Sheila Scharff
Mrs. Knapp
English 1B
In Dubious Battle
Battle for Justice
A Reader-Response on In Dubious Battle
As ironic as it might sound weakness dictates greatness. The apple pickers were seen as the weaker group in the battle of owners against pickers, but in Torgas Valley they unite against the growers association as they stand their ground to fight for justice. In his novel, In Dubious Battle, John Steinbeck tries to show how a strike was common in the 1930s. The Great Depression continued and working men found themselves either without a job, or desperate for work they did. It did not matter if their pay was low. The men could not support their families with low wages, but what could they do? Steinbeck’s story follows two main characters through an apple pickers’ strike. The Communist Party sends Mac McLeod, a veteran Communist Party worker, to start up a revolt against the proprietors in order to gain justice for the working class. As Mac heads to Torgas Valley, California, He brings a new recruit, Jim Nolan. Nolan’s father was killed in a riot, his mother had died, and his sister disappeared one day. Jim wanted to do something with his life that gave it some meaning. He decided to be part of the Communist Party; it might have helped him in finding his purpose in life. Together with Mac they worked to rival up the pickers and lead them to strike against the growers association. These two men faced events that helped lay down the foundation towards the cause. They helped workers fight against unsafe equipment, low wages and horrid conditions, and the power struggle between workers and owners.
Finding a way to lay down the foundation towards the cause was not easy for these two men. When Mac and Jim arrived in Torgas Valley, Mac seeks opportunities to gain the worker’s trust. Mac was able to take that first step by helping a young woman, Lisa, give birth to her child. Together Mac and Jim were able to unite the men in a common cause, the child. For example Mac says to Jim, “Every man who gave part of his clothes felt that the work was his own. They all feel responsible for that baby” (95). This is a very important scene in the book. This was the first action taken in laying the foundation towards the strike. The men felt as if they were a part of the birth. They learned how to work as a team and unite as a group toward a common cause. This helped Mac and Jim gain their respect and trust by the men and most importantly the men’s leader London, the pregnant girl’s father-in-law.
Laying the foundation for these two labor leaders did start with London’s daughter-in-law but that was only one event. Shortly after another opportunity came forth. Mac and Jim worked in the apple orchard with the other pickers. Jim met Old Dan, a veteran picker. As Mac and Jim kept their eyes and ears open for anything that can get the strike going. Jim starts talking to Old Dan. Mac tells Jim that Old Dan is a waste of time and worthless. The next day Old Dan falls off a faulty ladder and breaks his hip. This caused a man to say, “The ladder, an old ladder!” (106). Mac quickly sees again another opportunity and tells the men that they deserve better equipment. As fear grows within the men, they realize that they need to take action to avoid ending up like the old picker with a broken hip. Mac says to Jim, “The old buzzard was worth something after all” (107). For someone who has been forgotten and was said to be a waste of time he was able to become a symbol to the pickers and the first to be sacrificed to the cause.
In the article, In Dubious Battle, by James D. Hart and Phillip W. Leininger, they say that when the strike begins, Mac advises London concerning methods and finds a camping place for the 1000 strikers on the farm of Anderson's father, Al, a small farm owner who is very proud of his dogs. Mac summons Dick, a “pretty boy” party member in charge of soliciting party sympathizers for donations and who provides supplies. Dr. Burton, a “fellow traveler,” was brought into the camp to take charge of sanitation. There were many people who put in their share to help and participate towards justice for the workers, but it was a loss of a fellow party member that was their first misfortune.
With the strike in full force there were many times in the book that you would think that the strike was doomed and the cause looked like a failed mission. There were distractions that caused the men to continuously reunite such as when the men were being stood off at the train station by the cops. Joy, another party member, was shot by a vigilante. Joy’s death was used by Mac to help get the men to feel hunger and anger towards what they are trying to achieve. With this, Joy’s death was used to fuel the fire. Mac says, “For every man they kill ten new ones come over to us” (333). Mac explains that it is necessary that they use Joy’s corpse, for it can create a sense of sympathy in the strikers. This clearly is another way to get the men riled up. Throughout this novel Mac emphasized constantly that the end justifies whatever means necessary, no matter the cost to individuals. Though, I personally felt disgusted that he had little compassion for his friend’s death. Taking advantage of a person after they are dead obviously for Mac was proving the words he preached.
Mac uses his skills at anything that helped the strike continue during many events in this book by taking advantage of certain situations. Mac used these advantages to help Lisa give birth to her child, old Dan’s tragic fall off a ladder, and the death of his party member Joy. All these events were used to both gain the trust and respect or to put life back into the group by giving them the desire for revenge.
As conditions grew worse and doubt was seen in the men’s faces they were almost ready to turn on Mac. With money running low and the camp was dealing with a food shortage, Dick, who provides supplies, finally managed to scrape up some food for the men. Doc Burton disappears and his absence in attending and caring for the sick and sanitation of the camp grew worse. One night Anderson’s barn burned and ruined his crops that were stored inside. This caused Anderson to call the sheriff to evict the strikers. The following night a boy told Mac and Jim that Doc Burton was wounded in the field. As Mac and Jim rushed to help the Doctor they soon realized it was a trap. Jim was shot and killed running through the fields looking for Doc. Like Joy, Mac once again stood over the body of his comrade. Mac giving a speech to commemorate the death of Jim and as he gathers strength through his loss and pain he speaks of Jim in the abstract. Mac preaches to the men by saying, “This guy didn’t want nothing for himself” (269). This was another example of using any means necessary, even the body of a friend to keep the fight in motion. Jim’s body becomes yet another symbol for the revolution to strike for justice.
Though Torgas Valley was in the grasp of the Growers Association and the workers were at their mercy, there was a struggle for power between the owners and the workers. The owners were known to effectively use communism. It was not easy to live a life as a working man. If you were not at the top of the ladder you were at the bottom looking up as you worked through harsh condition, low pay and crappy equipment. During the 1950’s, an American economics professor Clark Kerr observed and said, “organized labor and management are primarily engaged in sharing between themselves what is, at any one moment of time, a largely given amount of income and power.” In today’s society we see managers and supervisors represent business owners and think that they are the ones that should have the power to fire and hire anyone for any or no reason. These business owners and the workers themselves who represent them try to control the hours we work, and slave us to work at their maximum standards. These big headed power trip bullies give us no choice but to suck it up or tell us if we don’t like it we can look for another job. As we see the power struggle between the workers and owners in this novel we can’t help but to admit that this conflict has shaped our labor history. Till this day neither side has proven or given into who should rule in the workplace.
My personal opinion is that no matter what system is in place we will always be robbed one way or another. Injustice should be fought against. I have family members and know of friends that have participated in a strike. Sometimes in order to be heard drastic actions need to be taken to make a point. The logistics of a strike was captured very well by Steinbeck such as the manipulation by the media against the strikers, and gathering support by soliciting party members. The power between the owners and the workers whom both stood their ground which neither wanted to give in due to it would be a sign of weakness. Taking a risk to give the workers what they wanted would cause the Owners to lose money. If the workers gave in to the owners it would defeat the purpose. Today we witness these logistics. Steinbeck’s view life as a working stiff and the sacrifices that were made showed how teamwork and self-discipline can help towards achieving a common goal. Till this day we still witness the battle of power in the workplace.
Work Cited:
1. Steinbeck, John, and Warren G. French. In Dubious Battle. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
2. Hard, James D., and Phillip W. Leininger. "In Dubious Battle." The Oxford Companion to American Literature, 1936. Web, 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-InDubiousBattle.html>.
3. Morine, Nocolas. "John Steinbeck's In Dubious Battle: Book / Literature Review | Suite101.com." Nicholas Morine | Suite101.com. 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2011. <http://nicholas-morine.suite101.com/john-steinbecks-in-dubious-battle-book--literature-review-a285270>.
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