The Grapes of Wrath
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| http://www.artic.edu/blog/2012/11/20/the-dust-bowl |
The book The Grapes of Wrath follows the story of the Joad
family, and of all of the migrant families, during the dust bowl era. In the
Grapes of Wrath the migrant families who are forced from their land are treated
very poorly by the people they meet along their journey, and when they reach
their destination that is California.
Throughout the novel the migrants are
treated badly by everyone they come into contact with. The people and the
authorities do things to dehumanize the migrants in their minds and in real
life.
People often called
the migrants Oakies and Reds. They automatically assumed they were there to try
to steal or beg, and their unkempt appearances were further fuel to the fire (
chapter 15). They were targeted by police in California, and they were accused
of spreading disease and violence. The migrants made homes in “Hoovervilles”(chapter
19) and sheriffs burned those homes to the ground(chapter 20). These are just a few minor examples of the
treatment the migrants experienced in their search for a new life.
It seems to me that it was easier to take away the basic
human rights of these migrants if the authorities and the local people could
make them seem less human. With this novel we get to see how nearly impossible
it is to survive without basic human rights.
In 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
drafted and proclaimed by the United Nations. Rights such as: “Everyone has the
right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law”(Article 6), and “All
are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal
protection of the law”(Article 7). While this proclamation was made almost 20
years after the dust bowl, these rights were already enjoyed by (most)
American citizens. By dehumanizing the migrants the people of the west were
able to ignore the rights of the migrant people.
2.5 million people migrated to the west from the plain states.
2.5 million people had their rights stolen from them simply because they were dehumanized,
or made to be seen as less than.
I strongly urge you to read The Grapes of Wrath and see for yourselves the tragedies and cruelties the migrant experienced.
Nichole, this is very well-written. I agree that it was much easier for the authorities to treat the migrants poorly after dehumanizing them. It's hard to feel bad about hurting someone when you disregard the fact that they have emotions and rights.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this! I like how you used the word dehumanize. I truly believe that they did dehumanize the migrants, because someone cannot treat a person that way unless they think of them any less than human.
ReplyDeleteNicole, I thought your post was really insightful! I wasn't aware that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted in 1948. I think I was under the assumption that those rights had always been documented because of how important they are. It's crazy to think about how that wasn't too long ago when it finally came about.
ReplyDeleteI was also intrigued to see your reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We will be studying that document in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteYour last line really got to me... I thought your post made a lot of connections between Grapes of Wrath and the real world as well. I really enjoyed your post!!
ReplyDeleteWow really powerful! the idea that not only were what we think of as basic human rights were only drafted into existance in 1948 amzes me. I find the fact that we only drafted univercal human rights so late disturbing.
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