Class struggle in in dubious battle (1936) by John Steinbeck and Devil on the cross (1982) by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

I Social contexts in both novels

1. Critical social backgrounds and the reasons for the commitment of Steinbeck and Ngugi

In Dubious Battle and Devil on the Cross are essentially written in critical social contexts. The Great Depression was the worst economic slump that has ever existed in the United States history. In In Dubious Battle, the social and economic environment in which the workers were evolving shows clearly how difficult it was for them to sustain and maintain adequate existence. The Depression began in late 1924 and lasted for about a decade. In this respect one can notice that there are many factors which played a role in bringing about the economic Depression; however the main causes of the Great Depression were the overproduction in industry and agriculture, the high tariffs and war debts, the stock market speculation and financial panic, and the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout of the1920's. But all these causes were first of all behind the expansion of almost every sector in the country.

Written in a context of neo-colonialism and imperialism, Devil on the Cross exposes the plight of the masses and the workers in the present-day political set-up in Africa in consonance with the belief of Ngugi that African writers should address themselves «to the crisis or conflict between the emergent African bourgeoisie and the African masses. Rodney, Cabral and Ngugi claim that neocolonialism prevails today in Africa because of the continuation after "independence" of the economic, political and social practices established by colonialism. Alex La Guma explains in this regard that:

^1(*) «Artistic creation can not remain outside the struggle of classes,

outside politics, for each writer whether he likes or not, expresses

in his work the interest of some one class.»

An analysis of the economic, political and social contradictions created by colonialism is, therefore, necessary in understanding and effectively countering neocolonialism. African economy is dependent on international capitalism and capitalism can never bring about equality of people. The exploitation of one group by another is the very essence of capitalism. The peasants and workers are very much exploited in Kenya because they get very low pay, very poor housing, and unemployment affects them more than anyone else. Women are doubly exploited and oppressed and this is clearly expressed in Devil on the Cross. Against the backdrop of continuing socio-economic crises in Africa stoked and sustained by Western imperialism and its agents, Ngugi wa Thiong'o shows his concern and perspectives on Africa's march towards selfhood and independence via his novels Petals of Blood and Devil on the Cross which represent an effort towards the liberation of Africa from the claws and shackles of imperialism as they deal with neo-colonialism in all its virulent manifestations. As political novels, they are unambiguous in their support of the views of the proletariat and condemnation of bourgeois philosophy and practice, as manifested in international capitalism, and thus reject neo-colonialism as a viable way of life for African people.

Ngugi realizes that Kenya is poor, not because of anything internal, but because the wealth produced by Kenyans ends in developing the western world. Their aid, loans, and investment capital that they gloat about are simply a chemical catalyst that sets in motion the whole process of expropriation of Kenya's wealth, with, of course, a few leftovers for the 'lucky' few. This is what Ngugi is trying to show in Petals of Blood: that imperialism can never
develop African countries or develop Kenyan people. In doing so, he castigates the expansion of capitalism which constitutes one source of the economic troubles of African countries.

John Steinbeck at the other hand severely criticizes capitalism in his novels In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath, but he is not advocating communism. John Steinbeck took a chance when he published The Grapes of Wrath in 1939. He wrote a clear criticism of capitalism at a time when the United States was experiencing the remnants of a 1920s "red scare". He begins the novel by showing the reader the sickness of capitalism, and then reveals the greed of those men who support it. Steinbeck mainly criticizes the large landowners and banks for being insensitive and disconnected from the people.

Steinbeck and Ngugi portray capitalism as a disgusting system, leaving entire families with nothing more than a couple of dollars or shillings a day to live on. Even though Steinbeck obviously has distaste for capitalism, he is not necessarily advocating communism. He is instead sending out the message that in order for society to be successful, everyone in it needs to work together as a community. That does not mean people should not be able to make as much money as they want, but to be aware of how their actions are affecting their fellow citizens.

The year 1977 forced dramatic turns in Ngugi's life and career. His first novel Petals of Blood was published in July of that year. The novel painted a harsh and unsparing picture of life in neo-colonial Kenya. It was received with even more emphatic critical acclaim in Kenya and abroad. The Kenya Weekly Review described as «this bomb shell» and the Sunday Times of London as capturing every form and shape that power can take. The same year Ngugi's controversial play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), written with Ngugi wa Mirii, was performed at Kamirithu Educational and Cultural Center, Limuru, in an open air theatre, with actors from the workers and peasants of the village. Sharply critical of the inequalities and injustices of Kenyan society, publicly identified with unequivocally championing the cause of ordinary Kenyans, and committed to communicating with them in the languages of their daily lives, Ngugi was arrested and imprisoned without charge at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison at the end of the year, December 31, 1977. An account of those experiences is to be found in his memoir, Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1982). It was at Kamiti Maximum Prison that Ngugi made the decision to abandon English as his primary language of creative writing and committed himself to writing in Gikuyu, his mother tongue. In prison, and following that decision, he wrote, on toilet paper, the novel, Caitani Mutharabaini (1981) translated into English as Devil on the Cross, (1982) and it focuses on the Kenyan class division.

In Dubious Battle is as well a quite good illustration pinpointing that American society was a profoundly divided society during the Depression era. The misdistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed in many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle class; between industry and agriculture within the US and between US and Europe, the imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. In this respect the automotive industry Mogul Henry Ford provides a striking example of the misdistribution of wealth between the rich and the working class. A major reason for this large and growing gap between the rich and the working class could be accounted for by the increased manufacturing output throughout this period. For instance, .from 1923 to 1929 the average output per worker increased 32 percent in manufacturing. During the same period, of time average wages for manufacturing jobs increased only 8 percent. The wages increased at rate one fourth as fast as productivity increased. So, this large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to do and the middle-income citizens made the US economy unstable.

One obvious solution to the problem of the vast majority of the population not having money to satisfy all their needs was let those who wanted goods buys products on credit. Then the concept of buying now and paying later caught on quickly. By the end of the 1920's, 60 percent of cars and 80 percent of radios were bought on instalment credit. That strategy made the downfall worse by telescoping the future into the present when the «future» arrived there was little to buy that hadn't already been bought. In addition, people could no longer use their regular wages to purchase whatever items they did not have yet, because so much of the wages went to paying back past purchases.

No part of the world was left untouched by the Great Depression although there were national variations. Industry and agriculture were engulfed by a rising tide of bankruptcy. On a human level, the most visible measure that the world economy has failed was the tremendous and unprecedented surge in unemployment. The official figure is impressive 14 million in the US. Many of the unemployed remained without work for 3 or 4 years, with younger age groups hit disproportionately hard. Rural unemployment resulted in poverty but was often disguised as underemployment. In In Dubious Battle and Devil on the Cross when the workers can no longer keep on living that life of misery and utter destitution, they endeavour to demonstrate out in the streets of the town. Seeing that that situation is not in favour with them, the owners urge the police, the army and the courts to react against that demonstration. Then, all the underprivileged class of workers are banned to wander or to enter the city where the owners live in In Dubious Battle. When the workers intend to lead the procession in Devil on the Cross, they only find the police armed up to their teeth and ready to mop all resistance. When the workers keep on striking because they just want the wages to be bettered so that they might live decently, they are asked by the rulers by foul means or fair to leave the camp and the city as it can be noticed in In Dubious Battle:

«May be not, but resisting officers does. Now I am talking fair with you, so you'll know what to expect. At daylight tomorrow a hundred men, in ten trucks like this, are coming out .Every man will have a gun, and we have three cases of Mills bombs. Some of you, men who know can tell others what a Mill bomb is.» (IDB, 340)

Ngugi and Steinbeck resort constantly to their arts to challenge the social and economic status quo. They treat their characters with gentle humanity and value what they have to do or say. As a case in point, in Of Mice and Men when Lennie is mentally disabled and without a family, George takes care of him and Lennie is portrayed as sensitive and loyal. Readers take side with Lennie when characters such as Curley treat him with disrespect. Moreover, there is Crooks who represents the inequality that African-Americans received at that time. He is forced to live in the barn to take care of the horses. The men do not want him to come in the bunkhouse because they say he stinks. Ironically, he becomes disabled because he is kicked by a horse and then receives the nickname Crooks. Disparate treatment causes him to feel lonely and isolated in society. Then there is Curley's wife who is never given a first or last name in the story. She is thought of as Curley's property and she does not have a say in her own destiny. The readers feel her pain when they hear of her broken dreams of stardom. Possibly she is not able to attain her dreams due to the sexism in society at that time and the mistreatment that she receives from her husband. Wariinga in Devil on the Cross faces the situation of Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men meaning mistreatment when she was immature. In addition, there are the laborers who are depicted as men who are strong and worth being admired in Of Mice and Men, in In Dubious Battle and Devil on the Cross. Wariinga is described as realistic and thought of as having integrity because she does not rely on anybody but only on herself to give her life a new turn. Finally, Steinbeck describes Candy as a senior citizen. Unfortunately, elderly people are still treated with some injustice, however, Steinbeck allows him to dream by having him get excited about co-ownership of the farm.

Since Steinbeck and Ngugi depict their characters with openness and honesty, the reader is able to face their own sexism, ageism, racism and classicism. Steinbeck and Ngugi provide the argument that we all share the human condition of wanting to dream and have companionship. At the end of the day, they acknowledge that people are more alike than they are different. They advocate a mutual understanding of humankind to ease efficiently social problems.

The impact of the Great Depression and the neo-colonialism is disastrous on the lives of Americans and Africans and becomes in this respect a social problem. Physically, and psychologically, The Great Depression was devastating to many people who not only lacked adequate food, shelter and clothing but felt that they were blamed for their desperate state. Although few people died from starvation, many did not have enough to eat. Some people searched garbage dumps for food or eat weeds. Then, malnutrition was too widespread that almost all the children of the lower classes face it. The psychological impact was equally damaging during the prosperity of the 1920's, many Americans believed success went to those who deserved it. Given that attitude, the unemployment brought by the Depression was a crushing blow. If the economic system really distributed rewards on the basis of merit, those who lost their jobs had to conclude that it was their own fault. Self-blame and self-doubt became soon epidemic. These attitudes declined after the New Deal showed the establishment of the government programs to counterattack the Depression which induced the unemployment and economic insecurity; it was a large social problem, having to ask assistance was humiliating for many men who had thought of themselves as self-sufficient and breadwinners for their families. Social tensions increased considerably in Devil on the Cross and In Dubious Battle with a rising intolerance towards groups or individuals who perceived to be economic rivals or outsiders: many people began to blame their neighbours for the economic collapse, be it other countries or competing economic groups, individualists, bankers, farmers and workers.

Because society expected man to provide for his family, the psychological trauma of the Great Depression was more often severe for men than women. Many men agreed that women, especially married women should not be hired while their husbands were hired. Yet, the percentage of women in the workforce actually increased slightly during the Depression as women took jobs to replace their husbands' lost pay checks or to supplement spouses' reduced wages. In some cases, married women workers were forced to resign from the workplace by the State legislation in a campaign against so called «double-earners» (because their husbands also brought home a wage packet.) Women teachers were sacked. In some industries, employers kept women in preference to men because they were cheaper and more prepared to work part time. Some fields that had been defined as women`s work, such as clerical teaching attracted men.

The social context is so critical that Ngugi and Steinbeck can help writing for defending their own communities. Through their numerous plays, essays and novels, Ngugi and Steinbeck have consistently positioned themselves as advocates for the ordinary peasants and workers. Some writers in the world have been as committed as Ngugi and Steinbeck to using their work to encourage the political advancement of exploited and oppressed peoples. In Africa, as elsewhere, the genuine Marxist (i.e., non-Stalinist) tradition has been marginalized in political discourse. Immersed in the postcolonial African milieu, Ngugi can only offer hints in Devil on the Cross of the international struggle necessary to achieve a democratic, egalitarian society in Kenya, and, in fact, the rest of the world. Ngugi's intelligence, integrity and passion suggest his great potential to overcome this political malady, which indeed afflicts the global progressive movement. And yet, as evidenced by his important 1977 novel Petals of Blood, Ngugi is still searching for a political strategy to successfully end "the whole thing" - global monopoly capitalism of which Africa is a constituent part. The slogans and demands that informed independence struggles such as Mau Mau have succeeded only in elevating a new ruling elite, merely replacing white oppressors with black ones. Ngugi is perhaps the most persistent literary voice in Africa condemning the depredations of imperialism, the highest form of capitalism. However, Ngugi is a product of his society, and his political outlook is shaped by the cultural and social environment of Kenya and reflects its shortcomings. The effects of imperialism in Africa are so damaging as the ones of the Great Depression in the US.

The effects of economic Depression on the children were often radically different from the impact on their parents. During the Depression many children took on greater responsibilities at earlier age than later generation would. Some teenagers found jobs when their parents could not, reserving the normal role of the provider. Sometimes children had to comfort their despairing parents. A 12-year-old boy in Chicago for example wrote to President and Mrs Roosevelt in 1936 to seek help for his father who was always «crying because he can't find work and I feel sorry for him.» Through his writing Steinbeck and Ngugi manage to draw the readers' attention that situation of utter destitution does not even spare children and babies: every one of them has their part of the game in their books and the result is suffering. In many ways, Ngugi's goal is reminiscent of Marxist ideology, as the novel is ultimately meant to educate Kenyan on the corruption of their society and the power of non-compliance within such a repressive system.

The Great Depression of the twenties lasted about ten years, it was different from crisis. It caused a miserable and despicable life to the population. It was obvious that the result was penury rather than abundance. It was an event that was completely marked by the crisis downfall of the system of repartition of wealth and properties and the incapacities of the leaders of the national economy. Since the crisis was not due to natural causes but rather human ones, it was obvious that the government should have reacted. But this was not the case. President Hoover believed the crisis would resolve itself. He would turn down any proposition of national help to unemployed people and to those suffering from starvation. At first, he belittled the crisis but later he took some positive measures like a programme for the construction of roads public buildings and airlines. The Joads in Steinbeck's book and the other farmers clearly represent Marx's proletariat. The entire struggle they face is that of finding work or dying on the most basic of levels. Still, they fall victim to the conditions of the Great Depression, resulting in their continued inability to procure such a job. The migrants appear strongly as the proletariat condemning loitering here and there in search of work.

In 1932, there were 12 million jobless , over 5000 banks closed , the trade got worse , the product of agriculture had the lowest level never seen in the US , and the middle class was about to disappear. The national income had decreased from 80 billion dollar to 40 billion dollar. The whole economy of the country was affected and the Americans were extremely unhappy. With their nation in a dreadful situation, the Americans found it necessary to change leaders. They chose the democrat candidate Franklin Roosevelt as President.

The Depression is at the climax, and the country's economic system was nearly to collapse. Resolved, Roosevelt attacked the crisis and succeeded to make people vote laws permitting to correct the misdeeds before the end of his first mandate. These were based on the New Deal, an approach he took to tackle the issue of the economic problems. It was composed of measures of economic development on the one hand, and measures of reforms on the other hand.

John Steinbeck and Ngugi wa Thiong'o have always been viewed as radical writers simply because through their writings they vehemently castigate and denigrate the attitude of the dominators and exploiters of the low class workers. They consider that it is their duty as writers to be mouthpieces and protectors of the downtrodden in a world plagued by exploitation at every level.

* ¹ Alex La Guma, The African communist, n°56 October, 1977. In KuLuLeKo, London, p74