"Don’t knife your own folks. We’re tryin’ to get along, havin’ fun an’ keepin’ order. Don’t tear all that down. Jes’ think about it. You’re jes’ harmin’ yourself. Awright, boys, put ’em over the back fence. An’ don’t hurt ’em. They don’t know what they’re doin’."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 24. Ezra Huston’s forgiveness of the three migrant troublemakers intending to start a riot at Weedpatch echoes the final words of Jesus dying on the cross. According to Luke 23:24 Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Migrant leader Huston’s humanity stands in stark contrast to the betrayal of the troublemakers and cruelty of the Farmers’ Association who sent them.