John Steinbeck Harvest Gypsies Summary
In the series of articles written by John Steinbeck, Harvest Gypsies, Steinbeck describes the inhumane conditions and abuse enforced upon the new migrants composed of Dust Bowl refugees. Through detailed accounts of the squatter camps and recurring descriptions of the helpless migrants that live in them, Steinbeck conveys a powerful image of the migrants that invokes sympathy from the readers. Along with gaining sympathy for the migrants, he also shines a light on the oppressive Farmers Association and other large farm groups that controlled the labor in California. In doing so, he exposes the people and the government of California for their combined systemic attempt to keep the new migrants subjugated to poverty and unorganized in order to …show more content…
California was riddled with labor strife throughout the 1930s, with the largest labor strike occurring in 1933, which was the San Joaquin Cotton Valley Strike. Steinbeck briefly refers to this strike when he says, “the workers realize that the problem of the small farmer is not unlike their own. We have the example in the San Joaquin Valley two years ago of a small farmer who sided with the workers in the cotton strike.” The strike included thousands of laborers, 80% whom were Mexicans. The reason there were so many Mexicans in the strike was because Mexicans were the labor of choice in California during this time. They were regarded as vulnerable foreigners that could quickly be deported away back to Mexico if any of them ever made any demands such as demanding a higher wage. As Steinbeck stated in Article 6 of his Harvest Gypsies, “The right of free speech, the right of assembly and the right of jury trial are not extended to Mexicans in the Imperial Valley.” Due to these circumstances, the Mexican labor force was easy to manipulate. The strike was a victory for foreign laborers as their wages increased from 60 to 75 cents. However, they also lost because the laborers did not win the ability to form unions and conduct collective bargaining. It showed that organization of labor, even if made up of foreigners, could still find success through
Bread And Rose Summary
260 Words | 2 PagesIn the book Bread and Rose: Miles, Migrants, and the struggle For The American Dream by Bruce Watson talks about the strike that took place in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912 that totally changed labor history for American workers. At the begging of the 20th century Lawrence, Massachusetts was the textile center of America with 12 mills employing more than 32,000 migrant workers. Three of those mills were owned by J.P. Morgan, controlled by the American woolen Company. Most of the textile workers were newly arrived immigrants that came from diverse backgrounds. More than 20 different nationalities were represented, speaking more than 20 different languages.
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760 Words | 4 PagesThroughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, life in America was changing drastically, the increase of technology leading to bigger corporations, longer working hours, and worse working conditions for all laborers. Although the rich whites were getting richer, the laborers worsening conditions led to them searching for different ways to lash out at their oppressors and gain better conditions and hours for all. This era of the burgeoning labor movement is spoken of in Zinn’s 13th chapter, Farragher’s 18 and 19th chapters, John Spargo’s “The Bitter Cry of the Children”, and in Christopher Setaro’s lecture on labor. All these sources describe the economic boom of the nation being followed by the rebellion of laborers. Beginning in the 1860s there were many immigrants flooding
Harvest Gypsies Analysis
599 Words | 3 PagesDuring the 1930’s thousands of Dust Bowl migrant workers made their way from the central plain into California seeking work. In their search for work and some form of income many of the migrants and their families ended up in Hoovervilles, which were makeshift roadside camps that were greatly impoverished. Steinbeck was able to travel through the labor camps and recorded the horrible living conditions of the migrant workers. The collection of these recordings was published as Harvest Gypsies. During the tours of the labor camps he saw the oppression of the workers first hand in addition to workers being demoralized by wealthy land owners.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Of 1911
2033 Words | 9 PagesThey demanded less hours, higher wages, workplace safety and unions. In the summer of 1909 the majority of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers walked off of the job. Blanck and Harris hired private police forces and prostitutes to beat the strikers and had them arrested for fighting back. The public looked at them as disturbers of the peace, lazy immigrants who didn’t understand how lucky they were to have a job. Other workers in factories left their jobs as well, leading to Blanck and Harris organizing all of the other shirtwaist factories, leading them against the workers in what essentially became a long game of “chicken”.
Impact Of The Delano Grape And Strike And Boycott On The Farmworker Movement
213 Words | 1 PagesThe Delano Grape and Strike and boycott had an impact on the farmworker movement and on American society more broadly. The strike and boycott brought national attention to the plight of farmworkers, and they helped to raise awareness about the need for better working conditions and protections for agricultural laborers. The movement inspired other workers and activists to fight for their rights, and it helped to pave the way for the creation of labor laws and regulations that improved working conditions for many Americans. In addition to its impact on the labor movement, the Delano Grape Strike and boycott also had important cultural and social implications.
How Does Steinbeck Use Foreshadowing In Of Mice And Men
932 Words | 4 PagesAfter reading the novel and watching the movie “Of Mice and Men”, I have learned about the lifestyle of migrant workers in California during the 1930s, which I did not know about before studying the novel. California back in the 1930s is very different from what I pictured it to be as the conditions of life weren’t that good. This is also the first novel that I have read in my years as a student that contains so much foreshadowing. Never before had I read a book where the author produced so much foreshadowing in such a short book. Steinbeck uses Lennie as a source of motivation and hope in achieving the dream farm that George, Candy, Crooks and Lennie himself desire.
Pullman Strike Research Paper
1399 Words | 6 Pages*Pullman Strike * The Pullman Strike was widespread by the United States railroad workers, approximately a quarter-million worker were on strike at the peak and it impacted the expedition the railroad system across the states. The strike between the American Railway Union and George Pullman changed the course of future strikes when President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to break up the strikers; its influenced how the federal government and the court system would handle labor issues. The labor issues during the Pullman Strike were not limited that of rights of the workers, the role of management in the workers private life, and the roles of government resolving labor conflicts. Pullman planned communities for his workers how he determined
Analysis Of John Steinbeck's New Historicism
1657 Words | 7 PagesJohn Steinbeck is a globally known author who observes the aesthetic of the 1900s which includes the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. These tragic disasters influenced Steinbeck’s style and the content that is located in his novels. The new historicism approach appropriately explores John
Essay On The Gilded Age
551 Words | 3 PagesThe laborer, toiling in factories and industry, did not fare much better than the small farmer. Immigration increased dramatically, providing the necessary workforce for industries. Socialist ideas, however, along with low pay, and the ability of some workers to enter the middle class (in part through the creation of a managerial class), kept labor unions from effectively protecting workers from exploitation. Low wages, long hours, job insecurity, hazardous working conditions, and gender, age and racial discrimination characterized the working life of many(?)/most(?)
Migrant Farm Workers
374 Words | 2 PagesThe history of migrant farm workers in California has changed extensively over time, especially under the influence of outside factors such as war and the desire to emigrate. Migrant workers, not just farm workers, have been involved in various occupations, from fishing to forestry, yet the agricultural field remains the most common (“Migrant Farm Labor”). Agricultural activities were once performed by Native Americans before Europeans established a colonial presence. During the existence of slavery in the U.S., it is believed by environmental historians that slaves applied their techniques in agriculture to those of American techniques, allowing them to rise against their owners with a better understanding of the landscape of the plantations
The Strenuous Life Speech Analysis
1123 Words | 5 PagesThe Dust Bowl, beginning in the 1930s, added to the struggle of American farmers as lands out west in states such as Oklahoma and Kansas were over-plowed, causing the topsoil to become uprooted, creating massive dust storms. These dust storms left the land unusable to farm, displacing many Americans in the agricultural industry. Steinbeck’s The Harvest Gypsies displays the struggles these farmers faced when moving west to California, hoping to find some sort of work. Many displaced farmers lived in squatters’ camps, temporary dwellings for those looking for work. Steinbeck described these camps as having awful living conditions, saying that “From a distance it looks like a city dump, and well it may, for the city dumps are the sources for the material of which it is built.”
The Crucible American Dream Analysis
357 Words | 2 PagesWhen America was built, its character and identity was established by The Declaration of Independence, providing its citizens equality, liberty, and equal opportunity. The premise of the composition of USA became known as the American Dream, with the aspiration that one’s achievement is not constrained by his/her social class or fortune but is determined by endeavor. This delusion of harmony was greatly contradicted by two novels: The Crucible and The Grapes of Wrath. In The Crucible, under constant hallucination of evil and corruptness, people for their own greediness began making false accusations on each other.
Cesar Chavez Movie Analysis
477 Words | 2 PagesI chose the movie Cesar Chavez because is about an labor organizer and activist man of the civil rights. Scene ---In 1965 many grape farm workers march 300 miles from Delano, California to Sacramento. Demanding labor rights for farm workers and increasing their wages and to improve their work place conditions. Mexicans and Philippine’s got united and they strike for five years until they got to sing a contract were The scene that I choose is when growers were telling the workers in the vine yards that anyone that follow the strike will stop working there and they were not going to be higher from anybody else and workers were really afraid to strike against the growers.
Allusions In The Grapes Of Wrath
961 Words | 4 PagesJohn Steinbeck, in the novel, Grapes of Wrath, identifies the hardships and struggle to portray the positive aspects of the human spirit amongst the struggle of the migrant farmers and the devastation of the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck supports his defense by providing the reader with imagery, symbolism and intense biblical allusions. The author’s purpose is to illustrate the migrant farmers in order to fully exploit their positive aspects in the midst of hardships. Steinbeck writes in a passionate tone for an audience that requires further understanding of the situation.
Grapes Of Wrath Quotes
626 Words | 3 PagesSteinbeck tells us exactly what the Californians think of the migrants, “They gonna look at you an’ their face says, ‘I don’t like you, you son-of-a-bitch!’” (pg 205). The prejudice shown towards the so-called “Okies” exemplifies just one issue the refugees of the Dust Bowl faced. This is important because it sheds light on the lack of concern and empathy that many held; this causes readers to begin to develop an emotional attachment to the characters of the book, and therefore, a fire is lit within his audience which makes them more likely to take action. Further along in the novel, Steinbeck writes, “The great owners were glad and they sent out more handbills to bring more people in.
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