Correct Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is an act that is practiced in the most necessary and desperate of times, but it is also one that doesn’t take place when needed. The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and the article Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau speaks of government and how involved they should be. There is much deliberation when it comes to writing about the government and how far their reach is. The goal is to infiltrate the inner workings of the government’s mind and ideals. Although Steinbeck and Thoreau agree on certain topics there are some they clash on as well. There are certain aspects of government that both Steinbeck and Thoreau agree on. Such as the need for a limited one, and if the government …show more content…
However to debate is to be able to indulge in information. Thoreau’s belief of the necessary action needed to fight the government is more related to a passive aggressive one. Thoreau would rather put his hope in the chance that events will play out as he believes it should, trusting that “if the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth- certainly the machine will wear out” (6). If the government behaves like a machine, then Thoreau’s reasonable conclusion is that once day that machine will grow old and die. It will become outdated and will no longer serve the purpose it was intended for. The serendipity of this event is highly unlikely to Steinbeck. He believes the government is not as fastidious as it seems. Those the government sends to do its bidding are referred to by Steinbeck as machine men, and a “machine man, driving a dead tractor on land he does not know and love, understands only chemistry; and he is contemptuous of the land” (158). Steinbeck does not share the same views with Thoreau on this topic, he doesn’t believe that the machine will wear itself out, for the machine is not just one but many. A collective group of individuals who are never satisfied and call upon others to do their dirty work. Steinbeck refuses to mitigate his thoughts and strongly asserts his opinions that the machine is not one that can be
When times get tough, many people turn away from everyone and everything. It must be part of human nature to adopt an independent attitude when faced with troubles. It is understandable because most people do not want to trouble their loved ones when they are going through problems, so it is easier to turn away than stick together. Maybe their family is going through a rough patch and they reason they would be better off on their own. This path of independence and solitude may not always be the best option for them or their family, though. Often times it is more beneficial for everyone to work through the problem together. It is not always the easiest or most desirable option, but most times it is the most efficient and it will get results in the long run. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck makes this point very clear through several characters. Many characters throughout
In paragraph twenty-five, he consecutively asked questions that brought the entire passage together. By saying, “Is it possible that this state is so stupid, so vicious and so greedy that it cannot feed and clothe the men and women who help to make it the richest area in the world?” the reader's immediate reaction would be yes! They would ask themselves why would the government want those many people to suffer? Why won’t help reach those seriously ill until it’s too late? This not only brings more questions to the imagination but a sense of emotion towards those who struggle daily. His final question in this article suggests that no issue has been in the process of being solved until enough is enough. “Must the hunger become anger and the anger become fury before anything will be done?” Again, we internally answer in the way Steinbeck had intended giving more of an upper-hand on his argument, the government is responsible for the well-being of the
Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
...however, feels that to solve the plight of the Okies, land should be set aside for them to start their own small farms, since farming is all they know. He also suggests that local committees set wages and labor needs before the harvests to protect the rights of the workers and prevent them from being extorted (Pgs 58-59). While Steinbeck’s ideas made sense and had good intent, the grim reality still remained that the corporations controlled the agriculture industry and that they were going to save every nickel and dime they could, even if it meant a lower standard of living for the Okie. Today, we have unions that attempt to prevent things like this from happening again, but the plight of illegal immigrants demonstrates that the reality of this country’s need for cheap labor remains.
Civil disobedience has its roots in one of this country’s most fundamental principles: popular sovereignty. The people hold the power, and those entrusted to govern by the people must wield
...ving his heroes combat it. In a way, Steinbeck is advocating communism since his heroes have turned to the path that completely diverges from capitalism.
Another example of a contradiction Steinbeck uses in his essay that I have personally witnessed is, "We spend our lives in motor cars, yet most of us - a great many of us at least - do not know enough about a car to look in the gas tank when the motor fails." I observed this when my grandma's car "broke down" once. She had her car towed to the mechanic, and after about a week of it being examined, the mechanic called my grandma and told her that the only problem with the car was that it was out of gas. If we were living the American dream, would my grandma be so lazy as to have her car stop running and never look at the gas gauge? Would she have spent hundreds of dollars getting her car "fixed" when five dollars would have been suitable for gas? The answer to both questions is no.
The use of civil disobedience is a respectable way of protesting a governments rule. When someone believes that they are being forced into following unjust laws they should stand up for what they believe in no matter the consequences because it is not just one individual they are protesting for they are protesting for the well-being of a nation. Thoreau says ?to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.? People should only let wrong and right be governed by what they believe not the people of the majority. The public should always stand for what is right, stand when they think a government is wrong, and trust in their moral beliefs.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was a philosopher and writer who is well known for his criticism of the American government during the time. During Thoreau’s life, there were two major issues being debated in the United States: slavery and the Mexican-American War. Both issues greatly influenced his essay, as he actually practiced civil disobedience in his own life by refusing to pay taxes in protest of the Mexican War. He states that the government should be based on conscience and that citizens should refuse to follow the law and have the duty not to participate and stay as a member of an unjust institution like the government. I argue that the notion of individualism and skepticism toward government is essential to the basis of many important reform movements in the modern society.
Over the course of history, the debate regarding the most ideal and preferable form of government has continued to encapsulate everyday life and culture. While some advocate for a government of more conservative values, others might defend a more liberal approach in the government sphere. As each are uniquely valid and respectable, the past several decades in art have translated into new revelations of their legitimacy on a grander scale. Among these artists, John Steinbeck, author of the novel The Grapes of Wrath, and Henry David Thoreau, author of the essay “Civil Disobedience” have transformed the modern cultural view on government; namely, that of self-governing. The importance of a democratic ideals and unity in government is directly analyzed in
` Even though Steinbecks essay could be considered a dated opinion being written in the 19 hundreds. it goes to show his considerably harsh outlook hasn't sadly strayed from our reality all that much from its original publishment. He makes a statement “We are restless, a dissatisfied, a searching people.” Steinbeck may seem brutal and disappointed. but when reading you get a surprising tone of disapproval that doesn't sound hateful. It’s cruel but almost disapproving in a condescending way. He also makes a statement “We are self-reliant and at the same time completely dependent. We are aggressive, and defenseless.”
Thoreau argues that the United States is an unjust government, and professes that people should always fight for what they know is just. He also believes in never obeying anything they do not believe in. Thoreau compares the government to a “wooden gun to the people themselves”
Many people have argued that the United States government is a corrupt institution. Henry David Thoreau in his essay, “Civil Disobedience,” justifies his refusal to pay taxes that support the Mexican-American War. John Steinbeck recants the journey and philosophy of migrant citizens traveling to California during the Great Depression in his novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Although these two works of literature may not always align with each other in every single aspect, they both possess the same ideology that the people are more powerful than the government when it does not conform to its rules. Grapes of Wrath and Civil Disobedience.
----- "Civil Disobedience" from A World of Ideas - Essential Readings for College Readers, Lee A. Jacobus, Bedford Books, 1998, 1849(123 -146)