Rough Draft on In Dubious Battle

         Throughout history, human beings are known to have faced different struggles that sharp their life in one way or another. By the same token, it’s true that every battle has a reason that initiated it. In Dubious battle, we see that a group of workers organize themselves to fight for their rights to towards earning a better wage. In this stunningly thrilling story of In Dubious Battle, it could be discerned how easily a man might become rebellious against anything that threatens his very own existence and life. As a result of this, he fights for his God-given rights whenever he feels that it was taken away from him, and struggles to regain his right at any cost even if that means he has to face death. Nothing scares him at all. But that is when he is awake and knows about the absence of his missing rights. When he is awake, he plans to win and becomes victorious if he has firm determinations. Thus, he seeks the help of others. People like him who might also be in the same situation as him. This was what John Steinbeck’s book, In Dubious Battle, was all about. Together, Jim and Mac embarked a journey to change some of the hardship and sufferings. As a result they organized a group of people who were like them so as to face their oppressors. Jim’s dying enthusiastic and feelings about life gets better when he meet Mac.

Jim lost all of his family, and this tragically left him a feeling of depression. First, he lost his father who had worked in a slaughterhouse. And then his mother died while he was in jail. Describing the tragic of his father’s death to Harry Nilson, the man who gave Jim the opportunity to join the Pary, Jim said that his father was “caught a charge of buckshot in the chest form a riot gun” (6). Like everyone else, Jim appears to have sympathy for his father, and because of the heinous job that he had to do, Jim says, “My old man, my father, was slugged so much in labor trouble that he went punch-drunk” (6). Perhaps, his father’s situation has also desolated Jim’s feelings about life. He was not happy at all. As a matter of fact, the low spirit he got from the lost of his family caused him to dislike and hate the life he was leading before he met Mac.

It was only after he met Mac when he felt a change of life and became happier than ever before. Jim knew very little about the world around him before he departed from his place where he used to live to join the Party, a group of strikers. As soon as he joined in, he became a close friend of Mac. During their introduction, Jim was given an opportunity to do some typing. Jim said to Mac appreciatively, “I like doing it, Mac”. Jim continued to elaborate his feelings a bit further and said:

I don’t know why. It seemed a good thing to be doing. It seemed to have something meaning. Nothing I ever did before had any meaning. It was all just a mess. I don’t think I resented the fact that someone profited from the mess, but I did hate being in the rat-cage (20). 

That little chance of typing relieved Jim a heavy burden, and it seems that is when he felt a bit confident about his personality. The confidence he obtained  appears to have erased his fears and hopelessness from his heart. From there on, Jim even became enthusiastic about elevating his involvement in joining the Party, and he eagerly said to Mac, “… What I’d really like to do is get into the field. I’d like to get into the action” (21).  In addition to this, Jim along with Mac went out towards the Torgas Valley so that they could both participate the strike against the farm owners who were causing impediments to the likes of Jim and Mac. In this seemingly long journey, Jim was fortunate enough to have Mac as his mentor. He learned a lot from him. Before Mac, Jim was just like an inexperienced child lost in a vast land where he can never return tragically. He honestly admitted his amateur when Mac asked him whether he knows about the Torgas Valley by saying that he had “…only been out of town four or five times in my time” (25).

During his stay with Mac, Jim attained a brotherly treatment from Mac. Mac paid lots of attention to Jim, and watched him very closely, especially more about his activities. For example, whenever Mac sensed tiredness from Jim’s face, Mac would advice him to get a rest and sleep so that he could get the energy he need to work (49/66).  Sometimes, Jim would try to leave from the company of Mac to do some work, and since it’s dangerous to be alone out in the Valley Mac  advice Jim to be extra cautious, “… From now on be careful, and don’t go away form the crowd very far. If you want to go someplace, see you take about a dozen men with you” (91).  Mac hinted to Jim how easy it would be to kick them out of Torgas Valley if one of them is seen alone because both Jim and Mac were considered as foreigners who do not belong to the Torgas Valley. As a result of this precious and extra caring by Mac, Jim admired the noble work and treatment he was getting from this gifted fellow. Therefore, Jim became obedient to Mac thereby doing whatever Mac ordered him to do without any hesitations.

On the other hand, it’s questionable whether Mac was an honest mentor and friend to Jim because Mac seems to have a split personality. At one time, he treated Dick, and Joy the same way he treats Jim now. But that behavior changed as soon as Joy arrived in the Torgas Valley where he was killed. Mac obviously forgot the partnership that he had with Joy when he was capable of doing things in his way. Before Joy’s corps was taken to the cemetery to get buried, Mac tells the strikers, who were around him, "We’re going to throw the dirty radical in the mud….” (178). Anyone who is honest about their partnetship with other would never utter this sort of words because a friendship is greater than anything else. As a result of this, it’s highly possible that Mac had some sort of ulterior motives which was not visible for others  see it that easily. Mac was using anything that he approached to just gain his interest even if that means taking the soul of an innocent person.