Economic Philosophy of the Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is the pièce de résistance of John Steinbeck’s prolific career as an author. ... John Steinbeck’s economic philosophy in the novel is that the haves maltreat, exploit, and callously disregard the needs of the have-nots as human beings. Steinbeck’s notion of the penurious being mistreated by the plutocratic land syndicates is an important theme in The Grapes of Wrath. ... This economic machine(“The Grapes…”) was a kind of impersonal monster that does not live on side-meat like men, but on profits. ... The exploitation of these indigent farmers is a point that Steinbeck wanted to incorporate in his economic philosophy. ... Economic circumstances separate people into affluent and indigent, proprietor and tenant, and the people in the dominant roles struggle sadistically to preserve their positions.