Movie: The Grapes Of Wrath – The People And The Depression Essay, Research Paper
Movie: The Grapes Of Wrath – The people and the Depression
In the movie The grapes of Wrath, the Joads undergo the hit of the
depression, they have to leave their farm. They go to California for jobs, but
find there are few jobs, and it pays little, or at least less then what they
were told. The government tried to start programs to house and employ people
like the Joads. Since the people who already lived in the cities in which these
developments were put didn’t want them there anyway, they tried to start a riot
and have the police Arrest them. Although in the movie the plan was foiled, it
could have worked in many other places, or the towns folk could have just
created a lynch mob, and eventually the people living in the development would
leave.
I believe that the economic situation of the country has a great effect
on the fall, or succession of people like the Joads, but I don’t believe
government programs will effect them at all. For example, the great depression
was a major economical event, and it greatly effected more then just people like
the Joads, but programs like the public works administration which employed
people for government construction projects. Another program, the Works
Progress Administration, later called the Works Projects Administration was
created to develop relief programs, and to keep a person’s skills. From 1935-
1943, it employed 8 million people, and spent 11 billion dollars. But in 1939,
there were still 9.5 million still unemployed. Another program was the Civilian
Conservation Corps. Unemployed, unmarried young men were enlisted to work on
conservation and resource-development projects such as soil conservation, flood
control, and protection of forests and wildlife. These men were provided with
food, lodging, and other necessities, and were given a small monthly salary.
Another program was the CWA, the civil works administration. It employed more
then 4 million workers to build and repair roads, and teach in schools, were
just a couple of the jobs.
Some of these programs would work temporarily, but eventually there
would be no more work to do, or the government would run out of funds. All
these programs were hated by some, and loved by others, and some just didn’t
care. The business men that were lucky enough not to lose everything, and the
other employees working in the cities who still had jobs during the depression
didn’t like these new programs. In the movie, The Grapes Of Wrath, The towns
people didn’t like the government funded version of a “Hooverville”. The
townspeople, along with the police tired to start a fight during a dance, so the
police could come in, arrest some of the people living there, and say that this
new development wasn’t safe for the town, and it would have to be rid of.
Fortunately for them they were able to discover there little plan, and spoiled
the plan. But this showed how much the people in the towns hated these new
developments like the Hoovervilles. Also, I can’t recall what town it was in,
but when the Joades approached one town border, the men there said there was no
work, and that they would have to turn around, I believe they even had the
police there. This showed how much the people already living in these towns and
cities fear the coming farmers and others that had lost their jobs, for the
townspeople wanted to keep their jobs. I think it would have been smarter for
the government to buy the farms that people like the Joads were being kicked off,
that way they could still work there, and because they only got paid in food and
shelter, the extra food that they made that used to go to their employer would
go to the government which could either be sold for less, or given out in
rations to the poor, and homeless.
I believe that Roosevelt had too much power, he was making too many
programs that didn’t work. He was throwing money here, and money there to
programs designed to employ people, yet there were still millions of people
still employed. I believe if he had less power, his plans would have been
looked over more carefully, and the programs could have been substantially
better.
I believe that the programs created by the government had little affect,
and that the money could have been spent more wisely, and better programs could
have been created, but I do think that the economy has a major impact on the
fall, or survival of a family, like the Joads.
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