What is the main point that Steinbeck makes in this article? Does it surprise you? Why?
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Emily Bernsteinsays
The main point that I think John Steinbeck was trying to make at first was how awful the treatment of immigrants was and this surprises me as it’s from a white male perspective. Later on though, he seems to be trying to make a point that the immigrants were a nuisance to white America as they were a source of “cheap labor” and had a sort of they’re “trying to take our jobs” mentality. He’s at first sympathetic it seems until the end where he seemed to be excluding immigrants into his California almost. He calls the California treatment of foreigners coming into California as “disgraceful” and talks about how the standard of living for immigrant workers “so low”. He even goes on about the “yellow peril” literature during that time period. He explains about all the “unwarranted” tear gas bombs. Towards the end he seems to be unsympathetic to their cause, however, as he begins to talk about the way that Latinos are trying to organize to gain the rights that people like him have as them doing “savagery” and “vigilante terrorism”, which offers a sort of ignorant perspective to the whole situation. He says “our own people” while referring to white people like him originally from California, not being inclusive towards Latinos as part of America.
Steinbeck’s main point of the article was to show all the different types of foreign labor California has cycled through. Steinbeck makes it clear that California repeatedly abused the work that built the city, and the workers that did the physical work. It does slightly surprise me because there were so many different races of foreign labor that came through California all with the same outcome. The trend Steinbeck explained throughout the article started with a foreign race coming to California for work, them being taken advantage of and in some cases physically harassed, and finally the foreigners getting deported or run out. What was surprising to me was the fact that people kept coming thinking that California was good for them when in fact it ruined most families and lives.
The main point that Steinbeck makes in this article is that America needs to stop discriminating against people who have immigrated to this country. He gives many points to show how complicated the situation is with the foreign labor workers. It’s unjust how the standard of living for the workers is “so low that white labor could not compete with it.” There was a demand for peon labor, and Mexicans were a perfect candidate for it, they could be treated as animals when not in need. The Mexicans received low wage and “terrible living conditions.” Also, they could be deported to Mexico whenever the farmer wished, because the Government paid for it. When rising for justice, the Mexicans just became more abused from the Government. People arrested were stuck in jail, since the bail price was set so high. The police willingly used tear gas bombs to settle the workers. Slowly, Mexican labor was being withdrawn from the farms. All of the different races that worked on America’s farms banded together for protection, yet this is what brought about violence from the whites. Since there are not many foreigners coming to America to find work, the farmers have to rely on citizens; but the same peon system will not work. So Steinbeck also claims that the future workers will be white. The article doesn’t necessarily surprise me, I’ve known that many migrant workers have been treated very poorly compared to the native peoples. Also, the low pay of migrant workers and abuse is still very real today. I think it’s funny that Steinbeck says the future of farm workers will be white, because it’s the opposite in today’s world. One thing I’m surprised about is that there were so many different races coming in and out of America trying to find work. The only people you hear of trying to take American jobs are Latinos. I never really pictured the Chinese, Japanese, or Filipinos working in the fields. All of the races received the same treatment, and they ended up in the same situation. One thing Steinbeck is correct about is that the peon system will not work with white people. Today, if you drive by a field, you usually don’t see white people working in them, you usually see Latinos. So unfortunately, it seems we’ve kept the peon system, although it might not be as bad as in the past.
Steinbeck’s main point here is that the discrimination of foreign labor and foreign workers needs to be put to an end. Specifically California, there has been 4 races that help to build the state with farming and actually building. Americans are the ones bashing the help that they wanted. It doesn’t make sense to how Americans sought to have labor be done for them and at a low price but are gawking and fighting against them. It was interesting to see that any foreigners were considered to be “savagery” or to commit “vigilante terrorism” because they wanted protection from the Americans. Also, it was interesting to see that the type of labor was made into a competition. Steinbeck uses “white labor” against the labor of the Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos. It doesn’t surprise me that California or Americans in general yet again mistreat the people that are trying to make a living and helping to “better” the states conditions.
John Steinbeck, author of “The Harvest Gypsies” provided an overview of the history of California’s agricultural labor supply in his article. The main point Steinbeck establishes in his writing is that the conditions and treatment immigrants went through were terrible. His article was written to show that even though slavery ended, people of many other races (non-white) were taken advantage of and commonly looked down upon. Steinbeck wanted to inform readers that the standards of living for immigrants was lower than that of whites and that immigrants were more likely to be hired because they could not resist low wages and terrible living conditions. Even when immigrants attempted to organize, they were silenced from rebelling so the farm owners could still maintain cheap labor. It does not surprise me because it has always been a trend in history that whites were deemed superior than others.
The main point that I think John Steinbeck was trying to make at first was how awful the treatment of immigrants was and this surprises me as it’s from a white male perspective. Later on though, he seems to be trying to make a point that the immigrants were a nuisance to white America as they were a source of “cheap labor” and had a sort of they’re “trying to take our jobs” mentality. He’s at first sympathetic it seems until the end where he seemed to be excluding immigrants into his California almost. He calls the California treatment of foreigners coming into California as “disgraceful” and talks about how the standard of living for immigrant workers “so low”. He even goes on about the “yellow peril” literature during that time period. He explains about all the “unwarranted” tear gas bombs. Towards the end he seems to be unsympathetic to their cause, however, as he begins to talk about the way that Latinos are trying to organize to gain the rights that people like him have as them doing “savagery” and “vigilante terrorism”, which offers a sort of ignorant perspective to the whole situation. He says “our own people” while referring to white people like him originally from California, not being inclusive towards Latinos as part of America.
Steinbeck’s main point of the article was to show all the different types of foreign labor California has cycled through. Steinbeck makes it clear that California repeatedly abused the work that built the city, and the workers that did the physical work. It does slightly surprise me because there were so many different races of foreign labor that came through California all with the same outcome. The trend Steinbeck explained throughout the article started with a foreign race coming to California for work, them being taken advantage of and in some cases physically harassed, and finally the foreigners getting deported or run out. What was surprising to me was the fact that people kept coming thinking that California was good for them when in fact it ruined most families and lives.
The main point that Steinbeck makes in this article is that America needs to stop discriminating against people who have immigrated to this country. He gives many points to show how complicated the situation is with the foreign labor workers. It’s unjust how the standard of living for the workers is “so low that white labor could not compete with it.” There was a demand for peon labor, and Mexicans were a perfect candidate for it, they could be treated as animals when not in need. The Mexicans received low wage and “terrible living conditions.” Also, they could be deported to Mexico whenever the farmer wished, because the Government paid for it. When rising for justice, the Mexicans just became more abused from the Government. People arrested were stuck in jail, since the bail price was set so high. The police willingly used tear gas bombs to settle the workers. Slowly, Mexican labor was being withdrawn from the farms. All of the different races that worked on America’s farms banded together for protection, yet this is what brought about violence from the whites. Since there are not many foreigners coming to America to find work, the farmers have to rely on citizens; but the same peon system will not work. So Steinbeck also claims that the future workers will be white. The article doesn’t necessarily surprise me, I’ve known that many migrant workers have been treated very poorly compared to the native peoples. Also, the low pay of migrant workers and abuse is still very real today. I think it’s funny that Steinbeck says the future of farm workers will be white, because it’s the opposite in today’s world. One thing I’m surprised about is that there were so many different races coming in and out of America trying to find work. The only people you hear of trying to take American jobs are Latinos. I never really pictured the Chinese, Japanese, or Filipinos working in the fields. All of the races received the same treatment, and they ended up in the same situation. One thing Steinbeck is correct about is that the peon system will not work with white people. Today, if you drive by a field, you usually don’t see white people working in them, you usually see Latinos. So unfortunately, it seems we’ve kept the peon system, although it might not be as bad as in the past.
Steinbeck’s main point here is that the discrimination of foreign labor and foreign workers needs to be put to an end. Specifically California, there has been 4 races that help to build the state with farming and actually building. Americans are the ones bashing the help that they wanted. It doesn’t make sense to how Americans sought to have labor be done for them and at a low price but are gawking and fighting against them. It was interesting to see that any foreigners were considered to be “savagery” or to commit “vigilante terrorism” because they wanted protection from the Americans. Also, it was interesting to see that the type of labor was made into a competition. Steinbeck uses “white labor” against the labor of the Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos. It doesn’t surprise me that California or Americans in general yet again mistreat the people that are trying to make a living and helping to “better” the states conditions.
John Steinbeck, author of “The Harvest Gypsies” provided an overview of the history of California’s agricultural labor supply in his article. The main point Steinbeck establishes in his writing is that the conditions and treatment immigrants went through were terrible. His article was written to show that even though slavery ended, people of many other races (non-white) were taken advantage of and commonly looked down upon. Steinbeck wanted to inform readers that the standards of living for immigrants was lower than that of whites and that immigrants were more likely to be hired because they could not resist low wages and terrible living conditions. Even when immigrants attempted to organize, they were silenced from rebelling so the farm owners could still maintain cheap labor. It does not surprise me because it has always been a trend in history that whites were deemed superior than others.