Book Essay on John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle
In Dubious Battle was written by John Steinbeck, and with introduction and notes by Warren French published in Penguin Books in 1992. This book talks about Mac and Jim persuaded apple pickers to organize a strike to against owners, because owners cut picker’s wages and provided poor living conditions. There was a group-men theory in this novel, which “a man in a group isn’t himself at all: he’s a cell in an organism that isn’t like him any more than the cells in your body are like you.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 150-151) The theme of the novel is about how individuals are motivated to become a group for the Party’s goal. When John Steinbeck crafted his fictional account of labor organizing in the …show more content…
We want the men to find out how strong they are when they work together.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 38) In my opinion, Mac is a man who sacrifices himself entirely into the Party, he is very loyalty and selfless to Party, also, he is very smart, convictive man, and can adapt himself to changing circumstances. For example, when they first arrived at the Torgas, Mac immediately came up the idea that helps Lisa to give birth, to earn the trust from the group (Steinbeck, 1992, page 59-68). Also, after a picker was injured by a broken ladder, Mac knows how to exploit pickers’ anger mood to let Party assign Doc Burton, a doctor to maintain the sanitation of the strikers’ camp. In addition, Mac tried his best to persuaded Anderson to allow strikers to camp on his land. (Steinbeck, 1992, chapter 6)
Moreover, Mac is a man who knows how to influence and motivate people’s emotions and actions. He used Joy’s and Jim’s death to make speeches to motivate men to fighting for the strike. In my opinion, I think Mac is a little bit ruthless, he controls his own emotions very well, and when he finds out Jim was died, he “picked Jim up and slung him over his shoulder, like a sack; and the dripping head hung down behind.” After he gets back to the crowd, “he dragged Jim” and “set light on the head”. As far as I am concerned, …show more content…
He didn’t want nothing for himself—” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 348-349) Of course his speech successfully stir up the emotions of crowd, and makes them united for the strike. Also in chapter, Mac says, “I can’t take time to think about the feelings of one man, I’m too busy with big bunches of men.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 207) Party’s goal is the life goal of Mac, he is willing to do anything to make the strike success, and individual’s sacrifice is necessary. On the contrary, Jim is a man with sensitive emotion before he join the Party, he is compassionate, but after he became a Party member, and under the leading of Mac, Jim became more and more like Mac, or just say like a communist. Jim learned how to control his own relationship with Lisa in just friend, he learned how to use people’s emotion to motivate them, and he learned how to be a ruthless, hardhearted Party member when individuals are necessary to achieve the Party’s goal.
At the end of the book, Jim and Mac fell into the trap, and Jim was killed. Mac brings Jim’s body back to unite the crowd and let them fight for strike. For Jim himself, he may think his death is worth for Party achieving goal because Party’s goal is above everything, even the life of himself. In my opinion, I think it’s a good ending for Jim, at least, he contributes himself to the Party he devotionally
In Dubious Battle was written by John Steinbeck, and with introduction and notes by Warren French published in Penguin Books in 1992. This book talks about Mac and Jim persuaded apple pickers to organize a strike to against owners, because owners cut picker’s wages and provided poor living conditions. There was a group-men theory in this novel, which “a man in a group isn’t himself at all: he’s a cell in an organism that isn’t like him any more than the cells in your body are like you.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 150-151) The theme of the novel is about how individuals are motivated to become a group for the Party’s goal. When John Steinbeck crafted his fictional account of labor organizing in the …show more content…
We want the men to find out how strong they are when they work together.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 38) In my opinion, Mac is a man who sacrifices himself entirely into the Party, he is very loyalty and selfless to Party, also, he is very smart, convictive man, and can adapt himself to changing circumstances. For example, when they first arrived at the Torgas, Mac immediately came up the idea that helps Lisa to give birth, to earn the trust from the group (Steinbeck, 1992, page 59-68). Also, after a picker was injured by a broken ladder, Mac knows how to exploit pickers’ anger mood to let Party assign Doc Burton, a doctor to maintain the sanitation of the strikers’ camp. In addition, Mac tried his best to persuaded Anderson to allow strikers to camp on his land. (Steinbeck, 1992, chapter 6)
Moreover, Mac is a man who knows how to influence and motivate people’s emotions and actions. He used Joy’s and Jim’s death to make speeches to motivate men to fighting for the strike. In my opinion, I think Mac is a little bit ruthless, he controls his own emotions very well, and when he finds out Jim was died, he “picked Jim up and slung him over his shoulder, like a sack; and the dripping head hung down behind.” After he gets back to the crowd, “he dragged Jim” and “set light on the head”. As far as I am concerned, …show more content…
He didn’t want nothing for himself—” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 348-349) Of course his speech successfully stir up the emotions of crowd, and makes them united for the strike. Also in chapter, Mac says, “I can’t take time to think about the feelings of one man, I’m too busy with big bunches of men.” (Steinbeck, 1992, page 207) Party’s goal is the life goal of Mac, he is willing to do anything to make the strike success, and individual’s sacrifice is necessary. On the contrary, Jim is a man with sensitive emotion before he join the Party, he is compassionate, but after he became a Party member, and under the leading of Mac, Jim became more and more like Mac, or just say like a communist. Jim learned how to control his own relationship with Lisa in just friend, he learned how to use people’s emotion to motivate them, and he learned how to be a ruthless, hardhearted Party member when individuals are necessary to achieve the Party’s goal.
At the end of the book, Jim and Mac fell into the trap, and Jim was killed. Mac brings Jim’s body back to unite the crowd and let them fight for strike. For Jim himself, he may think his death is worth for Party achieving goal because Party’s goal is above everything, even the life of himself. In my opinion, I think it’s a good ending for Jim, at least, he contributes himself to the Party he devotionally