A Man's Humility in the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinkbeck

Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, many concepts appear that were noted in How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. However, the three chapters of Foster’s how-to guide that most apply to Steinbeck’s novel were “It’s All About Sex…,” “Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not),” and “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow.” On more than one occasion these concepts are hidden within the book, and two of them actually seem somewhat linked together. After reading between the lines, The Grapes of Wrath has an extremely intricate plot and many ulterior meanings. Foster’s book helps to solve these meanings and make it so that the novel can be completely understood.

Many of the events in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck do not result in the expected manner. Although the Joads seem to be traveling in hope, irony seems to conquer several situations. There are three types of irony: in dramatic irony, the reader sees the characters mistakes, but not the character. In verbal irony, the author means something rather than what is said. Irony of situation is when there is a paradox between the purpose of an action and its result. By observing several situations during the novel, such as the events of the Weedpatch Camp, the death of Casey, and Chapter 29, much irony can be distinguished.

During the Great Depression, many people lost their jobs or took pay cuts which created challenging circumstances for many families. The majority of these challenging circumstances generated from selfishness. Self-interest consumed landowners and businesses to the point that it caused thousands of families to sink into poverty. Due to the the Dust Bowl, many families had to migrate West, especially to California where there was a high demand for workers. Migrants learned that their survival depends on their devotion to the collective good. Therefore the migrant families united and shared anything they could give. In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the migrants are constantly committing selfless and altruistic acts which shows the reader that in order to survive, people have to create a devotion to a community.

As a result people began to unite and help one another in similar situations as them. This is best displayed in the novel The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck. As families were forced out of their homes by the corporations, these farmers slowly united to form groups, called Hoovervilles, that were able to aid each other in times of distress. As a result of the Dust Bowl, Ma helped the Wilsons

During the Great Depression, many citizens faced an arduous lifestyle of unemployment. However, many people managed to entertain themselves by reading literature such as The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck witnessed an injustice towards farmers during the Great Depression, and this inspired Steinbeck to present his perspective of the maltreatment to the open through The Grapes of Wrath. The fictional novel describes how unfortunate conditions, during the Great Depression, force an Oklahoma farmer family to travel to California in search for an easy life, job opportunities, and a bright future. John Steinbeck represented and connected his tones through his trope, making it an excellent read. In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Do the needs of an individual family or group supersede the needs of the many? In The Grapes of Wrath written by the John Steinbeck, the readers see the strength that is needed to be a mother when outside forces rip a family apart. Ma Joad is the living representation of strength given her unique role in the family. Ma took an almost patriarchal role in the family and demonstrated that she was unique among other characters due to her strength, love, and family power.

Quote : “I realized that this man was not trying to arrest us, nor was he demanding money. He wanted to know what trouble we were in. He wanted to help” (.162)

During the story, a lot of families were losing their land to the banks. Many of the families had been living there for generations, and the land was wrongly taken from them. Steinbeck wanted to show how the conglomerates were taking away core parts of the families. He also wanted to show how they were mistreated by everyone. Steinbeck shows this point by writing how the banks severed the families’ ties that were connected to the land, showing how the banks destroyed people’s lands, and forced the families into destitution.

1. Ordinary World –the Hero’s home. A safe haven he must leave to start the journey The ordinary world is on a farm that is somewhere in Europe and it is near a village. (pg.

The diction words I picked from the quote was “blasted” and “sleeping” and which then I chose the tone word, uneasy because reflects how even though the Clutters lost their live due to being shot in the head, Perry and Dick also destroyed their own lives because they turned themselves into murders which means they will have to run away for eternity.

   In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses both obvious references and subtle contrasts to emphasize the main theme of the novel: the sanctity of man's relationship to the natural world and to each other.

    Steinbeck's political views are quite evident within The Grapes of Wrath. The subject of much controversy, The Grapes of Wrath serves as a social protest and commentary. Steinbeck's views as expressed through the novel tie directly into the Marxist ideals on communism.

   When Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, our country was just starting to recover from The Great Depression.  The novel he wrote, though fiction, was not an uncommon tale in many lives.  When this book was first published, the majority of those reading it understood where it was coming from-they had lived it.  But now very few people understand the horrors of what went on in that time.  The style in which Steinbeck chose to write The Grapes of Wrath helps get across the book's message.

However, this anger presented in the novel is not a negative one. The characters are about to burst out of it and as result they will seek improving their conditions and fighting against this inhumane treatment. Many people agree on the fact that the novel is greatly about anger. For instance, Malcolm Cowely believes that the novel is one among the “great angry books that have the power to spur readers on to protest and action.” ( Cowely, American Tragedy p.382-383)

The Dust Bowl, a series of severe dust storms in the 1930’s, left the southern plains of the United States as a wasteland. The storms occurred due to the lack of use of dryland farming techniques to prevent wind erosion. Powerful winds would pick up loose soil and carry the sediment around the countryside. Called “black blizzard” or “black rollers”, these storms had the potential to black out the sky completely. Due to the inability to grow and sell crops, banks evicted families and foreclosed their properties, leaving them homeless and without an income. The author of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, wrote his American realist novel to allow readers to understand the experiences of the migrants from the Dust Bowl era. Not many