Essay on Grapes Of Wrath

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 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

The above passage is also an example of Steinbeck’s masterful use of imagery. Steinbeck’s vivid descriptions of the setting and the thoughts of the characters allow the reader to step into the story, as if they themselves had become a part of it. Another example of Steinbeck’s imagery occurs near the end of the novel, when the Joads are moving into a train car:

The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is considered by many to be the hallmark of American literature. It covers the journey of the Joad family as they stick together through one of the harshest eras in American history, the Great Depression. The structure of the Joad’s narrative is interspersed by smaller, highly descriptive interchapters, which sets the novel apart from other classics in its ability to make the reader understand and relate to the Joads and everything they went through. The detailed, impactful vignettes foreshadow problems the Joads have to overcome and the overview descriptions in the vignettes contrast with the specificities of the Joad’s story. They contain Biblical allusions, colorful descriptions, and objects that can interact with the main characters later in the narrative. Through the use of imagery and diction, the vignettes make Steinbeck’s message more impactful and meaningful.

“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.

In addition, Steinbeck utilizes symbolism to help reveal his message to the audience. In this chapter, the putrefying crops that resulted from the system’s agricultural mismanagement represent the landowner’s greed, and how it is responsible for not only the

Jesus always took the blame for his people, resulting in a painful death. In The Grapes of Wrath, Jim Casey (J.C.) is a replica of Jesus. When the Joad family first experienced the wrath of the Great Depression, they were losing faith. As their faith is running out, so is there basic knowledge of doing good. Common good is something everyone has to strive to achieve. Jim Casy strives for greatness whenever he is doing something for the common good of the people he is with. He does the right thing all the time, even when he does not feel like doing it. He encourages to do good for the better of others. The principles during The Great Depression are different than today’s principles. Back then, leaving behind all your belongings and looking forward to new beginning were just the small principles in life. Some of the bigger principles are doing what is right at all times no matter how hard it is to do. During the story, Jim Casey always puts others first, even when this means taking one for the team and getting himself in trouble, because that is what people do for the Good of the Community, and he believes he is the perfect man to help everyone he encounters.

A family torn apart by poverty and desperation in the Great Depression leave their home in the dust bowl in hopes of finding a new life on the green pastures of California. This was the foundation of an award winning novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” written by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck achieved great success as an author after writing “The Grapes of Wrath” as it sold over 10,000 copies a week for months after its debut. To illustrate life in the dust bowl, the author uses literary elements or formal components such as a sophisticated tone, natural dialect in the form of slang, and figurative language.

The traditional human family represents a necessary transition between self and community. In the difficult era of the 1930's, the family's role shifted to guard against a hostile outside world rather than to provide a link with it. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other tragedies of the Great Depression, many were forced to look beyond the traditional family unit and embrace their kinship with others of similar necessity. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the theme of strength through unity to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people. The journey of the Joad family

The classic American book, The Grapes of Wrath, was written by John Steinbeck in 1939. Steinbeck’s purpose was not to write a popular book but instead to accurately portray the lives of southern families during the Dust Bowl. To do this, Steinbeck used rhetorical devices such as colloquialism, juxtaposition, logos, and pathos. Steinbeck’s use of colloquialism is prominent throughout the book. He used Oklahoma dialect to further enhance the reader’s experience while reading and by using this, the reader gets a sense of how people in the south talked and interacted.

Steinbeck uses the literary device of metaphor by narrating the Joad family's journey to California, in comparison to the other migrant families in the intercalary chapters. Throughout the novel, there are a few of these chapters that help develop themes like re-birth, community, perserverance, etc, through key symbols, to support the narrative chapters.

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.

     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

This assignment allowed me the opportunity to use my sociological perspective to analyze the film ‘The Grapes of Wrath'. The Grapes of Wrath is a book made into a movie, based on the great depression of the 30's. It follows the Joad family, who has been forced off their family farm by the government, as they try to find a new settlement and head west to California after receiving flyers for high wage work in fruit orchards. This true story does an outstanding job portraying society, and holds numerous examples any Sociologist can study.

The novel connotes the Dust Bowl for what it is: a horrific struggle of survival. Steinbeck’s composition of this literary masterpiece gained the respect of many Americans who were previously unaware of the families who faced unbearable hardships during this time and were left with nothing. (Richard Henry) Steinbeck also uses intercalary chapters to provide the reader with information and insight on the Dust Bowl and other situations that were faced outside of the general fiction that