Exp 7: Rich vs Poor

A cultural theme that is evident in The Grapes of Wrath is the difference in power between the working class and the business owners. Although the working class have a larger number of people in its structure, they do not have greater power or influence than the business owners. The business owners have the majority of the money which gives the the majority of the power. While the poor struggle to find jobs to earn money, the rich thrive from the increase in their profits by offering low wages and outsourcing jobs to those who are willing to accept such low wages. In The Grapes of Wrath  the business owners their influence and control a lot of power within the police force. They use the police to punish the Okies when they act against the owners will.

There is a similar theme in present day. In this case, Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters represent the working class and the corporate powers are the business owners in The Grapes of Wrath. It is said that 1% of people, who are the extremely wealthy and mainly corporate businessmen, control the majority of wealth and power in the world while the 99% of people have little to no monetary influence. This is important to me because after college I will be trying to find a job and if the power balance does not change it will be very difficult for me to find a job. Also it is wrong for greedy businessmen to monopolize industries and have more influence than 99% of the population in the world. Throughout history of The United States, people have claimed that capitalism offers the freedom for any man to attain wealth through fair business, but in our current economy those in power continue to increase their strength while undermining the people trying to make a living for themselves.

These are Occupy Wall Street student protesters being pepper sprayed by law enforcement despite  engaging in a peaceful sit-down protest. The law enforcement officer is abusing his powers. It is thought that the reason for law enforcement is to serve and protect the people, who is this officer really protecting...his people or the 1% that pay his bills?