Dependence On What Matters The Most : Rough Draft

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was written not only to enlighten people about the conditions of America during the Great Depression, but also to share his beliefs regarding the American Dream that so many aspire to achieve. The Great Depression inspired many people to change their lifestyle for the betterment and happiness of their families. These tumultuous times often created desperation for families—oftentimes to get money to be able to support their family. The American Dream measures person or a family’s success based on their achievements, whether it is regarding their wealth, societal class, relationship with a higher power, or their occupation. Steinbeck crushes all of these beliefs in The Grapes of Wrath because he knows that

Like the American population during Great Depression, the characters in the story faced many hardships they had to overcome, including but not limited to those mentioned previously. In brief, the Great Depression was a devastating event in the history of America’s economy and Capitalistic standpoint, that had the potential to abolish the United States’ world power status

In 1929 the effect of The Great Depression echoed throughout The United States. Forcing many farmers to sell their farms and give up on their pursuit of the widely sought after American Dream. Although in third person Steinbeck centers the novella around the two main characters George, and Lennie. Using strong rhetorical strategies such as diction, imagery, novel structure, and literary devices. Steinbeck crafts a story that expresses the hardships of achieving the American Dream.

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was first written and later published in the 1939. From the time of its publication to date, the exemplary yet a simple book has seen Steinbeck win a number of highly coveted awards including Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and later on Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Set at the time of the Great Depression, the book most remarkably gives a descriptive account of the Oklahoma based sharecropper Joad’ poor family in the light of economic hardship, homelessness, and the impacts of worst changing agricultural and financial sectors to the poor in America then. Throughout the chapters, the book brings into sharp focus the dehumanizing individual lives of the lower class during the time of Great Depression

This book is proven to be one that will always amaze and shock audiences reading. In Steinbeck's novella he uses foreshadowing in several ways to express the unhappiness and hardships a man living through The Great Depression. He discusses his conflicts, his deepest demons and his greatest dreams.

Propaganda was a big tool for the United States during the Great Depression as it was used to uplift everyone’s spirits and keep them hopeful. This was presented through photos and messages such as “There’s no way like the American way” even though the conditions during the Great Depression was awful as there was no food or jobs but the public ignored the terrible conditions because of the propaganda presented to them and believed that life was becoming better in America. Harper Lee presents a key theme of the Great Depression and the stock market crashing through characters, The Cunningham’s represent “country folks, farmers” as the crash affected them badly because no food means no produce growing which alternately means no income of money. Also, the fact that during the Great Depression propaganda was used as a tool to keep the citizens motivated to live meant that they were being presented to false image of how life was and truly believed that life was getting better in the United States. Whereas, if they were shown a true representation of things were the people would not have a false idea of how great life was but rather a true portrayal of how starvation, unemployment and suicide rates increased during the years of the Great

Steinbeck illustrates the American Dream during the Great Depression using characters and their thoughts. Utilizing indirect characterization, he shows how characters value the comfort that their dreams provide. When George describes their dream in vivid detail, Lennie often becomes very giddy and complacent (Steinbeck 13-14).

In John Steinbeck’s tragic, mangled novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the reader is shipped off into the heart of the great Dust Bowl in the American Midwest in the peak of American hardship. Through his use of realism in the era of the modern age, Steinbeck reveals the hardships that were faced by common American citizens during the Great Depression, and utilizes the Joad family in an effort to depict the lives of the farmers who had to flee to new land in the high hopes of a new and better life. The obstacles the family faces are similar to what countless other families had to face, with very little of the population able to successful thrive at the time. By utilizing the empowering endeavors unforeseen by these poor families and the meteorological catastrophes overlooking the Midwest, Steinbeck illustrates the nationwide panic faced by many Americans in an effort to delineate their confusion and uncertainty.

In the book “The Grapes of Wrath” Steinbeck shows the readers how truly miserable the Great Depression was for the people who have lived through it . The way he does this is by showing the true colors of the Depression and how it affected the lives of an everyday family. The “fambly” is forced to leave their home due to foreclosure, they travel to California slowly loosing members of their family to death and their own decisions to move on alone.

In the author’s novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts an individual’s life during the Great Depression as a sad, lonely journey, in order for a person to revive and achieve their American Dream. He highlights a person’s desire for companionship throughout the novel.

The world has depended on its resources for millions of years and John Steinbeck has put the resources to work in a dependent way through the works of his writing. Steinbeck gives the reader something that everyone can relate to. He allows the public to connect to an emotional level by presenting the reader with a blend of social consciousness and sentimental value to bring out the true inner self. Work in literature can appear to be so simple, but have such a complex and deep meaning. Due to the stock market crash in October 1929, everyone was wiped off their feet and thrown face first in the dirt. This was known as The Great Depression. The Depression changed many lives drastically and brought out the real values in people that were never seen before. Steinbeck’s writing does not demonstrate the shallow outside picture; his writing gets into the deep gritty detail that brings out the real values of the desired time period. John Steinbeck contributed to the American voice by drawing the reader out of their own reality and into his own fantasy by giving the character’s relatable traits through their actions and not their words. With this in mind it is important to realize the unique ways Steinbeck is able to appeal to the public and make an impact on others.

The mood and effects of The Great Depression is well documented within John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, predominately in the values and customs of familial and societal standings. This novel is paralleled by documents and pictures that further extenuate the points made by Steinbeck, by highlighting the setting and theme of the novel and this era in history. A primary example of this is the picture entitled, “Families on the road with all their possessions”, it mirrors three main overall themes that the novel elaborates upon; these themes include the horror and dread the average family had to endure, the family problems and values expressed, as well as the symbolism and meaning of the rain. To fully understand how this image parallels the

PARA 1: Steinbeck’s use of realism illuminates - American fractured society during the great depression

John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ shows the cruel society that was created in America during the Great Depression. This is revealed through the brutal environment established on the ranch near Soledad. Steinbeck explores the hierarchy of society and the unfair power structures that challenge some characters. Life is also difficult for the inhabitants of the ranch as they experience loneliness and isolation and struggle to find friendship. Although some cling on to dreams as a means of escape, the harsh world they live in eventually crushes their plans. This was a hard era to live in and people were constantly stripped of their human rights.

John Steinbeck was one of America’s most famous authors. In his writings, readers receive an idea of what life was like in the 1930s; during the period of the depression. Steinbeck was the voice for the marginalized, working class during this time period. Steinbeck was born in California, in Salinas Valley, where many of his novels’ settings were based off of. Not only did he express his California self in the settings, but through the characters in his novel’s as well. What put him on the map was his book Tortilla Flat. Tortilla Flat was sold in about 25,000 copies across the nation. Because it was during the period of the Depression, this was an astonishing success. It was a story about a gang in California after World War I. This was followed