With the current financial crisis, Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939) really strikes a chord. This is the story of how the 1930’s economical crisis forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their land when they could not pay their mortgages. In hopes of a better life they travelled to California – the Promised Land. However, the dream turned to dust.
We follow the Joad family and their struggles as they do whatever they can to survive. They pack whatever they can on the back of a truck and leave their home hoping to find work in California. There is a naivety in the way they perceive the world in the beginning, but slowly the harsh reality catches up with them.
As I read this book, I became more and more upset, creating an emotional bond with the Joad family. And knowing that there is truth behind the words made it all worse. At one point I was eating popcorn while I read and I felt guilty because the Joad’s (and everyone else) had nothing to eat.
In this day and age when a new economical crisis has struck, forcing people to leave their homes and cities have gone bankrupt (!), there is something to learn from Grapes of Wrath. And that is to show kindness and be helpful. We cannot be egoistical. Even when they had it tough, the Joad’s helped others and it made them feel better. It also became easier for them to accept help from others. Treat others the way you want to be treated makes sense, because who knows, maybe tomorrow you will be the one who needs a helping hand.
The hundreds of thousands of people who travelled to California all wanted the same thing – a better life. They did not ask to be rich, only to get a piece of land to support their family. And who can blame them? But to make things worse, they became redundant. They were the people who knew the land and how to work it, but they had no land. Instead big corporations swept in and took over, their only goal being to make as much money as possible out of the land. The Grapes of Paradise turned into the Grapes of Wrath.
It is a book about depression, and yet it holds so much hope. We should learn from history and Grapes of Wrath is a powerful teacher.
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