Fast Food Workers In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

The Charlottesville riots, threat of nuclear warfare, hurricane Harvey, and Donald Trump's presidency, are just some of this years occurrences that have news reporters busy and protesters livid. Many of them could be compared to John Steinbeck's novel “The Grapes of Wrath” in one way or another, but the one we are comparing is the protest to increase the pay of fast food workers. After reading “The Grapes of Wrath” and then reading the article from USA Today by Bruce Horovitz and Yamiche Alcindor named “Fast-food strikes widen into social-justice movement” it was clear that there was major comparisons that could be made. The book is based in the 1930s during a time when many of the farms in Oklahoma, Kansas, and northern Texas lost their crops to dust caused by windstorms. Also know as the Dust Bowl. Due to a loss in crops that came with a loss of jobs which means a loss of money. People needed work and word got out that California could offer that. Struggling on what to do many families saved up money for vehicles and hit the road, often getting the poor end of the bargain considering some didn't know anything about cars. They migrated to California in search for work and hoping for a better life. For many families …show more content…
The article talked about how the people who work in the fast food field often have more than one job because what they are paid is not enough to sustain while also paying for expenses. This was also a problem in “The Grapes of Wrath.” Farmers like Tom Joad at the end of the book would organize protests for better pay as they would barely get anything for a hard day's work. The landowners were often wealthy people that would only pay farmers little to nothing out of selfishness to keep their wealth, even if they had plenty. Although that might be the case today but it is definitely a