The theme of the novel "The Grape Of Wrath" is class conflict and money. John Steinbeck says money is the only thing people really care about, society is controlled on pieces of paper and metal that represent a made up thing called currency. Furthermore, when the poor are ruthlessly pushed off their land by those who own property and who only seek to own more things, class conflict also becomes a major problem. Life becomes a battle between the haves and the have-nots. Conflict spread as migrants sought a better life in California, landowners found migrants a source of cheap labor and a means to maximize profits. Steinbeck writes “The woman will smell as if she smelled rotten meat and they will go out again and say forever that the people in the West are gloomy” (Steinbeck 212). This quote shows how disrespectful people with money are towards the lower class and how they think they are better than them just because of money. Mae can tell just by how they act and the car they drive, that they will act that way, that's how most if ...