In Dubious Battle
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''In Dubious Battle'' is a novel by
John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...
, written in 1936. The central figure of the story is an activist attempting to organize abused laborers in order to gain fair wages and working conditions. Prior to publication, Steinbeck wrote in a letter:
This is the first time I have felt that I could take the time to write and also that I had anything to say to anything except my manuscript book. You remember that I had an idea that I was going to write the autobiography of a Communist ... There lay the trouble. I had planned to write a journalistic account of a strike. But as I thought of it as fiction the thing got bigger and bigger. It couldn't be that. I've been living with this thing for some time now. I don't know how much I have got over, but I have used a small strike in an orchard valley as the symbol of man's eternal, bitter warfare with himself.


Explanation of the novel's title

The title is a reference to a passage from
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'':
Innumerable force of Spirits armed,
That durst dislike his reign, and, me preferring,
His utmost power with adverse power opposed
In dubious battle on the plains of Heaven
And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?
All is not lost—the unconquerable will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome?


Plot summary

''In Dubious Battle'' deals with a fruit-workers' strike in a
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
valley and the attempts of labor unions to organize, lead, and provide for the striking pickers. Jim Nolan meets Harry Nilson who initiates Jim's application process to become the newest member of the Party. Mac "Doc" McLeod, the Party organizer, tells Jim they will go to the Torgas Valley (a composite location) in an attempt to rouse the two thousand fruit pickers against the Growers' Association, and to encourage the strike to spill over into the cotton fields in Tandale. Momentum for strike action builds after old Dan breaks two rungs out of a ladder and falls. London becomes chairman of a committee of seven men, while Mac convinces Alfred Anderson's father, Al, to loan five acres as a base for the fruit pickers in exchange for them picking his crop for free. Doc Burton is hired by Mac to maintain the sanitation of the strikers' camp, so as to prevent it from being disbanded by the Red Cross. The course of the strike is recounted in some detail, including the politics of the local growers, the support by Al through his little luncheonette, the "sweet-talking" of some locals in order to garner food and other help for the pickers, and personal crises and tragedies in individual cases. Mac emerges as a heroic but quite single-minded figure; Jim's occasional doubts are presented as well. Jim joins Sam in a picket as they go after some 'scabs' in the apple orchard. Sam's pickets violently injure them. While out on the road Dakin, the leader of the pickers, is ambushed by a vigilante group at gunpoint. This is disrupted by the arrival of traffic cops whose presence calms Dakin. In the aftermath, Jim is killed by a high powered shotgun. As the book ends, Mac is continuing to rouse and motivate the picketers, in spite of seemingly hopeless odds.


Characters

*Doc Burton – A doctor who, despite his skepticism of leftist views, works in the strikers' camp, ensuring that it cannot be disbanded on the basis of a lack of sanitation. *Jim Nolan– New member of the "Party," whose political development is one of the book's central themes. His father was a labor organizer himself, and was legendary as one who fought. *London – the second, but more significant, elected leader of the striking workers *Mrs. Meer – Jim's landlady *Harry Nilson – Party official who initiates Jim's application process for the Party *Roy Nolan – Jim's father (killed three years earlier) *Mr. Webb – Manager at Tulman's Department Store, where Jim worked who denies knowing Jim when he hears he is a radical. *May Nolan – Jim's older sister who mysteriously disappears at a young age *Mac McLeod –
Party organizer A party organizer or local party organizer is a position in some political parties in charge of the establishing a party organization in a certain locality. Herbert Ames wrote in his 1911 article "Organization of Political Parties in Canada" :"Pro ...
and Jim's mentor. He becomes the main driver of the plot after taking Jim under his wing. *Dick Halsing – "pretty boy" party member in charge of soliciting Party sympathizers for donations *Joy – a radical of the time. Had spent many years fighting for workers rights. *Alfred Anderson – Owner/operator of Al's Lunch Wagon; son of a small apple farmer in the valley. *Sam – "lean-face", a picker *Lisa – London's daughter-in-law who is assisted by Mac when in labor *Dan – an old picker whose fall from a rotten ladder initially causes the other workers to take strike action *Dakin – leader of pickers at the Hunter place *Alla – Dakin's wife *Jerry – a picker at Hunter's who favors strike *Al Anderson – Alfred's father, small farm owner, proud of his dogs *Burke – Dakin's assistant *Albert Johnson – truck owner *Bolter – President of the Fruitgrower's Association


Literary significance and criticism

On publication, ''New York Times'' reviewer Fred T. March compared it to the "genial gusto" of the "picaresque" ''
Tortilla Flat ''Tortilla Flat'' (1935) is an early John Steinbeck novel set in Monterey, California. The novel was the author's first clear critical and commercial success. The book portrays a group of 'paisanos'—literally, countrymen—a small band of e ...
''. He commented that "You would never know that ''In Dubious Battle'' was by the same John Steinbeck if the publishers did not tell you so." He called it "courageous and desperately honest," "the best labor and strike novel to come out of our contemporary economic and social unrest," and "such a novel as
Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...
at his best might have done had he gone on with his projected labor novel..." In 1943, with Steinbeck now famous,
Carlos Baker Carlos Baker (May 5, 1909, Biddeford, Maine – April 18, 1987, Princeton, New Jersey) was an American writer, biographer and former Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton University. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and ...
"revalued" the novel. He opened by saying "Among Steinbeck's best novels, the least known is probably ''In Dubious Battle.''" Steinbeck, he said, "is supremely interested in what happens to men's minds and hearts when they function, not as responsible, self-governing individuals, but as members of a group.... Biologists have a word for this very important problem; they call it
bionomics Bionomics (Greek: bio = life; nomos = law) has two different meanings: * the first is the comprehensive study of an organism and its relation to its environment. As translated from the French word ''Bionomie'', its first use in English was in the p ...
, or ecology." He said that "Steinbeck's bionomic interest is visible in all that he has done, from ''Tortilla Flat'', in the middle Thirties, through his semi-biological ''Sea of Cortez,'' to his latest communiqués as a war correspondent in England." He characterized ''In Dubious Battle'' as "an attempt to study a typical mid-depression strike in bionomic terms." In 1958, critic
Alfred Kazin Alfred Kazin (June 5, 1915 – June 5, 1998) was an American writer and literary critic. He wrote often about the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America. Early life Like many other New York Intellectuals, Alfred Kazin was ...
referred to ''In Dubious Battle'' and ''
The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' as "his most powerful books," contrasting them with ''
Cannery Row Cannery Row is the waterfront street bordering the city of Pacific Grove, but officially in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It was the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973 ...
'' and ''
The Wayward Bus ''The Wayward Bus'' is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1947. The novel's epigraph is a passage from 15th-century English play ''Everyman (15th-century play), Everyman'', with its archaic English intact; the quotation refe ...
''. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
told the ''New York Times'' that it was his favorite book by Steinbeck. The novel likely recounts a fruit worker strike that occurred in
Tulare County Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...
, California.


Film adaptation

On January 30, 2015, it was announced that
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-M ...
would direct and star in a film version of the novel. The screenplay was written by Matt Rager and will be produced by AMBI Productions, Rabbit Bandini Productions, and That's Hollywood Productions. The film stars
Nat Wolff Nathaniel Marvin Wolff (born December 17, 1994) is an American actor and musician. He gained recognition for composing the music for ''The Naked Brothers Band (TV series), The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–2009), a Nickelodeon television serie ...
in the lead role, along with
Josh Hutcherson Joshua Ryan Hutcherson (born October 12, 1992) is an American actor and producer. Hutcherson began acting in the early 2000s and appeared in several commercials and minor film and television roles before landing his first major role in 2002 in ...
,
Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...
,
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
,
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), ''The Truman Show'' (1998), ''Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award n ...
,
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...
, and others.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on March 19, 2015 in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and
Bostwick, Georgia Bostwick is a town in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 378. History Bostwick was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly in 1902. The community was named in honor of John Bostwick, a ...
. Additional footage was shot in orchards West of
Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...
September 27 and 28, 2015. The film was released in theaters in the United States on February 17, 2017.


See also

* California agricultural strikes of 1933


References


Further reading

*"''In Dubious Battle'' and Other Recent Works of Fiction," Fred T. March, New York Times, February 2, 1936, p. BR7 *"''In Dubious Battle'' Revalued," Carlos Baker, July 25, 1943, p. BR4 *"The Unhappy Man from Happy Valley,"
Alfred Kazin Alfred Kazin (June 5, 1915 – June 5, 1998) was an American writer and literary critic. He wrote often about the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America. Early life Like many other New York Intellectuals, Alfred Kazin was ...
,
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, May 4, 1958 p. BR1 * Pressman, Richard S. "Individualists or Collectivists: Steinbeck's ''In Dubious Battle'' and Hemingway's ''To Have and Have Not''.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 25.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1992)
119-133. * Rose, Alan Henry. "Steinbeck and the Complexity of the Self in ''In Dubious Battle''.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 9.01 (Winter 1976)
15-19 * Sarchett, Barry W. "''In Dubious Battle'': A Revaluation.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 13.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1980)
87-97 * Wilson, Jerry W. "''In Dubious Battle'': Engagement in Collectivity.
''Steinbeck Quarterly'' 13.01-02 (Winter/Spring 1980)
31-42


External links

* {{Authority control 1936 American novels Novels by John Steinbeck Labor history Labor literature Novels set in California American novels adapted into films Covici-Friede books