The following poem is written from the perspective of an Okie, traveling west from his farm home in the Great Plains region. The poem captures the hatred that the Okies experienced from the native westerners (i.e. Californians), and their struggle to cope with this adversity. It explores both the feelings that the Okies had relative to this hatred as well as the actual remarks that westerners made about the Okies. The sources for these explorations are pages 205, 206, 213, 214, and 221 from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
I ... am an Okie
Tryin' to make a livin' in the ol' West
Goin' to the land o' California
I ... am an Okie
Comin' from Oklahoma
Bein' a true Okie
He ... is an Okie
Isn't liked by them deputy sheriffs
Bein' called a 'son-of-a-bitch'
She ... is an Okie
A scum
A bum
She ... is an Okie
Can't stay here on this land
Why? Because...
She ... is an Okie
Gettin' scared by them darn police officers
Bein' drivin' off of this restin' spot
I ... am an Okie
Not wanted in the west
Cannot go back to my home
I ... am an Okie
With nowhere to go
Hardships looks me in the face. Everywhere.
I ... am an Okie
I ain't human, like a gorilla. I don't know any better.
Why? Because...
I ... am an Okie
Loved. This.
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