"east" of Pixley - Grapes of Wrath (sitios de interés)
Descripción del sitio
Chapter 26 (continued): Somewhere east of Pixley, CA, the Joads hope for work picking peaches.As the Joads approach the peach ranch, they get very suspicious that "something is going on." What are some of the events that raise their suspicions?
The Joads are told that they would not get paid in cash right away, but that they would receive credit at the company store. How were company stores another way that the poor were taken advantage of?
You do the math. Ma is able to purchase 2 pounds of hamburger, 1 loaf of bread, 5 pounds of potatoes, and (maybe) 1 pound of coffee for $1. Sounds cheap! But, remember, it took 7 people about 6 hours to earn that dollar. How much would those items cost today? If it took you and 6 friends 6 hours to earn that much, how much were each of you paid per hour that day?
After Ma's encounter at the company store she says, "I'm learning one thing good...If you're in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help—the only one." How much truth do you think is in this statement? Why?
When Tom meets up with Casey, Casey has become a union organizer. Explain how "uniting" (creating a union) gives the workers any more power than they had before. Explain why it is sometimes difficult to get the workers to support the union that is actually trying to help them.
After Tom kills a man he feels no regret. Does this change your opinion of whether he is a good person or not? Many people feel it is "good" to kill other human beings in times of war, in self defense or as a death penalty. How would you justify or condemn Tom's action when he killed another man? Earlier Casey told his killer that he was "starving children." Should it be considered "murder" if an employer pays so little that his or her employees can not survive and feed their children?
The essential question...
Who is responsible for protecting working people from exploitation? (a) The government? (b) the employers? (c) the workers themselves? (d) the consumers who don't want to pay "more" for the products produced under exploitative conditions? (e) no one. That's just the way things are! Explain your reasoning.
Food for thought... The American Revolution was fought to end exploitation by England. Is killing exploiters an acceptable reaction to exploitation?
Cartoon Source
Read this article on the working poor.
See this chart to understand the relative purchasing power of the minimum wage over the last 50 years.