How do Steinbeck's themes relate to today's economic inequality?
The struggle for a decent life, for a fair shake, that doesn't change much, does it? The names and places might shift, but the hunger is still there, the worry about where the next meal comes from, the fear of losing what little you have. When I wrote about families being pushed off their land, or workers being exploited, that was real then, and I reckon it’s still very real today. The land, the resources—they belong to the people, and when they're hoarded or taken, the common man suffers. It's a perennial ache, that.
Ask John Steinbeck the follow-up →