MIGRATION AS A RAY OF HOPE IN JOHN STEINBECK’S 'THE GRAPES OF WRATH' (Pages 110-116) by V. M. Saranya* and Dr. Dr. V. Umadevi** in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

The beginning of twentieth century witnessed glorious changes in the social, political and literary history of America. In 1930’s the United States suffered a disastrous depression. In the previous decade the country had reached a peak of prosperity, culminating in a boom reminiscent of the South Sea Bubble in England in the eighteenth century. Migration had become a common phenomenon in many parts of our contemporary world. Steinbeck's work is nourished by his experience that he amplifies in order to denounce the secret pain of a community who is victim of self-interest, crime, dishonesty and extreme search of profit. Landowners and farmers were in extreme need to reach their personal interest turns American dreams into a fatal and unattainable goal. The misery of the poor migrants is limitless. Steinbeck shows them as being poor, oppressed and exploited. The best way to free them from this inhuman condition is to give them freedom. The freedom is freedom from want, freedom from struggle and freedom from the life of indignity. Gradually, the Americans took over all the land in the California region. This land was kept by the same families for generations and worked with much success. The success was such that only part of the land needed to be utilized for a family to live leisurely, and financially comfortable. Therefore the burning desire for the land diminished. This is where the migrant workers entered the picture. The Californians view of the migrant workers is very much the same as the Mexican's must have thought of the Americans when their land was taken over. The Californians, being afraid that history might repeat itself, and the workers may take over the land, were extremely prejudice against the migrant workers. The Grapes of Wrath, these misbehaviors cause farmers' migration towards unknown countries in which they think as the favorable place to find a solution to their problems. The beauty of The Grapes of Wrath is that the experiences of the Joads speak for the experiences of thousands of other families traveling west in search of a better life.he beginning of twentieth century witnessed glorious changes in the social, political and literary history of America. In 1930’s the United States suffered a disastrous depression. In the previous decade the country had reached a peak of prosperity, culminating in a boom reminiscent of the South Sea Bubble in England in the eighteenth century. Migration had become a common phenomenon in many parts of our contemporary world. Steinbeck's work is nourished by his experience that he amplifies in order to denounce the secret pain of a community who is victim of self-interest, crime, dishonesty and extreme search of profit. Landowners and farmers were in extreme need to reach their personal interest turns American dreams into a fatal and unattainable goal. The misery of the poor migrants is limitless. Steinbeck shows them as being poor, oppressed and exploited. The best way to free them from this inhuman condition is to give them freedom. The freedom is freedom from want, freedom from struggle and freedom from the life of indignity. Gradually, the Americans took over all the land in the California region. This land was kept by the same families for generations and worked with much success. The success was such that only part of the land needed to be utilized for a family to live leisurely, and financially comfortable. Therefore the burning desire for the land diminished. This is where the migrant workers entered the picture. The Californians view of the migrant workers is very much the same as the Mexican's must have thought of the Americans when their land was taken over. The Californians, being afraid that history might repeat itself, and the workers may take over the land, were extremely prejudice against the migrant workers. The Grapes of Wrath, these misbehaviors cause farmers' migration towards unknown countries in which they think as the favorable place to find a solution to their problems. The beauty of The Grapes of Wrath is that the experiences of the Joads speak for the experiences of thousands of other families traveling west in search of a better life.Keywords: Prosperity, Self-interest, Crime, Dis-honesty, Poor migrants.