The Grapes of Wrath/Market structures - Research Paper Example

As a result of this, there is no single entity with the ability to influence the product’s price significantly enough to cause a fluctuation. In this market, sellers are “price takers” because they are unable to set prices for their products due to the fact that there are very many producers participating in the market. Consequently, consumers also have minimal influence over the prices of products since there lacks a single group of consumers with the ability to dominate the demand of the products.

In a purely competitive market, the conditions for entering the market by suppliers or sellers are very easy and neither are there any obstacles that limit entry into the market. Consumers will also continue buying products at the same rate even in the event that suppliers leave or enter the market. In the book “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, Tom Joad’s interlocutor in the federal host camp describes the basis of perfect competition extremely well. He indicates that if there was a job on offer and one hundred men applied for that job, even if the job paid just a nickel, the men would kill each other for that job in order for them to feed their kids.

However, if only one man applied for the job, you as the employer would be forced to pay him what he asks for. Therefore, prices are kept at an equilibrium level by these forces of demand and supply. The dilemma of seasonal jobs is also well illustrated in Steinbeck’s book. The young interlocutor explains how he once worked in a peach orchard which needed 3,000 men for two weeks when the peaches were ripe. This was the labor force needed for this period so as to prevent the peaches from rotting.

However, there was a period which they had 6,000 men hence the orchard paid whatever they wanted. It was a situation of take it or leave it since the labor supply was more than the demand. Since no single firm can dictate the price in the market, then the price determined in the market