What Are The Similarities Between The Dust Bowl And The Grapes Of Wrath
For farming families of the Southern Plains, the plight of the Great Depression was made all the more harrowing by the onset of the Dust Bowl, as readers of The Grapes of Wrath will remember well. But, for environmental historian Donald Worster, the twin calamities of the Depression and the Dust Bowl were no unlucky coincidence. "My argument," Worster declares, "is that there was a in fact a close link between the Dust Bowl and the Depression -- that the same society produced them both, and for similar reasons. Both events revealed fundamental weaknesses in the traditional culture of America, the one in ecological terms, the other in economic. Both offered a reason, and an opportunity, for substantial reform of that culture." (5)
In both the Depression and the Dust Bowl, Worster argues, the enemy at work is rampant, unfettered capitalism. The Dust Bowl "came about because the expansionary energy of the United States had
…show more content…
Worster underlines three ecological tenets which he believes lay at the center of the capitalist vision of nature:
"1. Nature must be seen as capital. It is a set of economic assets that can become a source of profit or advantage, a means to make more wealth. Trees, wildlife, minerals, water, and the soil are all commodities that can either be developed or carried as they are to the marketplace. A business culture attaches no other values to nature than this; the nonhuman world is desanctified and demystified as a consequence. Its functional interdependencies are also discounted in the economic calculus.
2. Man has a right, even an obligation, to use this capital for constant self-advancement. Capitalism is an intensely maximizing culture, always seeking to get more out of the natural resources of the world than it did yesterday. The highest economic rewards go to those who have done the most to extract from nature all it can yield. Private acquisitiveness and accumulation are unlimited ideals, impossible to satisfy once and for
Summary Of Donald Worster's Dust Bowl
973 Words | 4 PagesThe beginning of the book was a much easier read than the end, only because most of the information was given in the beginning and the end seemed to reiterate what had already been said. The book was hard to finish because it seemed to be saying the same thing every page towards the end. Worster’s arguments were solid and made a lot of sense comparing culture to the economy and the New Deal. Linking the Dust Bowl with the Great Depression made this more entertaining. His thesis, that the Dust Bowl was a consequence due to the inherit conflict between capitalist expansionism and the ecological sensitivity was a valid and accurate statement that he explained thoroughly through out the entire text sufficiently.
Harvest Gypsies Analysis
599 Words | 3 Pages1 The comparison allows people now to look back on the dust bowl and see how just one force, such as climate can go on to create mistreatment and an impoverished life for workers. Through the connection of this article in addition to Harvest Gypsies we can prevent such events noted from happening
Dust Bowl Dbq Essay
832 Words | 4 PagesThe Dust Bowl was a terrible experience during a horrible time. In the 1930s post World War I America had a total collapse of the stock market causing the Great Depression affecting the economy on a global scale, but hitting hardest at home in the United States. However, the economy wasn’t the only thing that was hit hard during this time; seemingly unstoppable dust storms ravaged farming land from the west to east coast hitting hardest in the great plains in the middle section the the US became known as the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was not entirely a causation of bad luck on nature, it was caused by an increasing demand for crops, advancements in farming technology, while the final nail in the coffin was a lack of rain. During World War
Dust Bowl Summary
1077 Words | 5 PagesWorster’s book focuses on the relationship between the environment
The Dust Bowl Dbq
811 Words | 4 Pages“ The story highlights a very real and relatable experience about a family driven out of their home due to economic hardship and drought. Also known as “The Dirty Thirties,” the Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms causing major agricultural damage to the American west—especially the Oklahoma panhandle area, Kansas, and northern Texas. Farming methods at the time contributed to the severity of the problem. The arrival of farmers to the Great Plains created conditions for significant soil erosion during naturally occurring periods of cool sea surface water temperatures that regulate precipitation. “ http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/legacy/ 3.
Farming During The Dust Bowl
77 Words | 1 PagesDuring the Dust Bowl some people made the decision to stay at their farms. Huge drifts of dirt piled up on homesteaders’ doors, came in the cracks of windows and came down from the ceilings. Barnyards and pastures were buried in dirt. After about 850 million tons of topsoil was blown away in 1935 alone. The government responded to this by saying “Unless something is done, the western plains will be as arid as the Arabian desert.”
Dust Bowl Research Paper
979 Words | 4 PagesLuckily Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to shine some light with a new deal. The Dust Bowl was what they called the Great Depression in the drought stricken areas. The condition of the areas around Oklahoma and Texas made living dangerous and futile. “When drought struck
What Are The Causes Of The Dust Bowl
502 Words | 3 PagesDuring the Great Depression a Midwestern phenomenon called the Dust Bowl affected many lives of newly settled Americans throughout the Great Plains region. Otherwise known as the “Dirty Thirties”, a storm of dry weather caused farmers and villagers to abandon their homes in hope to survive the deadly threat of the storm. The Dust Bowl was a big contributing factor to the Great Depression agriculturally, and economically. During the 1930’s America suffered extreme temperatures. A drought forming across all farm lands due to failure of successful crop rotation cause dust to form.
Grapes Of Wrath Literary Analysis
1639 Words | 7 PagesDuring the great depression, the midwest underwent a long drought. Exposed dry earth swept away with the wind and caused huge dust storms that prolonged the dry weather. With the lowered selling prices and the lack of crops the farmers had some major economic trouble. In Black Blizzard and John Steinbeck 's Grapes of Wrath, the literature develops the ideas of the poor distribution of wealth within the populations and the social aspects of people of different economic class. Social differences arise in the wealthy, the employed, and the unemployed throughout this period of hardship.
Dust Bowl Dbq Analysis
363 Words | 2 PagesThe dust bowl was considered the “Worst hard time” in american history. The Dust Bowl was a big cloud of dust that took place during the 1930’s in the middle of the Great Depression. The dust bowl was located in the southern great plains as it affected states like Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. The three main causes of the Dust Bowl were drought (Doc E), amount of land being harvest (Doc D), and the death shortgrass prairie (Doc C).
The Strenuous Life Speech Analysis
1123 Words | 5 PagesAt the beginning of the 20th century, the United States was booming with new industrial innovations because of new technologies, and it was becoming one of the leading economies in the world. This economic boom came to a sharp halt as events such as the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl hit, causing millions of Americans to face economic struggles. “The Strenuous Life,” a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, displays the ideas of American work ethics that led to economic growth in the early 1900s. These ideals of work ethic not only prompted the cause of the Dust Bowl, but were continued on into the lives of the affected farmers as Americans displaced and in poverty from this event continued to participate in migrant work with awful living
Personal Narrative: A Day During The Great Depression
664 Words | 3 PagesIt’s hard to get through a day during the great depression. Everyday, my family worries about my father's job. Now there's one more thing to add to the pile of worries. The dust bowl. The storms have been going on for about 3 years now.
Dust Bowl Significance
876 Words | 4 PagesThe Historical Significance of the Dust Bowl In one of the most fertile places in the United States, one of the nation's worst disasters occurred, the Dust Bowl. It began when an area in the Midwest was severely affected by an intense drought throughout the 1930s or what proceeded to be called the Dirty Thirties. The drought killed crops that had kept the rich soil in place, and when the strong root system was not there the soil was not kept grounded. Due to the soil left with no crops, the high and strong winds blew the topsoil away.
Essay On The Dust Bowl
1291 Words | 6 Pages“With the gales came the dust. Sometimes it was so thick that it completely hid the sun. Visibility ranged from nothing to fifty feet, the former when the eyes were filled with dirt which could not be avoided, even with goggles ”( Richardson 59). The Dust Bowl was a huge dust storm in the 1930s that stretched from western Kansas to New Mexico. People that lived in that area could not step outside or they would get dust in their lungs.
Aldo Leopold The Land Ethic Summary
614 Words | 3 PagesThe Land Ethic Argument Outline Aldo Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” is an essay describing why we should not treat our land as our property. The first part of half of his essay is based on an anecdote that alludes to Odysseus returning from Troy to behead his slaves. His comparison there is that as once it was alright to treat people as property, it is now just fine to do the same thing to your land. Additionally, as ethics of the treatment of people changed as with the ethics of land treatment.
More about What Are The Similarities Between The Dust Bowl And The Grapes Of Wrath
Summary Of Donald Worster's Dust Bowl
973 Words | 4 PagesHarvest Gypsies Analysis
599 Words | 3 PagesDust Bowl Dbq Essay
832 Words | 4 PagesDust Bowl Summary
1077 Words | 5 PagesThe Dust Bowl Dbq
811 Words | 4 PagesFarming During The Dust Bowl
77 Words | 1 PagesDust Bowl Research Paper
979 Words | 4 PagesWhat Are The Causes Of The Dust Bowl
502 Words | 3 PagesGrapes Of Wrath Literary Analysis
1639 Words | 7 PagesDust Bowl Dbq Analysis
363 Words | 2 PagesThe Strenuous Life Speech Analysis
1123 Words | 5 PagesPersonal Narrative: A Day During The Great Depression
664 Words | 3 PagesDust Bowl Significance
876 Words | 4 PagesEssay On The Dust Bowl
1291 Words | 6 PagesAldo Leopold The Land Ethic Summary
614 Words | 3 Pages