The Migration In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

The moment The Grapes of Wrath was published, Steinbeck created a storm that swept through America. Some viewed the book as propaganda while others saw it as novel written "from the depths of his heart with a sincerity seldom equaled." Despite this controversy, the book developed into a "literary portrait that defined an era." The miserable and destitute living conditions the migrants faced are now the image of the migration to the west. Even now, the book is viewed as the defining authority on what the Great Depression was like for migrants. However, when Keith Windschuttle read the book, he realized that the book was nowhere near an accurate depiction of the migration. He viewed it as a highly exaggerated piece on the circumstances the migrants experienced. In the "Myth of the Okies,” he even stated that California was an improvement compared to the situation the migrants had originally been in. Windschuttle and Steinbeck approached the era of the Okies with different perspectives due to their differing backgrounds and intentions. After working side by side with a migrant farmer, Steinbeck …show more content…
When the Joads first arrive at a camp, Ma begins to cook a stew with the remainder of the pork she had. Due to the wafting aroma of the stew, children gather around her with yearning eyes. Seeing their expression, Ma turns towards her family and says, "I can 't send 'em away. I can 't help it." (258) This scene emphasizes that it wasn 't only adults who were suffering, but the children too — children who had done nothing but exist. They had come into this world innocent, without a single sin. Yet they faced the same discrimination as everyone else. John Steinbeck used the maltreatment of children to demonstrate how poorly the migrants were being treated, forcing the public to reconsider their opposition to the