Poverty in Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck :: Grapes of Wrath Essays

Throughout history, less fortunate people have been set apart or shunned from the general public. In the Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, this statement holds true. Throughout the whole book, all of the less fortunate people are treated like they arent even human. This is not much different than how our society is now. In the news article Major Cities Get Tough With Homeless, by Angie Cannon, Judy Appel said, We are maxim it is your fault that we have created a structure where there arent enough jobs and housing for you to lead a decent life. (Cannon 1) Appel is verbal expression the same thing Steinbeck was saying in his book. Many homeless people are homeless because they were forced to be that way, and the general public doesnt realize it. In the Grapes of Wrath, and in the march conviction, the general public has set the less fortunate apart from themselves without even realizing it. Im seeing more apathy on the part of people. I think people used to feel badly. And now, I think people feel bothered. Thats a dangerous shift. (Cannon 1) What she means is that at one degree in time we used to care for the homeless. We used to try and help them out. Now we dont care and we just want to hitch justify of them. This is very similar to the situation in the Grapes of Wrath. At first they wanted thousands of people to keep an eye on and work, but when they actually started coming, the general public wanted to get rid of them. And the men of the towns and of the soft suburban county gathered to defend themselves and the reassured themselves that they were good and the invaders were bad, as a man must do before he fights. They said, these Okies are dirty and ignorant. Theyre degenerate sexual maniacs. These Okies are thieves. Theyll steal anything. Theyve got no sense of property rights. (G.O.W. 363) This was the general publics feeling towards the Okies, even though they asked them to come there in the first place. What the people dont understand is that th e Okies are being forced to steal and the general public is the one who is forcing them. In the Grapes of Wrath, and in the present time we, the general public have shunned the less fortunate. It isnt that we want them to be poor, but we have a hard time fitting in with them.