Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck

The dust bowl was a tragic time in America for so many families and John Steinbeck does a great job at getting up-close and personal with one family to show these tragedies. In the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck employed a variety of rhetorical devices, such as asyndeton, personification and simile, in order to persuade his readers to enact positive change from the turmoil of the Great Depression. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck tells the fictional narrative of Tom Joad and his family, while exploring social issues and the hardships of families who had to endure the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Steinbeck’s purpose was to challenge readers to look at

April 14th, 1939, John Steinbeck published the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. The novel became an immediate best seller, with selling over 428,900 copies. Steinbeck, who lived through both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, sought to bring attention to how families of Oklahoma outdid these disasters. Steinbeck focuses on families of Oklahoma, including the Joads family, who reside on a farm. The Joad family is tested with hardship when life for them on their farm takes a corrupt turn. Steinbeck symbolizes the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, as the monster, by focusing on bringing attention to how the families in Oklahoma bypass the disastorous weather, greedy bankers, and also the unreceptive greeting by the

In John Steinbeck 's The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad and his family are forced from their home during the 1930’s Oklahoma Dust Bowl and set out for California along with thousands of others in search of jobs, land, and hope for a brighter future. The Grapes of Wrath is Steinbeck’s way to expound about the injustice and hardship of real migrants during the Depression-era. He utilizes accurate factual information, somber imagery, and creates pathos, allowing readers connections to the Joad’s plight

Seventy-five years later, John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and the film adaptation, are still relevant to life now, because there are several relatable themes running through the book and movie. The novel depicts the about the economic inequality of the 1840s and 1930s. Yet still today, there is economic inequality. The wealthier people with jobs also look down on the poorer, unemployed people. Perhaps there is a fear that the jobless will come in and steal jobs. However, the American dream is clearly present in the novel and has been throughout history.

John Steinbeck usually uses California and the Salinas valley as his setting and is usually placed in the 30s when the great depression occurred. The Grapes of Wrath is about a family living in Oklahoma and they are farmers during the period called the dustbowl in which culture was rough because there were droughts and conditions were not suitable for farming. This family, because they are not doing too well, decide to move to California to find jobs and dignity. The author writes about the struggle of a family during and Great Depression and also the struggle of each individual as their lives are being torn apart. He not only shows how they go through these hardships, but also how they will overcome them. In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he argues that all who follow the ways of the Bible will become renewed at the end. He uses religion and parallelism in order to bring to light, the chance of hope that is evident within dire circumstances, and project changes within people during turmoil.

Anger is one of the strongest driving emotions one could feel. In the novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, set in the 1930’s, the Joad family experiences the hardships, fear, and frustration in result of the Great Depression. From the stock market crash to the drought sweeping crops away, the Great Depression destroyed the livelihoods of many farmers and civilians, causing fear and anger to arise from everyone. Although people may view anger as a violent, frightening emotion, it is vital for expression of care, provides self-insight, and is a strong motivating force.

The novel The Grapes of Wrath is set in the 1930’s, during the dust bowl. The book is centered on the Joad family traveling to California. Throughout the book the Joad family experiences many trials that take a toll on them. Around this time period women did not have many rights. John Steinbeck uses third person to portray women as powerless and reliant on men. This is shown by actions of the characters and the time period during which the story takes place.

“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” (Seneca), In the 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the reader accompanies the Joad family as they struggle to escape the crippling Dust Bowl of the mid- 1930’s. In hopes of establishing a new life for themselves after being forced off their land the family embark on a journey from Oklahoma to California in search of fruitful crops and steady work along with thousands of other families facing the same circumstances. After their migration to a better life, the Joad family’s faith is constantly tested but their refusal to be broken by the overwhelmingly horrible circumstances gives them the strength to persevere on. Steinbeck was able to exhibit meaning through the structure of his writing by using biblical references to highlight important concepts, poetic and rhetorical devices and repetition while also supporting the over all theme that genetics don’t determine a family, it’s the loyalty and commitment to one another that establishes the saving power of family and fellowship.

In a time where women were considered inferior, The Grapes of Wrath uses secondary characters, specifically Ma Joad, to demonstrate a woman taking charge in a family setting, and the relationships of such a woman with others. Ma helps amplify the theme of feminism and women’s rights in different scenarios. Her relationships with Pa, her daughter Rose of Sharon, and even herself all convey different elements of an extraordinary leader and an amazing mother.

Innocent people were being thrown off of their hard earned land and at the same time having to take what they could and leave everything they ever knew. As they traveled west, to California, the Californians and others along the way treated the migrants akin to animals. This is where the title of the story comes into play. Steinbeck uses a verse from the song “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as inspiration for the title of his novel. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck mentions that the “Grapes of Wrath” are beginning to ripen. The people of California hate the migrants and the migrants soon begin to hate the Californians. The migrants not only hate the Californians, but also the big business owners, who were the main reason the migrants lost their land in the first place.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck depicts the story of the fictional Joad family on their journey from Dust Bowl-plagued Oklahoma to California in search of work as well as the struggles they encounter along the way. The Dust Bowl in Oklahoma displaced many families, and these so called “Okies”faced discrimination and, in some cases, illegal mistreatment by landowners and even by government agencies such as the police. Due to the failure of federal, state, and local governments to adequately address both the repercussions of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl natural disaster, victims of these tragedies were forced to help one another in order to survive.

Humans always want to find a place where they can be assimilated. Humans want to live in a community that they can assimilate into comfortably and can feel safe in easily. Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford, which portrays the story of capitalist and environmental forces pushing a poor family off their land and their migration to California. The family tries to look for a place where they can secure jobs and food to support themselves daily. Similarly, the El Norte, directed by Gregory Nava, is about a brother and a sister who have to escape from their government in their village to the USA. Both Grapes of Wrath and El Norte argue that humans are not accepted unless they are welcomed, able to survive, and allowed to stay there.

John Steinbeck the author of The Grapes of Wrath has a very unique styling of writing.

John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath as a social commentary, looking to make reformations for the migrant workers that suffered throughout the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. His novel was criticized for its portrayal of both migrant families and Californian farmers, but the condemnation and denunciation of it was excused as his goal was attained; Eleanor Roosevelt made strides toward the first reforms. The Grapes of Wrath might not have made such an impact on American society if it had not been delivered as it was. Steinbeck utilizes the interchapters as a tool of perspective which allows the reader to have both a personal connection with the Joads while also understanding the plight of migrant workers as a whole through alternating narration. Interchapters one and twenty-nine serve to enforce the purpose of societal awareness and lend an omniscient, all knowing voice to the readers, which enables them to sympathize and understand the struggles that migrant workers were plagued with through structure, foreshadowing, and personification.

There are a lot of different people under a certain category in this world from an economic perspective. Some people are born into a rich family and are blessed to receive everything they ask for. On the other hand, some people are forced to work their whole life and no matter how hard they work; things do not turn out as they planned. Today, I will be talking about the difficult situations that the Joad family encountered in the film “The Grapes of Wrath”. The “Grapes of Wrath” was directed by John Ford in 1940. This film is also based on a famous novel by John Steinbeck. This film was made to give the viewers an idea of how the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and the Great Depression played a significant role in families economically. In my opinion, the theme of “The Grapes of Wrath” was the struggle of human dignity.