Social policies - Moral policies - Government - Thomas Hobbes - Jacques Rousseau
The 'Grapes of Wrath' is a film produced in 1940 based on Steinbeck's prize winning novel of the same name. The film kicks off with the release of the main character from the Oklahoma state prison. Tom faced charges of manslaughter, and after serving his four-year time, he finally faced the deserted environments. During his time in prison, a great depression came upon dust bowl farm. He meets Casy an ex-preacher sitting beside a tree, and he explains to him what happened. Tom and Casy head out to locate Tom Joads family who were residing at their uncle's farm. They were very excited to see Tom again just before they finished packing their few belongings in their old truck (Steiner, 2007, p. 67).
The film features their journey to California in search of jobs and better lives after their family land's foreclosure by the government. The long and arduous journey to California has many challenges some of which include the death of their grandfather, brutal killing of Casy by the police, Tom's hard life of hiding from the police and their constant migration from camp to camp in their old and rusty truck. The film however, unlike the book, ends with a happy conclusion where the family finally finds a camp with better conditions and settles there as Tom swears to fight for the rights of the poor and less privileged (Steinbeck, 2006, p. 133).
This film depicts the social and moral policies of the government. The government features as both important and oppressive at the same time. The question of whether to blame the government or to thank this body still lingers in the viewers' minds. Theories and philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and Jacques Rousseau are appropriate in interpreting this film. Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher between the years of 1588 to 1679 whose best work is Leviathan (Meyer, 2006, p. 34). According to him, the government was a Leviathan or an artificially created animal. Hobbes is also the father of totalitarianism, which means he believed in a strong central government with enforcing powers. He believed that government is the solution to Good life.
[...] Casy's death can also be justified as one of the government's guard, for attending an illegal meeting, shoots him. This action even though very painful to Casy's friends is right as the government seeks to maintain peace and security especially during such hard times as then. The two characters reflect the nature of government as a guarantor of peace and security. All this actions despite them being in their favor, or against them, clearly show the efforts made by the government to create peace and adequately provide security in these areas (Steinbeck p. [...]
[...] Tom and his mother confess as the story ends never to fear again and Tom swears that he will always help those who need help in overcoming any social conventions and government malicious acts. Also throughout the movie, Tom stand out as a fighter and even tries to defend Casy during his death who had also gone to meeting whose aim was to improve living conditions (Steiner p. 74). References Steiner, B. (2007). A survey on John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath". München: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Meyer, M. J., Railsback, B. [...]
[...] This film depicts the social and moral policies of the government. The government features as both important and oppressive at the same time. The question of whether to blame the government or to thank this body still lingers in the viewers' minds. Theories and philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and Jacques Rousseau are appropriate in interpreting this film. Thomas Hobbes was a philosopher between the years of 1588 to 1679 whose best work is Leviathan (Meyer p. 34). According to him, the government was a Leviathan or an artificially created animal. [...]
[...] On the contrary, he thinks government and society are the problem. Through the rules it creates then it inhibits man's free moral development. The characters in the film can relate to these theories in the different contexts of the film. Tom Joad and Jim Casy are in the spotlight in explaining the relevance of these theories in relation to their different roles in the 1940 movie (Mintz p. 24). Hobbes as earlier discussed describes the government as an artificial creation by man to protect him against himself. [...]
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