"A Fella Got to Eat"

In 1976, when I read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck for the first time, the message was clear: Large American Corporations take advantage of people who are weaker and less educated. In turn, those individuals struggle to survive.

When I discovered this, I was shocked and it was hard for me to believe.

My father worked for a large corporation - Sinclair Pipeline Company/Atlantic Richfield - and that corporation always took care of my family.

My dad was a loyal and dedicated employee who showed up for work every morning promptly at 8:00 a.m. and did not leave until the bell rang at 5:00 p.m. (He did have an hour lunch break and yes, there literally was a bell that rang at 5:00 p.m.) My family had great health insurance, a nice home, good vacations, and plenty of food on the table. My dad and his salary took care of us and Sinclair Pipeline took care of my dad.

When I was a child, that was all I knew about corporations.

This week, forty-five years later, I found myself reading The Grapes of Wrath once again. My book club decided to compare the classic text to the new popular novel by Kristin Hannah - The Four Winds.

The Four Winds tells the story of the dust bowl and the migration to California without much symbolism, a bit of romance, and a woman as the protagonist. The protagonist grows and finds strength through her trials which always makes a good read. Reading The Four Winds prompted me to revisit my thinking about corporate greed and to reread a classic.

Yesterday, my book club discussed the endings of both books and how Rose of Sharon’s baby dies in Steinbeck’s classic and the body is sent down the river by Uncle John as a sign to the world of the immigrants’ lived injustice. Uncle John places the tiny body in an apple crate and one can feel his wrath when he says “fiercely”,

“Go down an’ tell ‘em.

Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell ‘em that way.

That’s the way you can talk.

Don’ even know if you was a boy or a girl.

Ain’t gonna find out.

Go on down now, an’ lay in the street.

Maybe they’ll know then.”

One club member suggested this was similar to the story of Moses. Maybe Steinbeck was hopeful that baby might deliver the people out of corporate slavery/poverty. Sadly, I thought about the Syrian child that washed up on the banks of a Greek island a few years ago. That child was thought to be a signal as well. The weakest amongst us compromised and the world took notice of the child for a few months, but the child and the plight of the Syrians have long been forgotten.

In this 24-7 news cycle we live in, I am not sure if the world will ever get this message or if humans beings are so psychologically bent towards “survival of the fittest” that they are just not able to see injustice clearly.

We don’t seem to feel sorry for Haitians who cross our borders because their country is in shambles.

We don’t seem to feel bad for leaving thousands of women without an education in a foreign land.

We don’t seem to feel awful for children who live in the next county without enough food to eat.

We don't seem to feel outraged for children whose mental health is being sabotaged by social media giants.

When I was eighteen years old, the message of The Grapes of Wrath hit close to home because my grandparents, aunts, and uncles were farmers and I could relate.

I still didn’t believe Corporate America could be so cruel and heartless. My lived truth was contradictory.

Over the years I was introduced to Ralph Nader and others who were saying the same thing. I worked for many companies, a large corporation, and a school.

Hideous Greed and Nasty Injustice revealed themselves many times.

It has taken me my entire life to completely understand Steinbeck’s message, to believe him, and to accept my limitations to counter evil when I see it.

Steinbeck ends his tale with a sign of hope. Rose a Sharon, after losing her child, happens upon an old man who is starving. She offers him her breast milk for nourishment. Her family encourages her to help her fellow man.

Steinbeck is signaling to us that we should reach out and help each other even if it is awkward and just a drop of food - literally.

“A fella got to eat,” many characters made this statement many times in both novels. In both novels, the characters spend a great amount of time worrying about their next meal and how to make the food last.

It is pretty plain and simple.

People gotta eat.