Grapes Of Wrath Essay

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.

The States of Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma was hit by a terrible drought that was known as Dust Bowl in 1930s to 1940s. The Dust Bowl made the farmer families in this affected States not able to pay their debts and so the government and bank closed the family farm. The movie “The Grape of Wrath” directed by John Ford depicts the life of a family from Oklahoma that was affected by the Dust Bowl in 1930-1940. The family left Oklahoma and moved to California which they call the promise land but when they got to California starvation, poverty, and injustice welcomed them. The Dust Bowl in 1930s and 1940s made the people’s lives miserable and made the whole country suffer.

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.

Tom and Jim eventually find his family, who are staying down the road a few miles, with their uncle. After a joyous reunion with Tom, they announce they will be leaving for a California in search of work. And seeing how there's no work around their hometown in Oklahoma because of the dust storms and droughts, they pack up the truck, load it full with Grandpa and Grandma, two young children, the older sister and her husband, the teenaged brother and the uncle, Tom and Jim, and of course old Ma and Pa. They then go on a lengthy epic of a journey traveling from Oklahoma to California coming across strange characters and desperate ones, all of whom (including the Joads) are being led to California as a result of fairly deviant scam.

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.

This news is disheartening to Tom, but the family’s only choice is to keep traveling west. Tom’s grandmother eventually dies too from exhaustion and heat. Finally after many grueling days in the hot sun and numerous stops to fix the car, the Joads arrive at California. However, their dreams of finding a wonderful place to live are shattered when they hear California residents calling them Oakies and saying bad things about them. Californians feel threatened by the families migrating into California because the newcomers will take all the job opportunities and they will steal food to avoid starvation. At first the Joads can’t find work and they are forced to live in one of the Hoovervilles. The Hoovervilles are very run down and Connie , Tom’s brother, runs away from the family because of the disappointment of realizing his dreams will not come true.

This shows the community because their family was committed to each other no matter what happen and that is how a community is. Ma Joad found out a way to keep Tom with the family. A community is committed to each

Thesis (Universal theme + supporting points): Claim Statement #1: Casy approached Ma and Tom and asks them if he can come along with the Joads. The narrator describes the reaction of Ma: “Ma looked to Tom to speak, because he was man, but Tom did not speak. She let him have the chance that was his right” (Steinbeck 93-94). When Casy asks Ma and Tom if he can join them on the journey to California, Ma expects Tom to speak because he is a man. Patriarchy is when men hold the power and exclude women from it.

The Wrath of the Great Depression The Great Depression had cause the nation to change, and the theme behind the story of the “Grapes of Wrath”. John Steinbeck, an American author, wrote a story about the families during the Great Depression. The theme of the story behind it contains: family, wrath, community, and etc. The families of the “Grapes of Wrath” had suffered and went through a lot of troubles just to survive another day.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck uses numerous literary techniques to advocate for change in the social and political attitudes of the Dust Bowl era. Simile, personification, and imagery are among the many devices that add to the novel’s ability to influence the audience’s views. Moreover, through his use of detail, Steinbeck is able to develop a strong bond between the reader and the Joad clan. This bond that is created evokes empathy from the audience towards the Joads as they face numerous challenges along their journey. The chapters go between the Joad’s story and a broad perspective of the Dust Bowl’s effect on the lives of Mid-western farmers in which Steinbeck illustrates dust storms devastating the land, banks evicting tenant

Throughout American history, there has always been a societal struggle of the rich against the poor. Few films or novels embody this struggle better than The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, and Norma Rae, directed by Martin Ritt. The overwhelming theme of both of these pieces, delivered through the actions of their respective protagonists, portrays an oppressed working class struggling against a corrupt corporate America. The theme of these pieces suggests an even larger evaluation of society; those who have, will always seek to gain, and maintain control over those who have-not. Both the film Norma Rae, and the novel The Grapes of Wrath, embody the historical struggles of the working class being oppressed by the elite

The novel “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck, highlights the struggles and social injustices faced by the poor farmers in 1930’s. In the poem “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol, the imagery of lynching is used bring to light the violence and terrorist attacks that southern African Americans faced in the 30’s. Both Meeropol and Steinbeck comparably use protest literature strategies to portray the central argument of both the novel and poem. One of the comparable strategies used by both authors is symbolic action. In an article forwarded by John Stauffer, he writes that: “Symbolic action is implies indeterminacy of meaning, rich ambiguity, and open endedness in the text, which goes beyond the authors intent.

“They had no argument, no system, nothing but their numbers and their needs. When there was work for a man, ten men fought for it – fought with a low wage. If that fella’ll work for thirty cents, I’ll work for twenty-five”(Steinbeck). The renowned novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a realistic portrayal of life and social conditions during the 30’s when the Dust Bowl swept across the nation, causing many to fall deeper into the depression. This caused many families to leave their homes in search of a safer and more hopeful land. The Grapes of Wrath follows Tom Joad, his family, and many other migrant farmers as they migrate from their Oklahoma farms into their new, hope filled life in California. The struggles that these characters endure

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