A conflict that came up in the novel is man vs. machine a.k.a the tractor.
"One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve or fourteen families." (33).
A single man on a tractor can replace the work of several people working in the fields. The tractor is seen as more efficient and faster.
"He loved the land no more than the bank loved the land. He could admire the tractor-its machined surfaces, its surge of power, the roar of its detonating cylinders; but it was not his tractor." (36).
The bank uses the tractor to replace a farming family to make money. The farmer can earn money by driving the tractor because the government pays them $3 a day. Although the farmers love their land, they decide to betray their community for working for society. The only reason they take up this job is to provide for their family even though he could admire the tractor as he expresses the tractor as " its machined surfaces, its surge of power, the roar of its detonating cylinders," the driver admires his land more.
Tractor
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