Guest post by Rupert Carey.
I love the book, “The Grapes Of Wrath“. It details the hardships and tests of the great depression. What I like best about this book is that the Joads, the primary family in the book, have to flee their home in Oklahoma because of the dust bowl. They were sharecroppers, whose fields dried up. The bank then forecloses on their farm, making it impossible for the Joads to survive. The family then has to leave in search of a means to survive. They set out for California, in hopes that they will be able to find prosperous land, jobs, and a means of sustenance.
I love this book because it demonstrates the struggle of man against the strictures of government. The Grapes Of Wrath is a Steinbeck piece that ellucidates how price fixing and inflation have serious reprecussions in terms of who can afford to eat and have a dwelling, and who cannot. “…..And in the eyes of the hungry, there is a growing wrath.” This was true when Steinbeck first penned it in his book to demonstrate the destruction by the government to keep food prices high, and rings extremely true today. This is my favorite book because it forces one to reflect on how our government can cause poverty, while at the same time speaking the words that they desire to end poverty. Lets just say my directtv got a break while I was obsessed with this book.