Hoque 1 Tanzirul Hoque Jason Cash Composition & Literature II April 9, 2012 Steinbecks Collectivist Vision The 1920s

was an important decade in America, as modernism was taking place in reshaping the mindset of the American people. What would be known as the Roaring Twenties would include transformations in things such as technology and urbanization, popular culture, and the collective mindsets of one alike. The American Dream saw drastic changes in ideas, and one of those ideas included the concept of rugged individualism. The idea that you should be able to care and help yourself was becoming a common concept. As Herbert Hoover put it during his 1928 presidential campaign speech, "It is not the function of the government to relieve individuals of their responsibilities to their neighbors, or to relieve private institutions of their responsibilities to the public." However, John Steinbeck was opposed to such views. Steinbeck believed that the working people of America must come together in order for their common interests to work out. Since a lot of Americans views started switching over to the rugged individualism idea, Steinbeck responded by writing perhaps his most well known novel, The Grapes of Wrath. The Joads family represents the transition from individualism to collectivism. Before the journey to California even began, the Joads family was in pretty good shape, having all of the necessities to make it a safe trip. It was enough to keep everybody in the family to keep and care to themselves without having to worry about the others in the family. But signs of decline started even before the family left Oklahoma, as Grandpa Joad dies of a stroke and left buried in a

Hoque 2 nameless grave. As the journey progressed, more things were not going in favor of the familys way. Grandma Joad also dies along the journey. Noah Joad would eventually abandon his family when they soon arrive to California, along with Connie, abandons his pregnant wife. The pregnant wife, Rose of Sharon, would give birth to a dead child. As the reader can tell, the family is breaking down as the journey progresses, but this breakdown seems to unite the family to give them strength. At the beginning of the journey, most of the family members had this I mentality that they are only going to California for a better life for themselves. But the journey to California helped each family realize the need to reach out for each other to survive. Eventually, each members of the family are able to put aside what they believed in to help others out so that they can collectively benefit from each others actions. No one understood this more than Casey did. He knew that unity was the only way that people in this journey were going to be able to achieve their goals. Ma Joad also represents the transforming collectivism that takes shape as the journey occurs. She was not able to stop Grandpa Joad from dying or Tom from leaving the family, but the affects of these two events has had a toll on Ma Joad. In response, Ma Joad helps the rest of the family by implementing this collectivist idea. She even makes the selfless decision of offering breast milk for Rose of Sharons baby. The characters in The Grapes of Wrath give examples of how Steinbeck believes that the working class should come together for the benefit of others. The importance of collectivism is shown throughout the novels plot as collectivism overtakes the mindset of individualism. A lot of the social problems faced in American society during the 1920s was put on this idea of individualism. But as Steinbeck shows in his novel, a lot of it can be fixed if we looked at it on a collective standpoint. The journey that Steinbeck wanted his readers to see was twofolds: the journey to California, and the journey in maturing from the idea of I to we.