George Orwell has a very vivid description of the class struggle in 1984,
"The purpose of the superior is to stay in the original position, the purpose of the middle man is to exchange places with the superior, and the purpose of the inferior (if they have a purpose, because a permanent feature of the inferior is that they are overwhelmed by hard labor, and it is only a long interval to think of things other than their daily life) is simply to eliminate some differences and create an equal society. Throughout history, struggles have occurred again and again, and their general outlines are similar. Of these three groups, only the inferiors have never attained their aims, even if temporarily. The accumulation of wealth, the humility of behavior, the reforms, the revolutions have not brought the slightest gain to the equality of mankind. From the point of view of the inferior, the change of history is at best a change in the name of their master. ”
We can see that among the lower classes of the people, poverty and enslavement to life are the norm, and they rarely think about things other than life, so when the impact of the times comes to them and changes their living environment, they are usually forced to move in the direction that the times have given them. They are forced to abandon their homes and silently bear the fate imposed on them. However, in this process, we can clearly see the strong resilience in them, the indomitability to life, and the desire for home.
The 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" tells the story of the 1930s when farmers in the central states went bankrupt and fled, unemployment and abuse of power by the authorities, and they were forced to migrate from Oklahoma to California, through various repressions and hardships along the way, trying to find a new home.
Although it tells the story of american farmers, I am no stranger to the scene described by the author in response to the current situation in the country, and the sympathy and indignation that the author exudes are also the deep feelings we have felt when we have faced these things.
When I was a child, my hometown was forced to relocate because of the construction of hydropower stations, and the concept of relocating in the countryside was very deep, and the villagers were reluctant to relocate. Their land, their ancestors, their history and memories are all in this seemingly dilapidated little mountain village. So clashes occurred again and again between demolition teams, police and villagers. The villagers smashed the demolition team and the police car, and in the end these things did not change the progress of the project, and in the end all the losses were just added to us in a different way.
Both sides feel that the other is so cold and heartless, feel that the other is unreasonable, and feel that the other party is a trouble and obstacle. Everyone insists on their own judgment of right and wrong for their own interests. This conflict is the same as that between the landless farmers and the natives of California in "The Grapes of Rage", who are worried about the future and their own safety, believing that these foreign invaders will disrupt their otherwise peaceful and stable lives. And think about it, all these people want is to be able to feed their children and survive.
There is nothing new under the sun. The selfishness and cowardice between human nature, the abuse and oppression of class privileges are vividly reflected in the conflicts of various eras.
In Grapes of Wrath, the author develops a deep sympathy for these peasants, a deep outrage at the class and society in power that seized their land. In the book, he gives a little hope that the peasants will unite against the formation of their own trade unions and win their rights and interests, and in the environment at that time, these people have become very difficult to survive, coupled with the suppression of the police farmers, they will sell their labor force for very little wages, and give up the opportunity to unite. It cannot be said that they are short-sighted, nor that they are cowardly, that they are only pressed down by life to a very low level, that they can only think of the stomach in front of them, and cannot think of the longer-term benefits.
But the struggles were sporadic, and the farmers who made money from these peasants as cheap labour, the big capitalists bought more weapons to suppress the union of these workers. The most direct way that people think of in panic is to use force to protect themselves. As a result of the repression, these peasants, who had been forced to leave their homes, became poorer and more difficult. But when everything is compressed tighter, we can foresee the arrival of change. Casey said they would break their wings in order to break free of the cage.
In the book, the author's indignation and sympathy are everywhere, but at the same time, we can also feel the kindness between these poor and difficult people in some small places. The clerk in the small restaurant on the side of the road gave bread to the family at a low price, and brought two lollipops that the children had in mind. The clerk in the farm shop used his own money to advance the money for his mother's sugar. On the way to the west, although everyone is very difficult, when they meet people who need help, everyone silently does what they can. As my mother lamented, "When you encounter difficulties and need help, you must seek help from people as poor as you, and only they are willing to help." ”
People are also very great, and as my mother said to Roshan, the times occasionally produce drastic changes. When that kind of upheaval comes, many people will be on the verge of death, many people will suffer, and we are only part of it. Death and suffering are actually just two sides of the same body, and over time you will gradually feel less lonely and less painful, because you are no longer alone to suffer. Pastor Casey thinks that all people united together is the Holy Spirit, and maybe God is ourselves, and everyone is part of the Holy Spirit.
Historically, human struggles have never ceased, and fair societies have never arrived, but as Steinbeck mentioned in his Nobel Prize speech, humanity has gone through a long and glorious history of resolutely resisting the enemies of nature, sometimes almost facing irreversible defeat and extinction. On the eve of our possible greatest victory, it would be cowardly and foolish to abandon our position.
No matter what drastic changes are faced, in the characters of "Grapes of Wrath", we see the continued tenacity of human beings, in the face of the huge class difference in the abuse of power, but also able to have an indomitable spirit and the will to resist, with such a spirit and hard perseverance, all of us will eventually carry our own good and evil, to victory.
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