And the imported serfs were beaten and frightened and starved until some went home again, and some grew fierce and were killed or driven from the country
Dignity--"serfs" implies not only a lower/working class, but also people of less worth; they are either too weak to go on, or they lose their fight
Because you didn't feel right about it, Mac. You let your own personal hatred get in." "W
Character development -- Jim switches roles with Mac, and becomes the "teacher" in this situation, chastising him for acting impulsively and emotionally when he should be thinking rationally. Interesting because at the beginning of the novel, Jim's attachment to the Party is primarily emotional, and is heavily influenced by his passion for the working man, his desire to "feel" or be a part of something, and his intense empathy (directed at workers, esp. Dan).
No
The moment we last see Doc--just after the fire. The voice of reason (Doc) disappears just as the violence of the strike is truly beginning to escalate; that is, before the violence begins to negatively affect innocent bystanders (ie Anderson). What does the timing of Doc's disappearance imply for the group, if anything? If we argue that Doc stands in for Steinbeck himself, why does "Steinbeck" step back from (and avoid interfering with) the narrative at this particular moment?
im, I wish I knew it. But in my little experience the end is never very different in its nature from the means. Damn it, Jim, you can only build a violent thing with violence.
Up until this chapter, Doc has acted as the impartial, unbiased, nonteleological voice of the novel. Here, however, he has what seems like a sudden change of heart--he is now adamant in challenging the notion of "means justifying the ends" and the idea of violence (ie, violent means only beget violent ends). *After Doc's odd change, he disappears--what does this erasure of the nonteleological voice imply about the progression of the party, the strike, and the group mentality?