The Grapes of Wrath

¶ … Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck [...] some of the ways in which Roosevelt's speech in "American Primer" responded to the needs of the people in 1933 and throughout the rest of the thirties. Steinbeck's powerful novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," is a deep look into the poverty of the Dust Bowl, and the migrations to California by workers desperate for jobs. The country was in dire trouble. The people recognized it, and the administration recognized it. The people needed to know that the government understood and cared about their plight, and Roosevelt's speech told them he cared, and that he would do everything in his power to rectify the situation.

The Grapes of Wrath" is the touching and dark story of the Joad family, who travels to California from Oklahoma after their crops fail and they lose their farm. The chapters of the novel are generally divided into chapters that discuss the Joad family and their problems, and a more general discussion of the Great Depression and its affect on the nation. One historian called it the "worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world" (Gusmorino, 1996). An article at the Roosevelt Institute states, "over $75 billion in equity capital had been lost on Wall Street, the gross national product had plunged from a high of $104 billion to a mere $74 billion, and U.S. exports had fallen by 62 per cent. Over thirteen million people, nearly 25% of the workforce, were now unemployed" (Editors, 2000). Early in his Inaugural Address, newly elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" (Roosevelt, 1995, p. 864). Clearly, the nation was in the grip of fear, and the Joad family's experience was quite typical of millions of people across the country. The book is dark and depressing, but so were the times. Roosevelt recognized this, and knew that he not only had to get the country back on its feet quickly, but he had to reassure the people that jobs and prosperity would come again. Many people, just like the Joads, were at the end of their rope, and they had nowhere else to turn.

One of the main causes of the Great Depression that forced so many like the Joads out of their homes was the stock market crash in October, 1929, and the following failure of so many banks and savings institutions around the country. Roosevelt addressed this several times in his address, including this statement, "Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort" (Roosevelt, 1995, p. 865). He was making a direct statement to the people that money was not everything, and that the county had to work together to end the grip of the Depression, but he also often referred to the "money-changers" of the country, and how they had to change their ways in order for the country to get back on its feet. Steinbeck noted the greed of the banks and other institutions, too, when he wrote, "Banks 'breathe profits; they eat interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat'" (Steinbeck, 1993, p. 39). Roosevelt's speech spoke directly to the nation and their fears, and indicated he understood their bitterness against big business, and that he shared their concerns and their anger.

Another important problem facing the Joads and the nation was the lack of work. Even after the Joads reached California, they had problems finding work - there simply was not enough work for all the migrants who came to the California farms hoping to change their luck. Later in the book, another migrant sneers at Tom, "So you're lookin' for work. What ya think ever'body else is lookin' for? Di'monds? What you think I wore my ass down to a nub lookin' for?'" (Steinbeck, 1993, p. 312). The migrants are not afraid of work, but there is no work for them to do, they have traveled hundreds, even thousands of miles for nothing. Roosevelt addresses this fear in his speech, too. He says, "Our greatest primary task it to put people to work [...] treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war" (Roosevelt, 1995, p. 866). He recognized the fear and the hopelessness of the nation, and he realized he had to do something quickly, or the nation and its people might deteriorate to the point that they could not recover. Steinbeck continues, "On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food. And the anger began to ferment" (Steinbeck, 1993, p. 363). Roosevelt knew the unrest in the country could quickly turn dangerous and deadly. He continued, "I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require" (Roosevelt, 1995, p. 868). Clearly, Roosevelt felt he needed to use just about any method available to turn the tide in the country, and get people back to work and more prosperous. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck offers some glimmers of hope, and glimmers of despair. In the passage that gave the book its title, he writes, "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage" (Steinbeck, 1993, p. 445). Roosevelt knew the dangers, and addressed them point blank in his Inaugural Address. The people of the country were "heavy" with the "grapes of wrath," and they were ready to revolt, to do whatever was necessary to provide for their families and live. Roosevelt knew that his reaction must be swift, and his words must not be empty. In his first 100 days in office, he created and implemented the first of a variety of fiscal plans to get the people back to world, that were called the "New Deal." The words of his Address were just the beginning, and people like the Joads finally could look ahead to the future with hope, rather than unending despair.