Labor Disputes in Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes two works - John Steinbecks "Grapes of Wrath" and Clifford Odet's play "Waiting for Lefty". It focuses on the issue of labor disputes and compares how the characters in each of these get swept up by the mob.

From the Paper:

"John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" was just as vivid and graphic a description of the recession years, labor communities and their economic and social problems as you would find in any drama, movie, TV serial or in other more expressive mediums. The novel detailed the story of a typical labor family in the thirties when due to droughts and unemployment many farmers were forced to move from their native states (Southern great planes, especially western Oklahoma and Texas panhandle) to California in search of work. The novel ventured into such modern and important issues of the time that it was immediately a success in California and surrounding localities, the rest of the America almost rejected the book as sentimental, emotional and melodramatic. But the truth, as was evident even then was that this book was felt greatly only in the circumstances and localities for which it was written. "

More papers on Labor Disputes in Literature:

• Book Review # 89090 : "Red Tories and the Labor Tradition in Canadian Politics"
• Essay # 66412 : "Labor Unions in the US: 1790 to the 1820s"
• Term Paper # 129541 : "Labor History in Los Angeles"

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