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The Struggle In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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The Dust Bowl refers to the time of a severe drought that stirred up windy dust storms in the midwestern states of the United States during the 1930s. This disaster destroyed crops, job opportunities, and farms which led to the migration of thousands of farmers and their families from the Great Plains to the west coast. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck illustrates the Joad family trying to escape from the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl during the 1930s. “Gastonia’s tragic 1929 strike gets deeper look” from The Charlotte Observer portrays the story of a famous union activist named Ella May Wiggins who was killed at the age of 29 during her fight towards justice for wages and working conditions during Gastonia’s 1929 Loray Mill strike. The Grapes of Wrath and “Gastonia’s tragic 1929 strike gets deeper look” both relate stories of people striking for justice of workers like Jim Casy and Ella May Wiggins did but were later killed while fighting for the cause, the stories portray women acting as leaders like both Ma Joad and Ella May Wiggins did repeatedly, and they also reveal the death of sick babies like Rose of Sharon’s child and Ella May Wiggins’ child. …show more content…

This struggle led to Jim Casy’s realization that action needed to be taken to start the change for better working conditions and higher wages. Just like Casy, Ella May Wiggins is known for being a very active unionist. In “Gastonia’s tragic 1929 strike gets deeper look”, we see Wiggins protesting unfair wages and poor working conditions. Her death also ties into Casy’s death as they both die for the same cause. Casy is killed at Hooper Ranch by men who overhear him explaining the plan to strike for the amount of money the workers were promised to Tom Joad. Wiggins is killed by gunmen as she is traveling to the union hall in Gastonia to protest low

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