Critical Response to "The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck’s thesis presented in The Grapes of Wrath is that in order for society to run best, people must not act out of self interest, but rather in the interest of the collective. Throughout the book this idea is established as characters are developed and the situation of the time period is demonstrated. According to the author, the thought of self-preservation plays an important role in an individual’s response to conflict. Every person has an ultimate objective that they constantly strive to achieve, but every person also faces many obstacles that get in the way of achieving that ultimate goal. In other words, one’s self-preservation is only attainable if one can overcome the competing internal and external demands that obstruct it.

There are many characters and situations described throughout The Grapes of Wrath that support Steinbeck’s theory about the best way to overcome obstacles in order to pursue self-preservation. One example of this is the development of Tom Joad throughout the book. Joad started out with an individualist perspective, but as the book progressed, the author developed him into more of a collectivist. In the beginning, Joad thought mainly of himself and his family, but after gaining many new experiences and seeing new perspectives, he began to think more of others and the group than just himself. This is demonstrated when he was talking to Ma in the cave about possibly revolting against the rich owners; he said, “I been thinkin’ a hell of a lot, thinkin’ about our people livin’ like pigs, an’ the good rich lan’ layin’ fallow, or maybe one fella with a million acres, while a hundred thousan’ good farmers is starvin’. An’ I been wonderin’ if all our folks got together an’ yelled…” (ch.28 pg.571). This quote shows Tom Joad’s desire for equality between social classes and his determination to achieve economic equality and collective interest, while also presenting his seriousness about the possibility of a revolution to attain these ideologies.

Another character who was developed into a collectivist to support Steinbeck’s thesis was Jim Casy. During the course of the novel, Casy went through multiple phases. He started out as a preacher, leading the people and advocating the word and spirit of God; he was then incredibly confused, constantly thinking about life, faith, and the spirit in everyone; finally, Casy sacrificed himself for the good of the group, believing that doing so was in the best interest of the collective. When Jim Casy was getting attacked for leading a strike, the narrator said, “Casy dodged down into the swing” (ch.26 pg.527), which represents Casy’s willingness to die for the potential that others would be able to have better lives. In Steinbeck’s opinion, this sacrifice was the ultimate solution to pursuing self-preservation – by acting to help the collective group. Casy showed his devotion to achieving self-preservation by benefitting the group many times throughout the book, offering to take the blame and go to jail when Tom Joad beat up a cop, preaching about the need for a revolution to obtain equality in the collective interest, and passing on his thoughts to Tom Joad in order for his visions to be seen through. One particular idea that Casy came up with while he spent his time constantly thinking, and then shared with Joad, was that every person’s soul is just a small piece of one big soul. Both characters firmly believed that it was imperative that everyone unite their souls and work together in order to achieve self-preservation; one individual thinking only of his own success would eventually lead to their inevitable failure.

Steinbeck not only represents his ideas in the way of character development, but also uses the setting and events of the time period to help portray his main idea. In many of the intercalary chapters throughout the book, the author looked beyond the challenges that the Joad family and other main characters came up against, and described the general hardships faced by all the struggling people. For instance, in chapter five the narrator informs the reader about tractor drivers. He tells us that they were just ordinary people who used to struggle to find food just like the rest of the poor residents, but then, by striving for their own and their family’s self-preservation, the drivers destroyed the livelihood of everyone else around them. An angry tenant complained about a tractor driver’s greediness when he said, “…for your three dollars a day fifteen or twenty families can’t eat at all. Nearly a hundred people have to go out and wander on the roads for your three dollars a day.” (ch.5 pg.50). Steinbeck included this whole situation in the book to illustrate the negative effects that may occur if people do not think of the common good. The tractor driver was only thinking of himself and his family, never giving thought to the hundred people who would be displaced and starved as a result of his doings. Although he may or may not have realized it, this tractor driver harmed others immediately, only to harm himself in the long run.

Throughout The Grapes of Wrath, many obstacles were presented which the characters had to overcome in order to achieve their ultimate objective; they had to conquer the competing internal and external demands in order to accomplish self-preservation. Using multiple techniques, Steinbeck presented his thesis that collectivism is ultimately better than individualism. He supported his idea by developing characters like Tom Joad and Jim Casy, who in the end thought that everyone’s souls are part of one giant soul and that no one can get by on their own; each person’s soul must be connected to the collective soul in order to prosper, or even just survive. Steinbeck also used the method of intercalary chapters to develop his theory further. He wrote about a tractor driver whose greediness and individualistic perspective caused harm to everyone around him and would eventually cause harm to him as well. As a whole, The Grapes of Wrath combines many situations that support Steinbeck’s thesis that in order for society to run best, people must not act out of self interest, but rather in the interest of the collective.