Historical Intro Of The Challenge To Social

Classes Essay, Research Paper

.The historical introduction of the Challenge to Social Classes.

A journey through the twentieth century in America via the trials and tribulations as offered by American novelists depicts a common social evolution. Struggle, discontent, and the inherent obstacles in life are not particularly unique to the characters of the American novelist, however the experiences and the perseverance of each have defined our country and our society in similar ways. Many novels of this period depict the hardships endured by immigrants to this country as well as those who may revert to an immigrant class at some point in life. Historically, social class was a birthright (or wrong). The content and discontent did little to challenge their destiny and breakthrough the social class boundaries. American novelists in the twentieth century have provided a unique path of stepping stones, one novel at a time to explore changes in social class and how people through the years have dealt with inherited cultural boundary and the subsequent shift in these boundary over the course of the last century.

The most challenged social structure in American society is the freedom to cross social boundaries, achieve any level of success and not be constrained by the heritage and roots from which one began. In no other country has that journey been more of a reality and therefore a common thread of life than in America.

American novels abound with stories of settlers that colonized the nation, gave birth to towns and farms, built new railroads and ports and overcame the adversities of settling a land already inhabited by others. There are also numerous illustrations of people and social classes working to improve their social condition through much hardship and at great immediate and prolonged cost. It is in novels such as .The Grapes of Wrath., by John Steinbeck that social betterment are directly detailed through the journey of the Joad family and underlying social change and a culture shift from an independent way of life to a more collective society are chronicled and suggested. In this novel, Steinbeck tells a magnificent story of a family forced from their farm in search of the most primitive of needs; food, shelter; and money to survive. In addition to the experiences shared through the story the reader is exposed to a second .narrative. containing detailed descriptions of the times, thoughts, and people of this era that stand independently from the story of the Joad family themselves.

Life culminating up through the dust bowl in the central United States was a very independent existence. Extended families lived together on a single farm and provided for themselves and their immediate future generations with each days labor satisfying the needs of the survival of the clan-like family unit. Sharing and collaboration with those outside of the immediate family was a charitable event and not a means by which to achieve or work toward a vastly different future purpose or social outcome. The family was what it was and had what it had and would continue to follow that path despite any hardships or obstacles, such as Tom Joad serving time in prison. A fixed, rigid mindset did not afford much opportunity for social class advancement and/or change.

The acceptance of the social climate in which a family is born is further illustrated in two unique ways. Steinbeck tells of those refusing to leave their farms in search of mere survival and it is this philosophy that is best defined in the under developed characters of both the grandfather and father figures in .The Grapes of Wrath.. Their inability to adjust to a changing social climate is illustrated in their deteriorating significance in providing for the family. As a result of the events following the war, the drought, and subsequent dust bowl conditions their way of life had failed them. Each knowing no other way to provide for the family or exist in a society in which they no longer had a piece of land to lay claim, was relegated to go along for the ride and to take a back seat to their younger family members.

Steinbeck does a masterful job, through the travels of the Joad family at offering society the advice that success, life, and stability can be achieved through other means than individualism. By organizing and joining forces, people of lower social classes with no money, possessions, or power can collectively become a force that as a whole are a society unto themselves and their needs and demands can be realized. This journey must begin, however, with a desire to overcome and with the willingness to cope with what singular experiences and challenges each is faced with. This shift in society illustrated in .The Grapes of Wrath. is an underlying premise repeated in .My Antonia. as well. Immigrants depicted in this American novel for the most part were somewhat more organized in that their society and geographical location to others of their same origin were determined. However, the determination and spirit to improve one.s quality of life, work hard, and be rewarded, both monetarily and in happiness emphasizes the social shift unique to the American culture.

Antonia, herself lives a life of many hardships beginning with her status as an immigrant to a new country in which her family did not know the language and were quickly taken advantage of. Through the course of her life the