John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”. An Analysis

Inhaltsangabe oder Einleitung

„The Grapes of Wrath“ has surely had a deep impact not only on world‘s literature, but also on the consciousness of the working class in general. Millions of sold copies worldwide imply that Steinbeck’s thinking must have impressed and influenced a lot of people around the globe indeed. Thus, „The Grapes of Wrath“ has inspired activist songwriters such as Bruce Springsteen and Woodie Guthrie to write songs in order to put the spirit of the book into sound. While the latter of these two musicians had not yet read the book, but only seen the movie when he wrote a song that simply summarizes the storyline, Bruce Springsteen has managed to compose an exceedingly moving and popular piece of music. „The Ghost of Tom Joad“ carries on the hope which is contained in the novel (just to anticipate a bit the answer to the sub-question of this work’s title).
The struggling of the poor and unprivileged is today not less existent than at the time when „The Grapes of Wrath“ takes place. However, today’s face of the world has been changed by the effects of information technology. The globalization of markets and the ongoing merging of corporations, resulting in economic giants with fierce extent of power, the WTO and the World Bank are expressions of an economic system which still legitimizes the exploitation of have-nots by a shrinking wealthy upper-class.
Nevertheless, there is a movement and a progress visible (though not on screens dominated by corporate media). Resistance against exploitation forms wherever people understand the need and possibility to organize. „The Grapes of Wrath“ contributes a lot to making people realize this. Last but not least, it conveys a spirit that strengthens people’s will to survive and show compassion for each other, which is why i would like to reflect on this book.