the Midwest, as seen in chapter one, the differences are radical. In contrast to the barren, dusty farmlands in Oklahoma, “the spring is beautiful in California…all California quickens with produce.”(473) The beauty and overabundance in California compared with the deprivation and scarcity of resources in the ironically named “Heartland,” symbolizes the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and resources in American society. Steinbeck simultaneously uses the harsh conditions in the “Heartland” to show how if the heart of America is corrupted and in bad shape, all of America will feel the negative effects. “Then the grapes--we can’t make good wine…The smell from the ferment is not the rich odor of wine, but the smell of decay and chemicals.”(475) The rotting grapes are the result of the inadequate soil. Despite “cultivators…turning [the land] under to make a fertile earth,” the grapes still rot because it’s too late. (474) Steinbeck found the idea for the title of this novel from a lyric in the song “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The exact lyric is “…trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” This powerful line supports Steinbeck’s claim because it is saying that the vines or foundation of the grapes need to be changed immensely. Steinbeck uses the grapes to represent all Americans that he sees as being attached to one unifying vine that is rooted into the corrupt infrastructure that is the basis of America. By choosing this meaningful title, Steinbeck adds much needed support to his controversial philosophy that the root of the injustice in American society is the system that it is founded on.

Many other authors share Steinbeck’s passion of advocating the truth. In “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson fervently disapproves of lying, even lies that seem to be harmless on the surface, because they oppress the truth. Steinbeck believes that Americans are living a lie, “a delusion” according to Ericsson, because they are ignoring the unjust infrastructure and partaking in the unfair competition that the corrupt system promotes. Ericsson analyzes individual instances of lying and comes to the conclusion that “we don’t want to incorporate that much reality into our lives because to do so would be paralyzing.”(Ericsson) While Ericsson provides an explanation for why Americans shy away from confronting the unjust American system, she in no way excuses the lack of confrontation. Through her exploration of the process of lying, Ericsson furthers the idea that Americans won’t accept that the system they live within is unjust because if they did, as good people they would be obligated to do something about it. Both Steinbeck and Ericsson call upon all individuals to locate the source of injustice and then confront it. According to Stephanie Ericsson and John Steinbeck, merely living in the corrupt American system without realizing its faults and confronting them, is the same thing as lying.

Once an individual judges right from wrong, they must confront the source of the wrong. Joseph Perkins’ essay, “Homeless: Expose the Myths,” explores the idea shared with by Steinbeck that an individual must confront the underlying injustice when faced with a problem. Perkins comes to this conclusion by analyzing society’s response to the injustice of homelessness. While society realizes that homelessness is wrong, the only way to help change the injustice is to “pay far more attention to [the homeless people’s] mental health and substance abuse problems.”(Perkins) Perkins proposal is taking steps towards entirely correcting the injustice instead of how society is presently sugar-coating the problem by forcing the homeless into shelters with no professional assistance. Joseph Perkins shares Steinbeck’s belief that the only way to eradicate injustice is by confronting the central root of the problem and fixing it.

The issue of confronting injustice is still a controversial topic in the twenty-first century. In Bill Moyer’s interview with Sister Joan Chittister, a social psychologist and Catholic nun, they discuss the issue of religion in society today. Sister Chittister quotes the “Sermon on the Mount,” when she says “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.”(Moyer) Chittister uses this biblical reference to emphasize the role of the individual in confronting injustice. It is imperative for Americans to “become a part of the conversation” and combine to correct the unjust system America is currently implementing. Chittister also mentions unfair treatment of foreign labor when she talks about, “paying a…kid twenty cents to make clothes that we sell for a huge profit.”(Moyer) Whether it be a religious injustice like Sister Chittister mentions, the social injustices in //The Grapes of Wrath//, or even the current economic crisis, the central issue is the tainted infrastructure that America is growing from.

Some may interpret //The Grapes of Wrath// as solely a representation of the oppression that the “Okies” and other migrants faced during their trek to California. But in reality, with the help of chapter seven, Steinbeck explores the unjust practices of our economic system without condemning the car salesmen that on the surface seem to be oppressing the migrant families with their unfair business dealings. Steinbeck pegs the system that America thrives upon as the source of the corruption of all Americans. The salesmen say they “didn’t guarantee to wet-nurse,” the cars.(88) The fact that the migrants are not equipped to purchase a suitable car in the competitive profit-seeking economy of America is the real injustice in the situation, not the cunning salesmen. In American society, individuals accept that they will pay too much for a car. They simply accept the unfair economic system of their country and do nothing to confront this injustice. Steinbeck’s cynical viewpoint that American society is corrupt at every level is furthered by the subtle victimization of the cars salesmen. Steinbeck focuses on the “neat, deadly” salesmen, and at this point the reader is overcome by the realization that the salesmen’s tactics are not the injustice, and that the real injustice is the system that forces the salesmen to prey on innocent consumers in order to survive in the American system. The salesmen and the migrants are, in effect, fighting over the scraps left over by the benefactors of the unjust system, the small percentage that is the wealthy upper class. The unequal distribution of wealth plagues the American economic system at its core, supporting Steinbeck’s argument that the infrastructure of America is the real problem that all Americans must face. The only way that individuals can confront the injustice is by making use of what little opportunities are thrown at them in order to survive in the unjust society of America. Later in the novel, Steinbeck stresses the notion that the only way for the injustice of the American system to be conquered is for the individuals to work together to reach their common goal. By working together, the individuals can share the little resources they have in order to gain a more plentiful amount and selection of resources as a whole. With more resources, the individuals have a better chance confronting the social injustices dealt out by the American infrastructure, while at the same time surviving.

Steinbeck puts further emphasis on the problems with the American system in chapter nine as he illustrates the materialistic values that America culture has imprinted into the minds and personalities of its individuals. “Maybe we can start again, in the new rich land--in California, where the fruit grows. We’ll start over.”(119) The Midwestern families saw the selling of their belongings in this chapter as a chance to start anew. Steinbeck uses the action of selling the characters’ goods as a symbolic purging of their materialistic American values. Despite this hopeful step towards confronting the unjust infrastructure, Steinbeck returns to his central philosophy that the American people cannot start over, they can only confront the injustice and change the system for future Americans; just as new soil can only benefit the grapes of next season, not the already rotten grapes of today. “But you can’t start. Only a baby can start. You and me--why, we’re all that’s been.”(119) Steinbeck does not include any quotation marks throughout chapter nine in order to further his idea that the American material-worshipping system strips individuals of their identities. By doing this, Steinbeck informs the reader of the impending injustice within America’s infrastructure and the only way to fix it: starting over the right way for future generations.

In //Civil Disobedience//, Henry David Thoreau advocates the individual’s role in confronting injustice as doing their small part in correcting the system. Thoreau, like Steinbeck, acknowledges the injustice in the American system. “…American government…is but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity…”(Thoreau) In Thoreau’s point of view, the American governmental system is corrupt an centered upon selfish ideals. In America’s founding document, The Declaration of Independence, one of the central “natural rights” given to man is the “pursuit of happiness.” This inherent right promotes the corruption that manifests itself in the competitive economic system of America. Thoreau presents many ideas similar to those of Steinbeck in relation to an individual confronting injustice, specifically the injustice of the American system. Thoreau asks “not at once no government, but at once a better government.”(Thoreau) In his work, Thoreau advocates the renovation of government at the hands of the individual. He believes that if “every man [made] known what kind of government would command his respect” that that would be the right way to confront the injustice. Thoreau’s advice on how the American people should confront the injustice of the entire government system directly correlates with Steinbeck’s feelings on the subject of confronting the injustice.

Fortunately, Steinbeck doesn’t solely fill his novel with his negative beliefs about American society, he also encapsulates many views shared with celebrated thinkers dealing with what steps should be taken in preventing the emergence of a daunting future for America. In chapter seventeen of his novel, John Steinbeck shows the reader a proactive way for individuals to confront the unjust American system, by including the image of the migrant families forming small, just, societies. “…the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all.”(264) This use of community furthers Steinbeck’s idea that by combining together and confronting the unjust system, there is hope for Americans to create a new morally good society to replace the present society that is spreading corruption throughout the country. The only hope for America’s future, in Steinbeck’s eyes, is to completely change the existing system that America is founded upon. “…the long staring silence that had gone out to the fields, went now to the roads, to the distance, to the West.”(267) Steinbeck uses the west to symbolize the future and the families changes in lifestyles to symbolize the steps towards confronting injustice that an individual must take. By joining together, a greater success is achieved and personal sacrifices are able to be made without sacrificing survival.

In Bill Moyer’s interview wit Vartan Greogorian, a former Brown University president, Gregorian emphasizes the idea that Americans must look to the future when making decisions. Gregorian believes that investing in higher education is the only way to ensure a bright future for America. By investing in education, America would be gaining new thinkers, better leaders, and more adequate additions to the work force that can help create a new beginning for American society. Gregorian uses the example of when “Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, [which] established land grant universities.” (Moyer) Lincoln looked to the future of America instead of focusing merely on the short term. In our present situation we look upon President Barack Obama to make similarly selfless decisions to better our future as a nation. Steinbeck, Gregorian, and educators of today are advocating the same notion, although their specific topics may be different, their goals are the same: make America better for the future by changing what America holds to be most important.

Initially, an individual judges right from wrong based on their personal morals. Those very morals have been molded in part by society. Steinbeck realizes this fact in his novel, //The Grapes of Wrath//, and reveals the problem that because society is the injustice, individuals must put aside their materialistic, competition driven values in order to locate and confront the injustice. Philosophers and authors of the past and present, share the same belief that the role of the individual in confronting the injustice of American society is to change the foundation of the system for the chance of future prosperity. Steinbeck leaves the reader with the horrifying image of “a blue shriveled little mummy.”(603) The stillborn baby is a blunt warning to individuals that if America continues on the path of its unjust system, the future of America will be grim. Just like the baby, if individuals do not confront this injustice, if they just push aside and live with the delusion that everything is okay, America’s future will never stand a chance.

WORKS CITED "Bill Moyers Journal . Archive . Sister Joan Chittister on NOW WITH BILL MOYERS, 2004 |." __PBS__. 29 Mar. 2009 .
 * J.Beck**

"Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen." __PBS__. 29 Mar. 2009 .

"The Declaration of Independence." __Ushistory.org__. 29 Mar. 2009 .

Ericsson, Stephanie. "The Ways We Lie." 29 Mar. 2009 .

Perkins, Joseph. "Homeless: Expose the Myths." 29 Mar. 2009 .

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

Thoreau, Henry D. "Civil Disobedience." __The Thoreau Reader__. 29 Mar. 2009 .