Summary Of The Squatter's Camp By John Steinbeck

The Squatter’s Camp in an intriguing novel by the great John Steinbeck. It shows many issues that were prevalent during the time, and are still applicable today. It shows the harsh times people had to endure due to a deadly combination of man’s faults and nature. It is truly a novel many people need to read to understand a large portion of US history and culture. The Squatter’s Camp allows the reader to see the hardships people experienced during and after the Dust Bowl. Its purpose is to immerse the reader in the lives of these paned individuals to, hopefully, enact a change in government actions to aid these people. The work is cleverly designed to invest the reader’s hearts and minds in the stories of these tragic families. It is composed of the stories of various families and how they survive from one day to the next. The author describes their living conditions and their difficulty to earn a wage through the low availability of work during the time. HE referenced the unsanitary hygiene and the lack of motivation. He described the constant sickness that spread and the lack of work and food. HE told of the
heatless nights in which parents struggled to keep their children warm. This work has caused me to reflect deeply on the issues that plagued these families, and ones that punish us today. The Squatter’s Camp did have a positive effect to aid these people during the time.
It allowed people across the nation to experience the tragedy and pain their fellow citizens were experiencing during the time. This led to more government action and aid to allow the economy to regain its balance. It accomplished its purpose wonderfully. The evidence presented is quite strong and powerful and forces the reader to feel the same pain and suffering the poor migrant families were feeling. This work was highly praised for it brought light to a substantial problem that many had deemed “inconvenient” or “small.” Steinbeck could have gone farther into the economic aspect of the time to give a clarification of the difficulty obtaining work. The style of this paper was also designed for the reader to empathize with the families, and, hopefully, allow changes to
occur. This was a very important essay to bring change to America and relief to the poor families. This tactic has been repeated many time in the present as well. People often bring a sorrowful light to an issue in hopes of building support for change. Steinbeck was a catalyst for change and, with his influence, improved the lives of thousands of Dust Bowl families. Steinbeck changed and improved America through the influence his book had upon the nation. By showing others what their fellow Americans were suffering through day after day, he was able to garner enough support to force the government to regulate the greedy business practices of native Californians and to provide aid to the weak immigrants.