Grapes of Wrath-Q. 3

The universal theme represented in this book is that poor people should be treated just like everyone else. They shouldn't be left to die with insufficient pay and no way of getting more. They shouldn't have to pay more than the regular people for their food and they should be given fair jobs.

Basically the theme of this book is to be fair. When a landowner pays their workers less than sufficient pay they are considered a jerk, but when they don't even give them enough to survive because they are too selfish and worried about their own income, they are considered killers. That is why there is a new law enforced that you must pay a minimum wage to every employee, so that they can have enough money to live.

What Steinbeck new about human nature, is that people do whatever it takes to help out their family members. In this case if that means to steal some peaches from the peach farm, or to steal other foods from people they will do it. Just look at Tom Joad for instance. Along the trip he wasn't able to ride in the vehicle so he walked along side in the woods and during different times the family would take him food and water.

This stories theme is a lot to consider, but a horrible thing to think it happened. After the Great depression a lot changed and most of it was to help out the poorer people and get their lives back on track and out of life threatening situations. Once all of this happened life in the U.S was a lot easier and less hechtic. More people had fun and less people died everyday from starvation and low income situations. With less death meant more people and more people meant more jobs that needed to be created. Considering what happened during the Great Depression this was not a huge deal to fix. From now on if someone is poor, it is usually their fault and they brought it upon themselves since there are so many laws by the country now to help avoid poverty.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.