Does anyone remember this famous John Steinbeck quote?
Asked by
mirza (
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September 3rd, 2007
I am trying to recall this quote by John Steinbeck about why he wrote the Grapes Of Wrath. It was something like “i’ll show those bastards” or something about how he wanted to show the world how the bankers were taking advantage of the people.
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11 Answers
I can’t remember it either though I know I read it somewhere. He was angry about the poor farmers of America being exploited by political issues.
Great question for Labor Day!
He was excoriated after the book appeared, particularly in CA. Book was banned for several years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
Of the controversy, Steinbeck himself wrote, “The vilification of me out here from the large landowners and bankers is pretty bad. The latest is a rumor started by them that the Okies hate me and have threatened to kill me for lying about them. I’m frightened at the rolling might of this damned thing. It is completely out of hand; I mean a kind of hysteria about the book is growing that is not healthy.”
@gailcalled – i already read the wikipedia article and a bunch of other steinbeck biographies from google
I know of no famous Steinbeck quote from prebook times; but he DID have a huge social conscience. Sorry for sending the obvious. Have you read his novels? Or seen some of the movies? Dated but powerful.
I found him saying, “Let the facts speak for themselves”, but I don’t think that’s the one you’re thinking of. I wish I could figure out where I read that. I think it’s right here in my book collection, but where? I googled and found a lot of info but not your quote.
%u201CI want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this.%u201D
As quoted here.
Whoops. How about: “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this.”
thanks bob – thats exactly the quote i was looking for
nice find bob…
When John Steinbeck observed one of the most cruelly victimised groups of the 1930s Depression—the Oklahoma Dust Bowl refugees—he was both “saddened and outraged” at their plight. “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this”, he wrote angrily as he was preparing to write his epic novel The Grapes of Wrath.
http://www.greenleft.org.au/1994/151/9260
Morris Dickstein – Steinbeck and the Great Depression – The South…“I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this” (162). Under this pressure to do something, Steinbeck shifted from…
muse.jhu.edu/journals/south_atlantic_quarterly/v103/103.1dickstein.html -
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