Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath does
present the wealthy and powerful abusing the poor every chance they get. If you need a
citation or quote, here's the most powerful one in the book. It closes the novel. It
demonstrates the depths to which the poor have sunk, as well the lengths the poor are
willing to go to, to help one another.
For a minute Rose of Sharon sat still in the
whispering barn. Then she hoisted her tired body up and drew the comfort about her.
She moved slowly to the corner and stood looking down at the wasted face, into the wide,
frightened eyes. Then slowly she lay down beside him. He shook his head slowly from
side to side. Rose of Sharon loosened one side of the blanket and bared her breast.
"You got to," she said. She squirmed closer and pulled his head close. "There!" she
said. "There." Her hand moved behind his head and supported it. Her fingers moved
gently in his hair. She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and
smiled mysteriously.
This is
one of the most poignant scenes in American literature. I can't think of a better one
to demonstrate what Steinbeck reveals about the end result of exploitation in Dust Bowl
America.
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