John Steinbeck in his great strike novel In Dubious Battle gives, Steinbeck does not just simply praise communism or capitalism for that matter. He is simply telling the positive and the negative of both. Steinbeck criticizes communism by showing how it dehumanizes an individual by making the person view people as simply objects to be exploited for the Party. He praises communism by displaying the intense dedication that Jim, Mac, and others have to the cause and by demonstrating the extreme oppression that the few rich landowners impress upon the working men. By proceeding in this fashion throughout the novel Steinbeck does give a truly accurate depiction of communism. One of the primary reasons for this meticulous illustration of communism is that Steinbeck sought and received information from actual communists. In a letter to his agents Steinbeck writes, " My information for this book came mostly from Irish and Italian communists whose training was in the field, not in the drawing room. They do what they can under the circumstances."(Lisca 113) This explains the genius behind Mac's character and the genius that Jim acquired later in the novel. They bot

h had the ability to do exactly what the Irish and Italian field workers did, and that was to use everything they possibly could to advance the communist cause. Mac and Jim used everyone and everything that came across their paths. They began using people as soon as they got off the train in the Torga Valley. They risked the lives of Lisa, London's wife, and her newborn child to get the men to work as a team and trust each other. Mac played doctor and acted like he knew how to delver a baby when the only thing he knew was to keep the area clean (Levant). He got the men to work together to help deliver the baby. Mac made sure that every man felt like he had done something helpful to the goal of delivering the baby, even if they had done nothing. The men all gave a piece of clothe to be used and when Mac was done there was clothe left over and Mac had it all burned because if he had given it back to the men, they would have felt as if they did not contribute anything. Mac explains the dire importance of using everything they can to Jim when he says,"'Course it was nice to help the girl, but hell, even if it killed her-- we've got to use anything."(66)At this point in the novel Jim has not yet realized that people are simply there to be exploited. This is the point in the story where the dehumanization of Jim begins. In the same passage as above Mac reveals the ultimate goal of the Party is to teach the men how to work together as one cohesive unit, not to just raise wages. After this revelation Mac lets Jim know that the strike is ready to go and that London is on their side. All that is now needed is a catalyst to get the reaction going. An old man named Dan turns out to be this catalyst that is needed to get the strike going. Jim initially befriends Dan and likes him. When Jim tells Mac this Mac's reaction is anything but congenial. Mac replied, "What in Christ's name for?...Don't waste your time on old guys like that. He's no good. You'll get yourself converted to hopelessness if you talk to old men."(79) The reason that Mac tells Jim this is because he believes that old Dan is worthless when it comes to striking. He is trying to dehumanize Jim by telling him not to waste time making friends and acquaintances that are not able to help the cause. Little did Mac know that Dan would actually start the strike. The next day Dan falls through a rotten ladder and breaks his hip. The men crowd around and start beating up the checker. This is the beginning of the strike. When Mac comes over to find out what all the commotion is about, the only thing he has to say about Dan getting hurt was, "The old buzzard was worth something after all."(107) Jim questions Mac and Mac explains to him that they are now able to use Dan. This passage shows the gap that is between Mac and Jim. Jim is still a human and still thinks like a human while Mac is already completely dehumanized. Mac is trying to teach Jim to think as he does, to think the way of the Irish and Italian communist field workers. Mac, like the workers, was able to use anything, even the death of a very close friend. When Mac's close communist comrade Joy arrived on a train with a group of unknowing strike breakers that the strikers were meeting, Joy was shot in the back and killed. Mac's initial reaction was not one of sorrow because he had just lost a close friend. It was not one of shock or confusion. Mac feels no emotion over losing Joy and all he says is, "He's done the first real, useful thing in his life."(169) Mac shows his inhumaness here because he does not even care that a life has been lost; h

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Approximate Word count = 2409
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)