GOW: Class and Poverty

Question 1

Dust bowl and Wall Street Crash

Answer 1

• Due to the economic and natural disasters of the late 1920’s many families were forced from their land with no means to support themselves
• Steinbeck depicts this dire financial situation by portraying the harsh realities of migrant life in the 1930’s

Question 2

Criticism of Society

Answer 2

• Through the character’s experiences Steinbeck highlights the dehumanisation, loss of dignity and constant struggle for survival that comes with extreme poverty
• This acts as a powerful criticism of social and economic inequality and draws attention to their desperate need for change

Question 3

Hanson - ‘Steinbecks narrative represents the problems a capitalist society creates for working class people’

Answer 3

The novel exposes the exploitation of labour, economic, instability and dehumanisation by portraying a society governed by a system that values profit over the welfare of its citizens by shedding light on the adverse consequences of capitalism in Dust Bowl America

Question 4

‘If you’re in trouble or hurt or need - go to the poor people, they’re the ones that’ll help - the only ones’

Answer 4

Reflects the theme of compassion and solidarity and highlights the willingness of the poor to support one another in the face of adversity, contrasting their empathy with the indifference and exploitation of the bourgeoise