Origin and Destination: The Push and Pull Theory of Migration in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

Abstract

Migration is as old as the foundation of the world, as a whole, it has received an extensive coverage in the academic sphere. During migration, disruption, mental hardship, and familial separation may result. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath reveals the pathetic conditions of migrants who devoid better life at home and therefore they journey to find it in California. In their journey, the situations are worse and constitute a dire need for the miserable tenants to exile. The nature causes them to be not only poor but desperate and helpless. The study aims to analysis John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath with reference to Everett S. Lee ‘A Theory of Migration’ wherein Lee proposed the push and pull factors of migration. The migrants prove that migration made them poor. Therefore, this paper demonstrates how the migrants’ dreams and hopes collapse once they get to the destination. Based on the analysis, it can be revealed that the dreamers do not fulfill themselves in the hosting spots.