Grapes Of Wrath Compare And Contrast Essay

Is every law moral? In the American classics The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Grapes of Wrath, the authors extol the main characters in an affirmative manner despite destructive actions they may have committed, throwing this question into a tizzy. By doing so, Twain and Steinbeck creates a biased platform in which the reader supports the protagonist along their journey. Twain and Steinbeck use the characters of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Joad to instill values of morality in the audience. In everyday society, it is debated whether some laws are immoral and that those who break the law may be doing it for a greater good. While Huck and Joad may have broken laws or rules, they outdo their wrongdoing by fulfilling a moral standard.

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He lies to authorities on the river looking for runaway slaves by claiming that Jim is white and very sick (Twain 100-102). Again Huck chooses his values over conformity that gets Twain’s point across clearly. A clear indication of Tom Joad’s integrity in The Grapes of Wrath is evident when he steps up for Floyd Knowles. While Floyd was being prosecuted for irrational reasons, Tom chose to resist. Injuring the deputy officer who then shot at Floyd and injured an innocent woman, Tom now had a larger target on his back. Working closely with his good friend Casey in organizing labor workers, Tom sees the blatant disregard for much of the working class and again takes action (Steinbeck 358-361). What the deputy officer was doing was wrong and Tom knew it. Taking disregard to the law once again, Tom stays true to his values and morality.

In reality, people make moral decisions for a greater cause very frequently. In another time of racism in the 1950s and 1960s, many created and followed immoral and unjust regulations. A prime leader in resisting against immoral laws was Rosa Parks. On that December night in 1955, she displayed large amounts of integrity, courage, and moral fortitude when she said “no” to the bus driver who demanded her to change her seat. Knowing the

The characters’ integrity and courage helped them surpass society’s conformed expectation of unjust law. Huckleberry Finn stayed true to his friend Jim throughout the novel. He didn’t let the customary corruption sway his decisions to keep him safe in all circumstances. Seeing that slavery was wrong, Huck continued to defy rules in spite of heavy consequences. Likewise, Tom Joad puts his own life on the line when sticking up for a friend. His experience in jail proves worthy when dealing with immoral situations. Rosa Parks, a great civil rights leader, simply chose morality over legality. She knew it was wrong to give up her seat solely for the reason that her skin color was different from