Robin A. Fanslow, in his article “ The Migrant Experience” from the Library Of Congress on April 6, 1998, gave an explanation of the life of a Migrant Farmworker.
Many people believed that the farmers stayed farmers and stuck to that lifestyle but they had many bumps along the road. Fanslow made it a point that the Migrant Farmers went through many troubles during their journey to and while in California. The life of Migrant Workers during the Dust Bowl did not come as easy as they expected and many of them ended up going to World War 2.
The fact that the farmers migrated to California does not mean they continued in that field. When the farmers arrived after their long travels it came across them that there had already been many Mexican and Filipino farmers spread around the state. “ This material illustrates that Mexican immigrants had long been an integral part of agricultural production,” Fanslow tells us that, “ When the Dust Bowl families went to California looking for work, the majority of migrant farm laborers were either Latino or Asian, particularly of Mexican and Filipino descent.” (Fanslow, 2). Even though the farmers decided to migrate to California they were not aware that Mexicans and Filipinos were already settled there. Even though they had a set plan of becoming farmers in California they ran into struggles that changed their initial plan. Just like in Of Mice And Men they both had a journey in mind but had struggles along the way.
One thing that got in George and Lennie’s way of getting their new home was when Lennie got into a fight with Curley. After the fight one Curley got threatened not to tell anyone about it because it could give George and Lennie problems in the near future. Curley felt intimidated so that made him agree on not telling about the incident. Like in Of Mice And Men, things often go unplanned and give us different outcomes that we would never have expected. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs gives us a layout of all of the different needs that humans have which can guide people to adapt to changes. The main topic that connected with “ The Migrant Experience” was the basic needs which contain physiological needs and safety needs. Throughout the travels of the farmers, they were always trying to stay safe and make a living.
Fanslow tells us that, even though they were working they still had a hard time maintaining a safe and secure living environment for their families. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs tells us that the bases of our basic needs are food, water, warmth, rest, security, and safety. We need to achieve our basic needs before we can achieve anything after that and reach any other goals.
The farmers took the one chance they got to better their families and their own life. Even though it was not their plan, being apart of the war gave them better outcomes. The life of Migrant workers during the Dust Bowl did not come as easily as they expected and many of them ended up going to World War 2. This change allowed the farmers to better their lives and allowed them to progress in life. Understanding the life of a Migrant Farmworker makes you realize that change does not always mean bad outcomes. Sometimes making changes can give you a small push to better yourself, it could give you a better final picture.