"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." ~ FDR
"...and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." ~ Steinbeck
Steinbeck is quite easily my favorite author...I have many. Never-the-less, Grapes of Wrath will always stick with me, and to this day should strike a chord very close to home as we see or experience our own troubled times, once again at the hands of the economic powers that be...not just in America but across the Globe. Steinbeck's East of Eden is a literary masterpiece, and on the lighter side I have always enjoyed Tortilla Flat and Sweet Thursday!
ReplyDeleteJer,
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
I greatly enjoyed Cannery Row and Travels with Charley as well!
And yet there are a minimum of 288 individuals doing all they can do to make sure those that have too little have even less. Shameful! JFPK.
ReplyDeleteSteinbeck and now Cormack McCarthy are probably my favourite authors; "East of Eden" is quite truly a masterpiece, "Of Mice and Men" a beautiful tragic story without remedy and of course "Grapes of Wrath" is a masterpiece in empathy and should be obligatory reading at High School. I remember studying Walker Evans work on the Burroughs family working as sharecroppers at photography college and thanks to Steinbeck's work I really managed to appreciate the work fully.
ReplyDeleteI must concede I don't have the same love for Hemingway's work; I've just finished reading the Finca Vigía Edition of Hemingway's short stories; I've always been told his best work is within his short stories. But I've come to the conclusion I will always be left cold by his characters who however courageous and strong they are have hidden scars which at least for me make me reject them as people.
BTW thank you for the lovely comment on my blog the other day!