Grapes Of Wrath: A Short Story

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.

John Steinbeck uses symbolism to enrich his writing. Several of these symbols can be found in his book, The Grapes of Wrath. The Joad’s, a family from Oklahoma, are in search of a better life. They leave their home in journey to California because of the dust bowl. The symbols in the book are the dust, the turtle, names of people, and the grapes. These symbols give the reader an additional perspective of the book. Dust represents life and death. Dust makes a mess of things and leaves possessions under a mucky film. The farming in Oklahoma becomes difficult because the heavy winds uplift the soil and carry it great distances. Then the farmers are left with no soil to grow their crops. The Joad’s livelihood depends on the soil. If the

“At the heart of every immigrant’s experience is a dream- a vision of hope that is embodied in his or her destination” (Gladstein 685). In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath the migrants imagined the absolute aspects of living care free to the west. However, everything changed once they traveled to the west, realizing the simple concept turned into hazardous problems. John Steinback emphasized the American dream of economic stability and truculent situations towards the Joads family's point of view. Throughout the immigration, the Joads family goes through constant and unpredictable changes in employment, and their eventual failure to find success in California. The novel has been called by critics "a celebration of the human spirit", in several ways it is true due to the aspects of human nature. Despite the hazardous actions people can do, it is important to realize everything around us.

Ye, have heard that it hath been said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy." But I say unto you, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hat you, and pray for them which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

The Grapes of Wrath is set in the horrible stage of our American history, the Depression. Economic, social, and historical surroundings separate the common man of America into basically the rich and poor. A basic theme is that man turns against one another in a selfish pride to only protect themselves. For example, the landowners create a system in which migrants are treated like animals and pushed along from one roadside camp to the next. They are denied decent wages and forced to turn against their fellow scramblers to simply survive.

Whether it was increased rent by corrupt landowners or a typical drought, the result was

The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck, still remains one of the most controversial novels ever written. “The book was publicly banned in some places, burned in others, and heatedly debated on the radio” (Wartzman). The novel follows the Joad family on their journey to California and their struggles to survive during the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. The family, along with the thousands of many other migrants, were treated poorly from the Californians. They came with the promise of work, but found very little.

John Steinbeck grew up in Salinas California, and came into contact with many migrant workers throughout his life. Steinbeck worked on many ranches as a ranch hand, and lived through the 1930’s observing the social inequalities towards the migrant workers. There were so many migrant workers in California due to the Dust Bowl, which completely tarnished the farming lands of the Great Plains. Along with bringing in a low amount of food to support their families, the national bank kicked many farmers off of their lands because of the stock market crash and the plummet of the economy. The government saw an opportunity to regain themselves in the Great Plains, so they moved everyone out and gave it all to large industrial companies. The families that had been kicked out of their homes had no place to go, and large farm owners in California wanted to take advantage of them. They sent out thousands of handbills making false promises of financial and job security, so

President Calvin Coolidge vetoed the bill, but then Congress overrode his veto. The bonus was supposed to be paid once the veteran has passed away, earning the name “The Tombstone Bonus.” But then unexpected happened, The Great Depression of 1929. The stock market crashed, 20% were unemployed, and many were left homeless, starving, and hopeless.

The protagonist of this story is Tom Joad. Tom must overcome several conflicts when he is paroled from jail and let out into an economically depressed country. Tom's physical conflict throughout the novel is the task of surviving the horrible starving conditions of America's Great Depression. He also has physical conflicts with people who only wish to destroy the hopes of migrant workers such as the police and strikebreakers. Tom's emotional conflict deals with his inability to get good work and take care of his family. Tom had feelings of worthlessness until he decided to run away and attempt to organize the migrant workers against the wealthy California landowners with inspiration from his close friend Jim

The novel begins when the protagonist of the story, Tom Joad, begins his return home after being released from the state penitentiary. On his way home, he meets his childhood pastor Jim Casey and they walk to Tom’s childhood home. Tom learns from a neighbor that his family has lost their home and they are at their Uncle Tom’s house preparing to leave to California for work. It’s the 1930’s and The Depression is in full effect. Tom reunites with his family and The Joads and Jim Casey leave for California after their belongings have been sold.

The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck, in 1929. Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. Steinbeck did not like to narrate any of his novels in which he had no background information in. That is why he would often live the life of his characters before he wrote his novels or short stories. So in preparation for The Grapes of Wrath he went to Oklahoma, joined some migrants and rode with them to California.

John Steinbeck, widely viewed as one of the most finest and powerful American writer, born to a middle-class family in 1902 in the Salinas Valley of California. Steinbeck is a writer who often spoke for the people. The Grapes of Wrath is a great movie, published in 1939, filled with many universal truths and views on human nature and society, especially where class is concerned. In the article, John Steinbeck The Grapes a wrath: A Call to Action says, “Steinbeck’s novel showcased the other side of the coin: the people who remain behind the scenes while the public benefits from the fruits of their labor, literally” (1). Steinbeck was outraged by the socioeconomic system. In particular, he displays the utmost respect for the dignity of the tenant farmer to whom the novel gives voice to. In the early 1930s the Great Depression was not the only tragedy to take place, a massive drought destroyed the agricultural lands of the Great Plains, especially in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. Moreover, reasons where excessive wheat cultivation after the first World War, these lands were already suffering from loose topsoil and, without rain, the crops simply were not able to take root. The novel centers on Tom Joad and the Joad family’s experiences during this hardship. However, the Joad family 's life served as the symbol representing all California migrant workers during the period. Moreover, the novel is also a display of conflict between poverty and wealth, as

In the beginning of this chapter I realized that Eric and Merle wouldn’t have the kind of relationship they did in the first part. I thought it was a little strange how they had this love connection in one, while in this part they were mother and son. They were not even the main characters which I found was super odd. It took place on an archeologist digging site, and a few parts took place around the site. This leads me to my point, Eric’s relationship to the setting. Eric was a man who didn’t say much but would always watch the archaeologists dig. “Edward suspectes there is something wrong with him. He never speaks, through his lips are slightly parted much of the time, as if he is about to.” (Sedgwick 60.) The setting impacted Eric because he found the bomb in the dig site

The first time I saw the movie, I believed it could be a long flashback that begins after the assault in the alley which fades into the Gorfein’s apartment and then brings us back to the present. The significance of the scene in the back alley behind the café plays a central role in portraying this sort of Lynchian loop, which reveals in the last scene how Llewyn is living in a time loop. Llewyn realizes this too in when he says a sarcastic “au revoir” to the shadowy figure that assaulted him in that back alley. Even though the details may change he knows that he is still going to end up with a busted lip because that’s his fate. Llewyn is trying to make it in the folk music industry and the trials and tribulations he faces along the way do