Biblical Allusions In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath was written in 1939 in response to the Great Depression by John Steinback. The story follows the Joad family as they are forced to leave their home to travel California which promised land and work. The Joad Family represents many families who had to migrate to California. In chapter 9, Steinback shows us through syntax and diction the bitterness and sorrow migrant workers had to go through as they prepared to make their journey to California. Steinback use of diction and syntax in this chapter is what serves his purpose of writing and sets the tone.

she gives birth to her stillborn child, she gives life to a starving man by breast-feeding

Steinbeck's intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters of the novel, but help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different viewpoints of the migration, and clarifying parts of the story that the reader might not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of migrant Okies and the residents of California reveals the changing nature of land ownership among the changing population of California and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the Joads meet in California.

John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men makes numerous biblical allusions to demonstrate how man is incapable of resisting his own primeval desires, revealing humanity's inherent imperfections.

As can be seen in The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads are a very tight-knit family. Yet on their trip to California, they experience many losses and additions to their family. In general, Steinbeck's novel abides by the circle of life. When a birth occurs, a death follows, and when a death occurs, a birth follows. However, in The

In his novel Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck integrated many biblical references and values throughout the book. This provided a more intriguing and complex style of writing that he used to tell about the Dust Bowl of the early 1900’s and the arduous journey the Joad family and many others took to reach California.

Tom, though, is a very complicated individual who turns out to be a tremendous asset and burden to the family. His parole causes the family an unneeded worry, but does get work that helps the family. He is the main protagonist for his family and the main follower of Jim Casy's philosophy on human nature. Jim is much more of a talker and idealist, and he actually puts what he preached into action. Jim Casy is frequently compared with Jesus Christ and his lifestyle of preaching and leading people. As well as sacrificing himself for Tom and the Joad family which upholds his common held belief. Tom carries Jim’s message after his death and aids others with it. The Joad family, along with Jim Casy, shows the benefit of people uniting in order to accomplish goals and this is a lesson that the reader can take away from this novel.

     The book, Grapes of Wrath, follows the life of the Joad family, who live in Oklahoma during the Depression. The story begins with the return of Tom Joad from prison, where he has spent the last few years. He killed a boy in a bar fight and is now on parole. He is taken by surprise when he returns to Oklahoma only to find that his house is in ruins and his family is not there. He doesn’t know that, while he was gone, the banks forced his family and thousands of others off their land. Tom is accompanied by a former priest, Casey, who searches with Tom for his family. Tom and Casey find the Joad family at Tom’s uncle’s house. The family is preparing to move west to California in hopes that they

Next comes the historical aspect of “The Grapes of Wrath fits right in for the time period it was written in. the 1930`s, right in the middle of the dust bowl and the great depression. The drought ruined the crops in Oklahoma. This worsened the economic situation in the United States causing them to migrate to find new sources of income. The depression and the dust bowl both lead the Joads to moving to California. They moved to California because there wasn’t such a big drought there, so that more people could have more jobs in

In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses word choice and imagery to enhance the reader’s understanding of the setting and characters. In word choice, he uses simple words to describe the setting, the restaurant and truck, . He uses imagery to describe the setting and to characterize the “man”. This passage uses simple words to describe the truck and the restaurant, such as, “A huge red transport truck stood in front of the little roadside restaurant.”

In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family experiences many hardships on the journey to and in California, ranging from dying family members to a lack of sufficient food. In the third chapter of the novel, author John Steinbeck introduces a determined turtle who attempts to make its journey across a highway. The turtle is apparently nearly run over multiple times, and is actually hit by a car. This causes the turtle to be flipped on its shell, until it catches its footing and “little by little the shell [pulls] over and [is] flopped upright”(16). The turtle then continues its journey and successfully crosses the highway. Although this chapter may have seemed out of place, as the turtle seems to have nothing to do with the novel, Steinbeck’s use of symbolism is apparent. The turtle itself is supposed to symbolize the Joad family and the struggles they face trying to find a better life. Like the turtle, the family is knocked down many times, and like the turtle the family is still able to find its footing and stay determined. The Joad family’s goal is to make a living in California, and although they will face many challenges, they still have their eyes set on crossing their own personal and hazardous turtle highway.

   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.

The premise of the popular novel by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath has to do with the Great Depression, and, more specifically has to do with westward migration. The Joad family is looking for a better life by moving to California from their reclaimed farm in Oklahoma. However, they were not alone. Many families were moving out west in hope of opportunities that were not there. There is a lot of irony involved in this story such as the concept of the promised land, Casey’s death, and Grandpa’s death and the events following. In Steinbeck’s popular novel, The Grapes of Wrath, there is much irony involved in the characters, setting, and events.

John Steinbeck wrote the The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 to rouse its readers against those who were responsible for keeping the American people in poverty. The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family, migrant farmers from Oklahoma traveling to California in search of an illusion of prosperity. The novel's strong stance stirred up much controversy, as it was often called Communist propaganda, and banned from schools due to its vulgar language. However, Steinbeck's novel is considered to be his greatest work. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and later became an Academy Award winning movie in 1940. The novel and the movie are both considered to be wonderful

During the 1930’s numerous families were left home and landless due to the depression and the dust bowl which resulted in a lack of crops produced. These families ventured west to embark on a new life. In the book The Grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck, allegory is present in the form of symbolism. Symbolism is shown in the form of a grasshopper, a turtle and a baby.