GOW Migrant Workers

In the book Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck readers learn about the everyday life of migrant workers. Readers are taken on the journey of the Joad family. The first example of migrant lives would be when Tom and Casy come upon homeless, Muley Graves in the wilderness. Supper time comes around and all three men are hungry. When Tom and Casy ask Muley if it's okay to share his food he claims that even if he didn't want to he would still have to. It is morally wrong to say no to sharing with starving others. This shows that people need to stick together in times of struggle and be there for each other even if they don't want to. Another example would be when Ma explains how if everyone that is getting kicked off their own land went against the bank, they might be able to win. This shows just how many people are being turned away. If they stand up for themselves it might be a different story. The next example would be in the inner chapter when the book shows the struggles of how migrants had to get rid of their belongings before they moved. People made a living off of these migrant struggles. Migrants had to get rid of a lot of their personal belongings and had no where to turn. So people would come along and buy their belongings for very cheap. They knew that they would either sell their stuff for cheap to them or would have to leave it to rot so they would pay way less than things were worth because they knew the migrants would take a little money over nothing. The reader can also learn how uncertain people were of what their futures have to offer. The Joads get a pamphlet saying that there are many jobs openings in California and they need workers. These families are picking up their lives just because of a little paper that might only include a blink of hope. When Granpa dies in the book readers see the setup of gender ranks. Steinbeck wrights that the family now knows that Pa is next in line for leader of the family. It shows that men were always head of the house. When Tom and Al meet the car salesman with the one eye a message is shown. Tom tells the man how moping around about how pathetic his life is, is not going to help. He gives him advice to get an eye patch and get a grip of his life. People had to be willing to better their lives themselves. Lives were not going to get better by migrants feeling bad for themselves; they had to get a grip and make changes on their own. Readers learn what tough of a patch migrant workers went through in this time period. It shows the importance of sticking together, the struggles of what they had to give up, and the significance of making changes to their lives.