The American Dream and Migrant Workers

Paper Summary:

This paper contends that, although advancements in technology and progress in legislation to protect workers may seem to ease migrant workers' hardships in the United States, migrant workers today are no better off than those depicted in "The Grapes of Wrath". It discusses how the mindset of the men employing migrant workers today has not changed from that of those who employed migrant workers more than sixty years ago.

From the Paper:

"Much of the hope of migrant farm workers in The Grapes of Wrath lay in the pursuit of the "American Dream." As Wilson said, "Why, jus' think how it's gonna be, under them shady trees a-pickin' fruit an' takin' a bite ever' once in a while...I bet a fella could have a place of his own." (201) The migrant farm workers were only seeking comfortable lives and relatively good wages to sustain those comfortable lifestyles. They were looking for equality and fairness for themselves and for their communities. An example of their seeking fairness and equality was when a large group of people were on strike at the Hooper ranch in Pixley, California. Their wages had been reduced so much that the workers could not survive, so they bravely initiated a strike."

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