Chapters 1-10 (G)

One of the major conflicts explored in the novel is man versus machine, as technology begins to take over jobs previously held by humans and changing the way that people interact with nature. Steinbeck is sympathetic to the plight of tenant farmers struggling to compete with the tractors that are taking over their jobs. A scene that shows the struggle between farmers and machines is when a tractor razes down a house as its inhabitants watch, powerless to stop the destruction. Steinbeck writes:

The tractor cut a straight line on, and the air and the ground vibrated with its thunder. The tenant man stared after it, his rifle in his hand. His wife was beside him, and the quiet children behind. And all of them stared after the tractor (39).

This quote reflects the angry sentiments of the tenants who have been replaced by the tractor. The machine is literally leaving the people behind as it continues onwards, which shows that the advance of technology comes at the expense of humans that will be  unemployed and forced to leave their farms as a result of cheaper, more efficient ways of farming.  The demolition of the house by the machine symbolizes the wrecking of people's lives by technology because machines displaces tenant farmers and their families, who will have to migrate west in search of employment.

Not only does the machines cause the eviction of farmers, the usage of tractors causes the detachment of people from nature. The loss of personal connections to the land enrage the farmers and serves to intensify the conflict between man and machines as the farmers attempt to cling on to their old farming methods. Whereas the farmers take great care of the land, the tractor drivers lose their connection with nature as a result of machinery that has replaced humans. This transformation of tractor drivers from a person to a machine-driven robot is described by:

A twitch at the controls could swerve the car', but the driver's hands could not twitch because the monster that had built the tractor, the monster that sent the tractor out, had somehow got into the driver's hands, into his brain and muscle, had goggled him and muzzled him—goggled his mind, muzzled his speech, goggled his perception, muzzled his protest (35).

The usage of technology in order to do what had been done by farmers leads to a mechanical, unthinking way of life as people, such as the tractor driver, become driven by banks and greedy capitalists instead of relying their intuition to determine what is best for the land. The clash between man and the machines will continue in The Grapes of Wrath as the farmers refuse to adapt and accept the modern, fast-paced way of life set by advances in technology. 

1930's tractor