“And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed. The great owners ignored the three cries of history. The land fell into fewer hands, the number of the dispossessed increased, and every effort of the great owners was directed at repression. The money was spent for arms, for gas to protect the great holdings, and spies were sent to catch the murmuring of revolt so that it might be stamped out. The changing economy was ignored, plans for the change ignored; and only means to destroy revolt were considered, while the causes of revolt went on.”

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About John Steinbeck

American novelist and short story writer of the mid-20th century, Steinbeck is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel *The Grapes of Wrath*, which vividly captures the struggles of migrant workers during the Great Depression. His work often explores human resilience, social injustice, and the complexities of the American Dream, blending realism with poetic depth.

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