Literary Analysis Essay on 'Let the Water Hold Me Down' and 'The Grapes of Wrath'

Introduction

In Spurgeon's book 'Let the Water Hold Me Down' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck, the two authors are discussing how the government of some countries is oppressing their citizens not knowing that this is the same individuals who elected them. They mainly circulate their stories around the American continent. The two authors mainly talk about the poverty in the American continent with references to the California and Mexico state during that time, equality, death due to the poverty rate, migration, reunion, and war. In the book 'Let the Water Hold Me Down' the author talks about a character Hank who feels responsible for the loss of his family in an accident and further accepts an invite and relocates to Chiapas where he reunited with his best friend who was his roommate at the college. His friend was the successor to Mexico's most powerful families, but the army of the poor Indians known as Zapatistas arose from the jungle where they lived to take over approximately half of the state of Mexico. Here Hank is trapped in his friend's war which he never expected to happen.

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In 'The Grapes of Wrath' the author talks about the depression which Tom Joad experiences after being released from prison. Tom after being released from jail he meets his anterior preacher named Jim and they embark on a journey to California hoping that they will find an improved life in this place. The trip to California is a dangerous one, and Toms family faces death, poverty, and hot temperatures while traveling to the west of America and on arriving they get disappointed finding that life is still difficult. Connecting these two authors their books have a common idea on bad governance leading to the miserable life of the citizens of the two states.

The poverty rate in the two states Mexico and California is a common issue in the two books 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Let the Water Hold Me Down.' In Steinbeck's book, he states the suffering that Joad's family experienced on their way to California escaping through the ups and downs on their way coming to find out the life they expected in California was not the life they are seeing. His family migrated from Oklahoma to California after an owner of an industry dealing farm products evacuated them form their land and plants cotton. This was their chosen destination since they had rumors that California was the best place for migrant families. The workers in California were paid low incomes after hard work making them survive in whatever little they acquire. This drove away from their working moral since even their employees never respected them. After seeing all this happening in California, the family of Joad had no option but to remain resourceful and persistent. The other author Michael Spurgeon explains in his book the poverty rate where the Zapatista unleashed a war against the most powerful families and took control of half the Mexican state. All this occurred due to the poor life they were living in, yet other families such as Cesar's family were living a conducive life without suffering. In connection with the two authors, they are talking about the corrupt leadership of their government which doesn't care about the affairs of his people.

Suffering is another issue affecting the two states as illustrated by the two authors. John Steinbeck in his book tells us how Joad's family went through a lot of incidences as they traveled to California to seek refuge, they were even told that the California people hate migrants by a man at a stoppage (Pillen, 9) besides Colorado river. Their grandmother was also dead, but they could not give her a proper burial, but they decide to live it to the local coroner. This theme is also illustrated where Tom Joad comes home and finds his family evacuated from their land by an owner of the industry dealing with cotton products living them landless and homeless. They were not even relocated to any place but left without nowhere to go to. This was a terrible moment for the Joad's. In Michael's book, the theme of suffering is seen where Hank is tortured mentally for the loss of his wife Maria and his daughter and decides to relocate to Cesar's place after an invite.

Thirdly, the theme of death is shared between the two authors in their books. In The Grapes of Wrath, Jim is killed by a guard and since he was the leader of the striking group was expressing their grievance on their wage cut and that it could be cut again if no action was taken. This incidence made Tom attack the guard and kill him then escapes to hid himself in the family's cabin never to be seen even at work. After healing and the police have lost interest in searching for him, his family sneaks with him in a boxcar. In the other book, the family of Hunk dies in an accident living him so grieved for the death of his lovely wife Maria and daughter. In the two every character is blaming themselves for not being there for their friends and family.

War is another issue talked about in the two books. In 'Let the Water Hold Me Down, the Zapatistas raid most of the areas in Mexico and get in control of at least half of the state. The wealthy families were the ones who were controlling the entire country but through the oppression and the poor governance, the Zapatistas (Spurgeon, 20) felt the problematic life they were experiencing and decided to attack the oppressors. In the other book, the workers protested against the low wages given to them and the rumors that the same little salaries paid to them could be still slashed yet they are handling difficult jobs.

Finally, the theme of migration is elaborated in the two novels since both the main characters are relocating to other destinations. Hank blaming himself for the loss of his family, he decides to move to Cesar's place after an invitation finding that things are not cool because of the war imposed on them by the Zapatistas. On the other book Tom have no option but to such for another place to reside in after the owner of an industry grabs his land to plant cotton living him landless. He decides to move to California where he thought that migrants are welcomed.

Some of the Traits in Both of the Book

Revenge; in the book 'The Grapes of Wrath' character trait is described where Tom kills a guard for murdering is a friend without committing any crime while in the other book by Michael the Zapatistas storm the lands in Mexico owned by the rich and evict them. This is because of how the rich oppressed them.

Loving and caring; the two books the authors illustrate how the families in these books take care of each other in every scenario. Hank loved his wife Maria together with his daughter, and he feels so bad losing them.

Conclusion

According to the books, the two authors inform us on how some of the government that we put in power to govern us leading us into the poor state as a nation full of poverty, death, oppression by the people in power, a weak economy, and suffering. All this cannot be solved if we do not change the leaders in energy and elect other leaders who can solve the several issues that are affecting our great nations. The united states have been done this by choosing some of the greatest leaders like the former president Barrack Obama who transformed the American society in many ways through the different sectors such as education, health, and even security. For instance, he began an initiative known as Obama health care which aided the American citizens. Hence when the two authors wrote this books, they are trying to advise our leaders on the importance of governing their citizens by focusing on how the country can prosper so that his fellow country people can live in a country full good deeds. In the books, we see how different characters suffer from the oppression of the wealthy people who are known to be owning the land through eviction from their homes rendering them homeless. Therefore, I oppose the terrible acts done to the citizens by the people in power and the rich. The killings that occur in a nation should be stopped so that everyone to live in peace and harmony, even the united nations through its charter elaborates vividly on the right of every person in this world.

Work Cited

Pillen, Cory. "Picturing Migrants: The Grapes of Wrath and New Deal Documentary Photography by James R. Swensen." Journal of Southern History 82.4 (2016): 968-969.

Merida, Mohamed. The American society During the Great Depression in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Diss. 2017.

Spurgeon Michael. Let the Waters Hold Me Down. California, 2013(Ad lumen press 2013).