In Dubious Battle
In Dubious Battle,novel by Steinbeck, published in 1936.
Jim Nolan, a young man whose “whole family has been ruined by this system,” joins the Communist party in San Francisco. He meets Mac, who “knows more about field work than anybody in the state,” Dick, a “bedroom radical,” and Joy, an agitator who has been “smacked over the head too much.” When Mac is ordered to Torgas Valley, where a strike of fruit pickers is expected, Jim accompanies him to be trained. At Torgas they meet Al Anderson, a “sympathizer,” and go to the camp of the fruit tramps, where Mac wins the gratitude of the leader, London, by assisting at the birth of his daughter's child. When the strike begins, Mac advises London concerning methods and finds a camping place for the 1000 strikers on the farm of Anderson's father. Mac summons Dick, who provides supplies, and Dr. Burton, a “fellow traveler,” to take charge of sanitation. The orchardists...
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