Question

What does Steinbeck mean when he writes: "If you buy a farm horse and only feed him when you work him, the horse will die. No one complains of the necessity of feeding the horse when he is not working. But we complain about feeding the men and women who work our lands. Is it possible that this state is so stupid, so vicious and so greedy that it cannot feed and clothe the men and women who help to make it the richest area in the world? Must the hunger become anger and the anger fury before anything will be done?"

Answer 1

Steinbeck is criticizing the lack of care given to farm workers who help make the region rich.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the given quote from Steinbeck, he is comparing the treatment of farm horses to the treatment of the men and women who work the land. The horse needs to be fed even when it's not working in order to survive, and Steinbeck questions why we don't provide the same care for the people who help make the region rich. He suggests that the state is foolish, cruel, and greedy for not ensuring that the workers are provided with basic necessities like food and clothing.

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation:

The first two lines are metaphors of what the author stated after it. He made the comparison between the work of a farm horse and the actual farmers (the people who work in the lands). We could say that the primary sector of the economy has always been marginalized by the other sectors, making it the "less desirable" to work. Working as a farmer is hard work and it's the sector that least benefits have. In this statement we could see that "wealthy people" become some vicious and greedy with their work that they forget the importance of the primary sector. We can state that without a primary, there should not be a secondary or third sector. The sad part would be to conclude that farmers need to be angry or furious with "wealthy people" for them to open their eyes and realize the truth, and consequently start doing some actual changes and start taking care of the primary sector.