Monday, June 22, 2015
Chapter 11
The conflict between nature vs man is much overseen. In nature there is a sense of life and the warmth of life, but when there is a tractor there is a smell of death and ore in the air. Due to the land a certain stranger has no correlation to land opposed to someone who has lived there their whole life causing them to feel a sense of need towards their "rightful" land. In paragraphs 2-6 Steinbeck is contrasting the perspectives of a landowner and tractor driver as in which they view a certain land. The theme created by this chapter is a sense of decay and betrayal which stands over a farmers land. So, is this nature vs man or man vs the bank?
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Although the conflict is nature vs machine your view on nature vs man is every interesting. I like the way you make nature full of life while the tractor is decaying and rusting away, which in a way does show death.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thanks for the feedback :)
ReplyDeleteI think that Steinbeck's description of tractor farming is a warning. Like you said the tractor shows a kind of loss in vitality. However, what I think Steinbeck is trying to get at, is that tractors are the first step. The first step down the path of corruption, and obsession with over emphasized "needs". It's not man vs. nature, or even man vs. the bank, it's man vs. machine. Because, how long will man continue down a path of dependence on machines? How long will it be before man forgets the land that feeds and nourishes him? That's what I believe Steinbeck is asking.
ReplyDeleteIn paragraphs 2-6, Steinbeck portrayed the men driving the tractors as people who did not appreciate nor care for the land. The land that was once picked by hand, lived in, and cared for as if it was part of the family. The tractors are illustrated as the greatest evil in this world. It drove millions of families Westward. Furthermore, I think it is man vs. machine.
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