The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the social injustices that occurred during the Dust Bowl migration in the Western United States. It is composed of a third-person view of a family, the Joads, who are kicked off their farm and forced to travel to California in search of work, and internal chapters that are an overall third-person view of the farmers' hardships during the period period of time. Steinbeck uses the book's internal chapters to develop his political position on the plight of migrants. The Joads' story alone is not enough to fully understand the extent of the misfortunes and pain experienced by these migrants. The internal chapters help the reader understand the time period and understand what is happening to the Joads and what happened to thousands of other migrants during this time. Without these chapters, the book would not have such a strong statement about the abuses committed by Americans towards other Americans during this period. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The story begins with the beginning of the dust bowl. Thick clouds of dust fill the sky and farmers tie handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths. At night the dust obscures the stars and creeps into the farmhouses. During the day, farmers can do nothing but watch their dying crops, wondering how their families will survive. The injustices against farmers start with the banks. Crops were withering, and farmers weren't earning the money they needed to pay the bank or company they borrowed from. The men representing the banks come and explain to the farmers that they are chasing them away. The men blame the bank, saying it is “as if the bank or company is a monster, with thoughts and feelings.” (page 31). The farmers are forced to leave and their labor is replaced by men who drive a tractor over the fields for three dollars a day. Families have no choice but to travel west to California in search of work. The next injustice Steinbeck reveals concerns car salesmen. They exploit their desperation and sell all the broken-down vehicles they can find to families. Sellers fill engines with sawdust to hide noisy transmissions and replace good batteries with broken ones before delivering the cars. Once the family has the car, they start selling their belongings. They must get rid of everything before embarking on the journey. "How can we live without our lives? How will we know we are us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it." (page 112). Their lives are sold along with their belongings as they start a new life. Long lines of cars creep slowly along Highway 66, filled with tenant farmers heading to California. They will find the next injustices along their journey. When farmers stop buying spare parts for their cars, sellers try to cheat them. Farmers struggle to get from one petrol station to another. At every stop they encounter hostility and suspicion. People argue that the country is not big enough to meet everyone's needs and suggest they go back to where they came from. People who live in the West don't understand what happened in Oklahoma and the Midwest. So many migrant farmers were coming to the West. Citizens of Western countries fear that farmers will unite and start a revolt. Hostility towards migrants changes them and unites them. Small communities arise from the masses of cars along the highway. The communities.