"In Dubious Battle"

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces and analyzes the book "In Dubious Battle" by John Steinbeck. Specifically, it focuses on how characters represent the various ideas held by capital and labor in the 1930's. "In Dubious Battle" is the story of poor field workers fighting a lost cause against prosperous owners. The paper shows that rather than a story of reform and revolt, "In Dubious Battle" is really a struggle between good and evil and the self-destructive behavior that lives in all mankind.

From the Paper:

"Clearly, Mac represents evil in the novel, while Jim represents good and decency. In the end, Mac shows his true self when he uses Jim's death to further his cause, just as he has used so many others throughout the novel. He "picked Jim up and slung him over his shoulder, like a sack; and the dripping head hung down behind" (Steinbeck 250). Some critics liken Mac to Satan or the serpent in the Garden of Eden, "As he displays Jim's faceless body, Mac is again like the serpent in the Garden" (Werlock 62). Whomever he represented in Steinbeck's mind, Mac is clearly evil, and therefore what he works for is evil, just as it is in the eyes of the growers. Mac dehumanizes the people around him, just as he dehumanized Jim's death. He is an inhumane man working for what many believe is a humane cause, and so he is a juxtaposition and a fraud, if he ever really takes the time to look at himself."

More papers on "In Dubious Battle":

• Analytical Essay # 133884 : "Absolutist Political Ideology in "In Dubious Battle"
• Book Review # 116694 : "In Dubious Battle"
• Book Review # 104452 : "In Dubious Battle" by John Steinbeck"

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