The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck - 1791 Words

Which is worse; parents placing money before their children, or hdhdhshdhdhdhdhshsj? The clear answer is that both are equally disturbing. Sadly, both these examples are not uncommon. According to Ross, many families are breaking down as parents place work above children and children are more willing to self destruct as they notice they are being placed second. These modern-day examples are connected to The Grapes of Wrath by a common theme, money before people. This is a dangerous but common theme that John Steinbeck endeavors not only to warn but to inform his readers of. Although there are some instances of the Okies aiding one another, money before people is a central theme in The Grapes of Wrath as well as real life because it is the†¦show more content†¦This theme reappears throughout the novel, starting with their exile all the way to the end of their migration. When the Okies are starving and sick and in dire need of help, the narrator says, â€Å"Frantic men pounde d on the doors of the doctors; and the doctors were busy. And sad men left word at country stores for the coroner to send a car. The coroners were not too busy. The coroners wagons backed up through the mud and took out the dead† (Steinbeck 434). This sad excerpt shows how drastically the value of money and people’s lives can be misinterpreted. Since these doctors knew that they would receive no pay from the Okies, they simply ignored their cries for help. In stark contrast, the coroners are paid to collect dead bodies, and therefore are more than willing to come and take the bodies of those who could’ve been saved. This blatant disregard for human life, in unity with this excessive preoccupation on the almighty dollar, synthesize to expose to us how central a theme this truly is. Another reason why money before people is so imperative is that it serves as a major source of motivation for the human opposition of the Okies. When they first arrive in California, T om is baffled by the cops’ behavior. When he asks his friend Floyd why the cops arrest and harass the Okies for no reason, Floyd states, â€Å"Sheriff gets seventy-five cents a day for each prisoner, an he feeds em for a quarter. If