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In Dubious Battle

by John Steinbeck

Labor conflict and the search for identity

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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Labor conflict and the search for identity

Set amid California’s apple-growing country, John Steinbeck’s novel brings a migrant workers’ strike into collision with the power of landowners. The conflict also shapes Jim Nolan, whose involvement in the labor struggle becomes a test of identity and allegiance. As collective defiance turns toward fanaticism, the book links social unrest with the risks of subordinating individual judgment to a cause. Its two strands—the organizing and escalation of the strike, and Jim’s personal development—offer a focused view of how a political struggle can reshape the people caught within it.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in fiction about labor organizing and social unrest.
  • Readers seeking a novel that connects political conflict with a character’s search for identity.
  • Readers interested in California agricultural settings and migrant workers’ struggles.

Themes

Labor conflictCollective action and fanaticismIdentity and allegiancePower and social unrest

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A riveting novel of labor strife and apocalyptic violence, now a major motion picture starring James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Selena Gomez, and Zach Braff

A Penguin Classic


At once a relentlessly fast-paced, admirably observed novel of social unrest and the story of a young man's struggle for identity, In Dubious Battle is set in the California apple country, where a strike by migrant workers against rapacious landowners spirals out of control, as a principled defiance metamorphoses into blind fanaticism. Caught in the upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who find himself in the course of the strike, briefly becomes its leader, and is ultimately crushed in its service.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Customer reviews

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Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

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Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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