Rachael

A comparative study on the significance and presentation of empowerment in Grapes of Wrath, Poems and One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest.
Ideas of personal empowerment and empowerment of minority groups are explored in Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Poems by Maya Angelou and Ken Kesey 's One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest. Steinbeck, Angelou and Kesey are all writers deeply concerned with equality and humanism. This is prevalent because all three pieces of their writing centre on empowering groups who have been subject to discrimination and inequality. Steinbeck felt strongly opposed to the “thousands of families…starving in California”[8] during 1920’s American depression and gave these migrants a voice through the Joad family. As a black American Angelou’s strong disapproval of the adverse treatment of blacks can be seen through every poem in the collection Poems. Kesey expresses his disapproval with removing those from society who don’t fit into the ‘norm’ through empowering the mentally ill patients of Oregon psychiatric hospital. It is interesting to note that concern with the capitalist attitude of the American Dream can be seen through Steinbeck, Kesey and Angelou’s work even though they were writing at different times. Steinbeck’s anti-capitalist attitude can be as a consequence of his interest in the philosophy of “human kind as a kind of collective biological organism”, a communist philosophy contrasting the ideologies of capitalism. Steinbeck presents these his political views through Weed patch and the philosophical interests of humanism these views stem from through Casey. Kesey wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in the 1950’s when the United States was engaged in a cold war with the Soviet Union, a time in which relations were tense and hostile. Kesey aims his criticism at the American institutions which attempted to curtail the individual’s freedom of speech and squash any forms of rebellion or non-conformity. Kesey expresses his criticism by empowering the patients of the Orgeon psychiatric hospital who have been rejected form society because they do not conform to the ‘norm’. This is largely presented through Bromden; a Native American man who escapes the hospital. Angelou presents her concern with the American Dream through self-empowerment in her poem Still I Rise a concern which stems from the capitalist exploitation of blacks through the slave trade. Self-empowerment and authority are explored in all three texts also. In The Grapes of Wrath this is through the development of Ma Joad. The successes of the family on the journey can be seen as a direct consequence of the move to a more matriarchal system via Ma Joad. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey presents self-empowerment through McMurphy and authority he gains throughout the ward as consequence of his anti-establishment attitude. Angelou explores authority in her poem The Calling of Names where she expresses her disapproval with the white man’s misuse of authority towards a black man. The self-empowerment of Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath and McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest can be seen to catalyse change in the novels. Angelou’s poem Elegy is centred on two people who were the driving force of equality during the slave trade. Angelou writes about these two people in order to respect their contribution towards the empowerment of blacks.
Steinbeck presents his anti-capitalist views through the empowerment of the migrants at Weed patch, a camp run by the migrants for the migrants, a communist ideal. The migrants have succeeded to live in a successful, harmonised camp run without government interference, even through poverty and oppression. The "folks"(299) who live in Weed patch "elect their own cops"(299) and the camp manager, Jim Rawley. The "camp committee"(299) get the Joad family "fixed up"(299) on arrival. The camp is organised and well equipped "you got wash tubs?-running water?" (299) thus far, the family have come in contact with a hostile, poverty stricken America; they have been unable to wash. The contrast between the Joad’s quality of life on their journey through capitalist American society and inside the camp implies that Steinbeck feels the migrants would be treated better in a communist regime. This is emphasised by Ma Joads reaction "Oh! Praise God"(299), Ma Joad feels as if it has been Gods intervention which has brought them to this camp, a strong appraisal of communism. In addition to this, the migrants became empowered by the camps because they "were almost universally opposed by the growers who employed the migrants. They feared that these camps would become hotbeds of Communist sentiments, union organization, and resulting violence against the growers."[1] At the heart of the Californian prejudice was fear, “they scarit, they know a hungry fella gunna get food even if he got to take it”(214). If the migrant’s repressors start to fear them then they become empowered through having more control to start fighting for their rights and for their basic needs.
Steinbeck uses Casey to embody his communist, humanistic views “all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of” (26). It is interesting to note that the foundations of Casey’s yearning for deeper understanding of human nature stem from a religious perspective on the world. However, Steinbeck presents that this deeper understanding will not be found in religion as Casey choses to leave his faith and spend some time alone “why do we got hang it on God or Jesus?...’maybe it’s all men and women we love; maybe that’s the Holy Sperit.” (26) The Grapes of Wrath proves to be a novel largely condemning the ideals and ethics of modern day America, predominantly the American Dream. This is because it strives for western capitalism and Steinbeck is more concerned with the communist ideologies of equality. The American anthem officially used by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 -just before the depression era- can be seen as a song lyricizing the foundations of American Dream. The song states “And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"”[3]. The condemning of organised religion in The Grapes of Wrath, portrayed mainly by Jim Casey’s loss of faith, can be seen to be a consequence of Steinbeck’s influence from “writers like Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman and the American Transcendentalists’”[4]. In their writing “there is plenty evidence for the presence of God and Christian teaching…for those who are prepared to look outside conventional patterns”[4]. It is only when Casey deviates from the tight reigns of organised religion that he is able to become spiritually empowered by a deeper understanding of humanism and of love and equality. http://hannarosin.com/
Kesey expresses his criticism of a repressive American government through the empowerment of Bromden, a Native American. In the 1800’s the Native Americans lost all political control and their livelihood was demolished by the advancements of modern industrialisation, capitalism and a power hungry American government. Bromden describes his experience of these events as "the Combine"(262) which made his father give “everything to the government"(263). The use of the word "everything" relays the sense of the removal or repression of one’s identity, as Bromden’s has been in the hospital, which can be interpreted as being metaphorically, the repressive force of American society. The ward controls the way Bromden thinks, everything he does and even represses him to the point of silence. However, the introduction of McMurphy and his anti-establishment attitude, shown by his rebellion against the ward nurse Mrs Ratchet "you tell her to go to hell" liberates Bromden and as he finds comfort in McMurphy, he decides to speak again "before I knew what I was doing, I told him thank you." (259)This empowerment leads to Bromden escaping from the hospital at the end of the novel, "I put my hand on the still and vaulted into the moonlight"(392), and thus escapes from the confinement of a repressive America.
In Still I Rise Angelou express her concerns with the capitalist principles upheld by the American government through self-empowerment. She recognises her personal attributes and what is important to her "sassiness", "haughtiness", "sexiness", and links these attributes with corrupt economic industry "oil wells", "gold mines", "diamonds". Angelou makes this link because she conveying that her ideals of a strong personality, confidence and intelligence are not the same as the ideals of those who seek the American Dream. The American Dream was an ideal inaccessible to black Americans during the 1930’s due to huge racial segregation and repression. In fact, the American Dream was built on capitalism, the driver of the slave trade. Angelou’s anguish with this corrupt and demeaning ideal can be seen through her continual use of aggressive rhetorical questions “did you want to see me broken?”, “does my sassiness upset you?” The use of personal pronouns involves and almost blames the reader, so they are able to feel the wrath of Angelou’s writing more prevalently. As she rises above "a past rooted in pain" a past where her race has faced grave prejudice, she has become personally empowered and is able to speak out against her repressors. Angelou is speaking on behalf of the whole of her race, because now her position in society enables her to do so. She is also rising above the corruption of modern day society and the ideals of materialistic wealth it holds. In comparison to Steinbeck, Angelou expresses her views opposing the American government more liberally and obviously in Still I Rise. This could be because of the implementation of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. Steinbeck was writing before this act was employed, an act including the right to freedom of speech, therefore Steinbeck had to be more subtle with his approach to expressing his views on the American government.
Steinbeck explores the idea of self-empowerment further through Ma Joads rise to authority within the family. By exploring Warren Mortley’s study of The Grapes of Wrath we are able to further our understanding of this progression; "drawing on historical records…Briffiault argued that society first develops on matriarchal lines and that a matriarchal stage universally precedes the patriarchal structure of more advanced societies." [5] The Joad family experience society crumbling for migrants, food becomes scarce and the law failing. It is as if they go back to a time before the development of society, mirroring the circumstances the "historical records" were from. Ma Joad is seen to show attributes of her female character which are imperative to the progression of the Joad family on their journey west. For example, as the family 's hardships intensify, Ma Joad blossoms into a figure of authority, organising the family and making decisions. "John you go find Pa", "get to store" the use of imperative verbs makes this sudden change of authority clear to the reader. Ma Joad organises the family’s money for food “An’ that’s the dollar. Seven of us working and that’s supper” (393). Emphasising this is the clear shift of authority from Pa Joad to Ma Joad “Ma took two bills from Pa’s hand…’that’s where they’ll be’”(230) Chapter 16 proves to be a prevalent in the shift of authority from the men to Ma Joad. The family have come to a point of desperation when the car breaks down, and final decisions lie with Ma Joad “The eyes of the whole family shifted back to Ma. She was the power.”(177) The phrase “she was the power” coveys the sense of Ma Joad being omnipotent, a Godlike figure.
In One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Kesey presents the self-empowerment of McMurphy by exhibiting the shift in the patients trust from Nurse Ratchet to McMurphy “the nurse sees everybody looking at her and she nods and they all turn away…now everybody is looking at him; they’re waiting for him to answer”(90). The fact the patient’s eyes have moved to find answers in McMurphy, conveys a sense of trust. It is McMurphy’s anti-establishment attitude in the form of his rebellion against Nurse Ratchet which leads the patients to become more aware of their ill treatment at the hospital. They then begin to fight for their rights. McMurphy was the pioneer of this rebellion; “now that McMurphy was around to back them up, the guys started letting fly at everything that ever happened on the ward they didn’t like”(200). The fact that the nurse “nods” and they look away shows she still has ultimate power and control over the patients and McMurphy unlike Ma Joad who is “the power”. The difference between the degrees of authority the two characters have is to do with the repression they have to overcome in order to gain the power. Ma Joad has to overcome to the repression of women and around 1930’s The Grapes of Wrath women were becoming more empowered due to the suffragette movement and gaining the vote due to women’s contribution to Second World War. This means that Ma Joads authority was gained with more ease in comparison to McMurphy who must overcome the repressive force of the modern day American government in the form of Miss Ratchet, one of the most powerful organisations in the world.
In The Changing of Names Angelou relays her disapproval with the flippant attitude the white man has with the changing of names he uses to call a black man. The last line "Nigguh, I ain 't playin ' this time" suggests Angelou feels that the "changing of names" is simply a game to a white man, and he does not realise the negative impact these names have on the recipient. The phrase “I ain’t playin” conveys Angelou’s sarcastic and angry tone. There is also a sense that Angleou thinks the white man continually changes the name for a black man as a kind of game, this is relayed by the use of the word “play”. This idea is further emphasised with the rhyming structure A, B, A, B in the first three stanzas. The rhyming gives the poem a more childlike structure, like in nursery rhymes. It also increases rhythm which could convey the sense of a game. This also creates an eerie undertone as the poem is centred on such serious issues. The fact that Negro has a capital N and the fact that the names are continually changing identifies a sense of branding and objectifying that black Americans endured, conveying the lack of individual identity, as the black man is an object or an inferior to the white man and this gives the black man a decreased sense of status. The poem empowers black Americans because the reader is made to empathise with their situation as the white man is portrayed as insensitive and racist.
In The Grapes of Wrath the shift in authority from the men to Ma Joad also empowers women. As Ma Joad progresses into a cohesive leader of the family, it contrasts to the male characters that fail to find purpose without manual labour work and begin to regress under the pressure of migration and poverty. Uncle John turns to alcohol when the stress is too much "when I 'd get to hurtin ' inside so I got to get drunk"(281). Noah turns away from the family and the hardships they face and pursues a journey of his own down the river. And Connie admits that "if I 'd knowed it would be like this I wouldn ' of came"(263), later he leaves the family too. This shift in authority in the novel can be seen as a parallel to modern day changes. Professor Hannah Rosin argues that "women are adapting better to seismic shifts in economy and culture, they are surpassing their male counterparts at work and home"[6]. Rosin believes that as modern day society is changing, job criteria 's are changing also. A decrease in manual labour jobs and an increase in office jobs mean that women have the characteristics better suited to jobs which require organisation, personal relations and emotional connections. In modern day Britain where we face an economic hardship Rosin believes "the predominance of women to a large extent...is automatically resorted"[7]. This shift in modern day society can also be seen to be reflected in the context of The Grapes of Wrath which was set in the depression era when the economic tensions in America led to a lack of manual labouring jobs. Ma Joad takes on a more superior role in the family as the need to organise and emotionally cater for the Joad 's becomes more apparent.
As McMurphy can be seen as a catalyst of change through his rebellion against the repressive Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, and Ma Joad can be seen to be imperative to the families progression on a journey towards humanism in The Grapes of Wrath; in the poem Elegy by Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglas can be seen to be the fertilisers of the earth from which a more equal society can grow. Contextually, these two people were involved in the Underground Railway the secret railway which transported black people into Canada so they could escape the slavery. In this poem Angelou uses the first person to create an omniscient presence in the poem, "I lay", "I wait", "I see the rain", she is a passive force. The "I" in the poem could be a religious presence due to the Godlike language "I watch my children grow" or a metaphor for the earth from which the seeds of change grow "brings me roots of my children". Whichever it is, the "I" in the poem acts as the foundation for change, it allows the repressed to regain their "roots", to find a sense of security and a place in society. The use of natural forces "rain", "sunfelt warmth" suggests this change is natural and positive whilst the word “must” suggests this natural change is inevitable. As the poem goes on the children move from "blooming" above the surface to "pressing beneath this earth". This movement can be seen to be a movement towards a more stable and permanent place in the earth and in society for the repressed. It can also be seen as the seeds of change being sown from which equality and peace will grow.
In conclusion, Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Poems by Maya Angelou and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey are all centred on empowering minorities and the repressed. All three writers share similar anti-capitalist views which are presented throughout their work by the empowerment of those who have been unable to achieve the capitalist ideal, the American Dream. Steinbeck, Angelou and Kesey all empower the discriminated in different ways. Steinbeck presents the migrants as being empowered spiritually and by gaining a greater understanding of humanism. Angelou empowers blacks with a more personal tone to her work as repression is something which has affected her personally as a black American. She writes about the corruption blacks faced and celebrates their triumphs. Kesey empowers with a more general viewpoint that people should not be segregated from society because they don’t into the ‘norm’; he does this by empowering those who are considered most abnormal- the insane patients of Oregon hospital.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
First published by The Viking Press Inc. 1939
My copy, published by the Penguin Group

Poems by Maya Angelou
My copy, published by Bantam books

One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ Nest by Ken Kesey
First published by the Viking Press Inc. 1962
My copy, published by the Penguin Group

From A history of American Literature by Richard Gray
Blackwell Publishing
Oxford 2004, reprined 2009

From Patriarchy to Matriarchy: Ma Joad’s Role in The Grapes of Wrath by Warren Motley
Rutgers University

Starvation Under the Orange Tress by John Steinbeck
Published in Monterey Trader, April 15, 1938

[1] https://sites.google.com/site/utthegrapesofwrath/the-history/the-migrant-camps
[2] Gordon Bowker and John Carrier
[3] http://www.lyricsondemand.com
[4] http://www.gilco.org.uk/papers/john_steinbecks_view_of_god.html
[5] From Patriarchy to Matriarchy: Ma Joad’s Role in The Grapes of Wrath
[6] http://hannarosin.com/
[7] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZymFMmpOa0 [8] Starvation under the orange trees

Bibliography: First published by the Viking Press Inc. 1962 My copy, published by the Penguin Group Published in Monterey Trader, April 15, 1938 [1] https://sites.google.com/site/utthegrapesofwrath/the-history/the-migrant-camps