Comparing David Thoreau And John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

With the birth of a civilization comes the birth of a form of government. Every community develops needs and issues that can only be satisfied through some sort of system. Many have different ideologies of how a government should function. Henry David Thoreau and John Steinbeck share similar beliefs in that the best form of government is that one in which the people govern themselves, however each approach different methods. While Thoreau believes that individualism is the foundation for a propitious government, Steinbeck believes that unity is the core of a successful government.

In chapter 17 of the The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck takes the reader to the migration of the West during the Great Depression. Through his use of imagery

he allows the reader to have a vivid experience of how the lives of the people was during the time. “In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward; and as the dark caught them, they clustered like bugs near to shelter and to water.” (Steinbeck, 193) He uses the metaphor of the bug to further his imagery and allows the reader to have a more vivid image of the struggles faced by the migrants. The narrator is in third person omniscient, through his diction Steinbeck furthers the experience for the reader, by using words such as “sadness,” “perplexed,” “defeat” allows the reader to know what the characters feel developing sympathy towards them. Through the migration of the people Steineck describes the birth of a civilization, “the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all, the loss of a home became one loss, and the golden time in the West became one dream.” (Steinbeck, 193) Through parallelism Steinbeck illustrates how each individual became part of the whole, “i” became “we” and “yours” became “ours.”As they created a small civilization a set of rules came with it naturally “Then leaders emerged, the laws were made, then codes came into being.” (Steinbeck, 194) Steinbeck describes how the migrants created a little world between themselves. In order to keep order among each other they had to implement a set of rules, “rules became laws” “and with the laws, the punishments”(Steinbeck, 194) Migrants created their own government, in where they respected each other, understood each other- enabling the distinct families to connect with each other. Each followed a set of rule to keep order, however nobody held a ruling position. Each helped each other and their respect and care for one another was enough to retain order. The government that Steinbeck creates in this chapter illustrates the type of government that Thoreau describes, “government which governs not at all.” Steinbeck juxtaposes the government he describes in this chapter to Casey’s idea of the over soul “Maybe all men got one big soul eve’body’s a part of.” (Steinbeck, 24) People are all part of one being, therefore, if everyone follow laws that arise out of common consciousness, experience, and respect for others, it is possible to achieve self government.
Henry Thoreau beliefs of government collocates with the government that Steinbeck portrays in The Grapes Of Wrath. Thoreau in “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” stresses the idea of a good government, which he claims that “Government is best which governs least” (Thoreau, 940) Similarly to Steinbeck’s Thoreau believes that the best form of government is that one in which people can govern themselves. However while Steinbeck stresses the importance of integration and unification, Thoreau stresses the importance of individualism. He claims that “It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with conscious.” (Thoreau, 941) According to Thoreau it is more important to concentrate on the conscious, then the majority's idea of right and wrong. In order to have a good government one needs to develop individualism. “Must the citizen ever for a moment, in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislator? Why has every man a conscious, then?”(Thoreau, 941) Through the use of rhetorical questions Thoreau provokes his audience to become independent from the government and society, and concentrate on what is honest for the conscience. Given the fact that Thoreau had spent a night in jail for refusal to pay his poll tax in protest against slavery and the Mexican War, (because it was against his conscious to do so) strengthens his argument appealing to ethos, as he is demonstrating his audience that he has experienced individualism, and because he has encountered himself he knows the greatness of doing what is right for the conscious and not for the government. Similarly Virginia Woolf in her essay “Professions for Women” through the metaphor of “The Angel in the House,” which symbolizes society's idea of rectitude, claims that one needs to liberate themselves from societal concepts of right and wrong and go by what is honest for the inner self.
Thoreau argues that “a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.”(Thoreau, 941) George Orwell in his essay “Shooting an Elephant” demonstrates how easily people can be influenced if they don't develop individualism with themselves.

He illustrates the effects that imperialism can cause on a society. He creates an abominable diction through words such as “hatred,” “rage,” “evil,” which are feelings that according to Orwell “are normal by products of imperialism.” (Orwell, 1101) Through his diction he appeals to pathos as he creates a feeling of appalment among his audience. Orwell utilizes the appeal to ethos as he recounts the shooting of an elephant, which becomes a metaphor for imperialism. Orwell claims that this event “was enlightening” (Orwell, 1101) as it allowed him to understand the nature for which humans take some of the actions they carry. During the event of the elephant on the loose in the streets of Burma, Orwell uses the rhetorical device of imagery to describe the crowd of “yellow faces” who demonstrated enthusiasm for the killing of the elephant. As Orwell contemplates the action point of shooting the elephant he realized that he would “have to shoot the elephant after all” (Orwell 1103) since the people expected him to do so. “two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing- no that was impossible.”(Orwell, 1103) Like Thoreau had stated, the

majority has the power and a government based on the majority is not necessarily just. Orwell did not want to shoot the elephant, but he became intimidated by the Burmese people because he did not want to seem a “fool.” Orwell recounts how “legally” he had done the “right thing,” but in his conscience it was an erroneous action to take.
In The Grapes Of Wrath Steinbeck juxtaposes the character of Tom Joad with Thoreau's concept of the conscious and Casy’s idea of the Soul.

In Chapter 28 while Tom hidden in a cave he experiences a rebirth- the cave becomes a metaphor for a womb in which he is preparing to be reborn. The character of Tom tells the character of Ma’ “I been thinkin’ how it was in that government camp, how our folks took care of their self, an’ if they was a fight they fixed it themselves….All work together for our thing- all farm our own lan’.”(Steinbeck, 419) Tom Joad’s decides to break apart from his family because it’s in his conscious to work for the common wealth. Tom holds the symbol of a disciple as he wants to finish what Casy died fighting for. He understands, for the first time, Casy's theory of human love and the over soul. With this new perception comes a new consciousness, which causes the character of Tom Joad to develop a social responsibility to help the poor immigrants

struggling.
In Jonathan Swift satire “A Modest Proposal” he introduces his writing by giving context of the time period- Ireland in the 17th century. With the use of imagery he describes the the town of Ireland “crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms.”(Swift, 914) Swift claims that the state in which the country finds itself is “deplorable.” Through the appeal of ethos Swift comes across as a respectable man by first sympathizing with the poor families of Ireland, and praising the wealthy, which he describes as "a very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem."(Swift, ) By creating a serious tone Swift makes himself worth listening to, and engages his audience to his proposal. Swifts intentions become clearer as one reads further ahead, he proposes to “eat the children” as a solution for the economic issues of the poor families. In juxtaposition to Orwell, Swift creates an Obscene diction as he describes the children of the poor Ireland to be “bastards.” Swift argues that with “120,00 children of poor tenants annually born” this is the best solution to provide for them. He utilizes the appeal of logos as he provides the effects that these children will have on the community. “they can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing.” (Swift, 915) Swift claims that the children of the poor will only worsen the issues in Ireland. Swift creates a humorous tone as he supports his absurd proposition of “eating the children.” “A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore and hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially In winter."(Swift, 916) This proposal becomes a metaphor for the tenants who are leaving the poor people of Ireland without homes, as they don't have with what to pay. In Ireland at this time, there is extreme poverty, overpopulation, and an unfair balance of trade with Great Britain. Swift's purpose is to stir up controversy and discussion and to bring attention to the terrible plight of the Irish people. Similarly to the government that Steinbeck describes, in which people become supportive of each other, and the problems of one become the problem of all- swift is aiming to cause the same feeling of unity and support among the Irish.
The success of a government depends entirely on the people as individuals and as a community. One first needs to reflect on the self and act according to their conscious, if not the government would be formed of unconscious men, and this would only lead to injustices and the failure of a civilization.