Grapes of Wrath- Theme of Inhumanity

The book is constantly showing how Tom and his family were so caring to others. How they would help others who are poor and how others who were poor would help them. This was a constant circle of loving towards one another. The inhumanity didn't stem form their family at all. The inhumanity started from the money and power hungry people that were in charge. Among these people were a lot of the bankers. The bankers knew that more money meant more power. These men were so power hungry that they wanted more and more money and were going to do anything to get it. This meant charging a lot of money to those who worked on the farms. Giving them high demands of which they could not meet no matter how hard they worked. The bankers wanted their money and if they did not get it, they were going to kick the farmers of the land. They did not care if that meant that all of the families would lose there homes. They were not worried about all the people who could lose their life out of starvation because they had no money to pay for food. They saw it as that if they didn't pay it was their fault and their job to deal with the consequences. The bankers were not only the inhumane ones. The land owners themselves were also very inhumane. They spent more time pointing fingers at the bankers, than looking at themselves and asking how they could help. They would rather the poor people just deal with it and put all the blame on the bankers. This amount of selfishness shows how they have no care for any other human life but their own. As for those who took the jobs as the tractor drivers were selfish in the sense of that they didn't care for any family but their own. "The houses were vacant, and a vacant house falls quickly apart."(Steinbeck, John pg. 149) This quote shows how much hard ships people were going through. Although all this was happening no one seemed to care besides the ones who were being affected directly. This shows how selfish all those who could have helped were.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.