The land had been passed down for many generations, and peoples’ livelihoods were attached to the land. It had been lovingly worked for many decades, and it has provided for the families which lived upon the land. It is a significant part of the people who work there, and they each depend on each other to thrive. However, despite the significance of the land to the farmers, it was taken away by huge banks, raising the main problem with which the people in Grapes of Wrath had to overcome. Because these banks ruthlessly took away and demolished all of the land and the crops which grew on it, which was their main source of income, people were forced to migrate across the United States. Steinbeck shows how these long and arduous migrations were caused by the banks, as the banks’ need for constant profit caused the suffering of thousands of families. Indirectly, Steinbeck uses this to show how capitalism as a system still has many flaws, which is illustrated by how the banks were able to take back land that was essential for the people who used to live on them. Interestingly, the bank that takes away all of the land is described as a “monster.”(Steinbeck 19) In fact, the people who come to repossess the land claim, “The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.”(Steinbeck 21) Because of how the bank mercilessly took away people’s land, it is labeled as inhumane because it gave no thought as to how much the farmers’ and their families would suffer after their land, which was their most important possession, was taken away. It was also blamed for being the cause for the bulldozers which tore up the crops and homes that people painstakingly worked to create. The banks prioritized profit above all else, as shown by how the owners state “They [the banks] breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat.”(Steinbeck 20) This shows how the bank’s need for profit has become a higher priority than even the lives of the thousands
The land had been passed down for many generations, and peoples’ livelihoods were attached to the land. It had been lovingly worked for many decades, and it has provided for the families which lived upon the land. It is a significant part of the people who work there, and they each depend on each other to thrive. However, despite the significance of the land to the farmers, it was taken away by huge banks, raising the main problem with which the people in Grapes of Wrath had to overcome. Because these banks ruthlessly took away and demolished all of the land and the crops which grew on it, which was their main source of income, people were forced to migrate across the United States. Steinbeck shows how these long and arduous migrations were caused by the banks, as the banks’ need for constant profit caused the suffering of thousands of families. Indirectly, Steinbeck uses this to show how capitalism as a system still has many flaws, which is illustrated by how the banks were able to take back land that was essential for the people who used to live on them. Interestingly, the bank that takes away all of the land is described as a “monster.”(Steinbeck 19) In fact, the people who come to repossess the land claim, “The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.”(Steinbeck 21) Because of how the bank mercilessly took away people’s land, it is labeled as inhumane because it gave no thought as to how much the farmers’ and their families would suffer after their land, which was their most important possession, was taken away. It was also blamed for being the cause for the bulldozers which tore up the crops and homes that people painstakingly worked to create. The banks prioritized profit above all else, as shown by how the owners state “They [the banks] breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat.”(Steinbeck 20) This shows how the bank’s need for profit has become a higher priority than even the lives of the thousands