Similarities Between The Grapes Of Wrath And Civil Disobedience

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

First, democratic ideals are examined within the course of these two literary works. Both The Grapes of Wrath and “Civil Disobedience” contain underlying messages on the value of a government which is operated for the interests of the individuals who are subjects to it. In the case of the seventeenth chapter of The Grapes of Wrath, various families experienced much hardship which transformed into anger and frustration with the ways in which their government had begun to treat them. In fact, “the families learned, although no one told them, what rights are monstrous and must be destroyed” (Steinbeck 204). When beginning to understand their individual civil rights, these families demanded that their government recognize them to be legitimate, as well. Much of this idea parallels the beginnings of American democracy, as the establishment of a respect for natural rights demanded a shift in the ways in which the government protected those of their citizens. Within this novel, this signals a