Grapes Revisited

The Grape family shows clear signs of resiliency in the face of trauma and adversity. The have managed to stay together, as one unit, even after the death of their father. They have maintained their household and held on to their property. They continue to strive to take care of each other. Each family member has gravitated toward adopting responsibilities which strengthens the sense of purpose for each individual member, as well as provide a bit more needed stability for the wholesomeness of the family unit. The Grape family has the capacity to focus on a goal and work together to achieve it. A good example of this is the joint effort to come together

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, a motion picture released in 1993 and directed by Lasse Hallström, follows the life of Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) and his younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), a mentally disabled 17 year old. Their mother, Bonnie (Darlene Cates), is morbidly obese and has been home-bound for the past seven years following the suicide of her husband. After their father died, Gilbert became the main caregiver and provider for Arnie, their two sisters Amy and Ellen, and their mother. As they grew up, Gilbert quickly became Arnie’s role-model, and the two now share a special bond. The brothers work together at the local grocery store, are often found playing hide and seek, and have a special tradition where they watch the campers drive through their small town of Endora, Iowa every year. This year while watching the campers, a traveler named Becky (Juliette Lewis) caught Gilbert’s eye, and he has trouble keeping up with a new love interest and Arnie’s constant mischief.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck reveals the hardships that sharecroppers face as technology develops through describing the Joad family's trip to California. Due to an unfavorable weather and the addition of tractors, the Joads are forced off of their farm because "[t]he tenant system won't work anymore. One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve or fourteen families" (). The bank values a greater profit, therefore, replaces sharecroppers with tractors. As a result, the Joads begin their journey to California, seeking jobs in order to survive. As they prepare for the trip, Grampa, however, refuses to leave: "This here's my country. I b'long here [...] This country ain't no good, but it's my country" (). Grampa wants to stay even

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck reveals the hardships that sharecroppers face as technology develops through describing the Joad family's trip to California. Due to an unfavorable weather and the addition of tractors, the Joads are forced off of their farm because "[t]he tenant system won't work anymore. One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve or fourteen families" (44). The bank values a greater profit, therefore, replaces sharecroppers with tractors. As a result, the Joads begin their journey to California, searching for jobs in order to survive. As they prepare for the trip, Grampa, however, refuses to leave: "This here's my country. I b'long here [...] This country ain't no good, but it's my country" (152). Grampa wants

This is also the greatest fear of the wealthy landowners, who do everything in their power to keep the workers from organizing. The author, John Steinbeck, writes, "For here `I lost my land' is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you hate - `We lost our land.' The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one"(206;Ch. 14). This is why, in the government camp where the Joads stay for a while once they get to California, the landowners try to set up a fight so police can be brought in when they weren't allowed before. The government camp represents, in the most tangible way shown in the novel, the positive results of organization and working together to achieve something. The government camp is completely independent of the system outside its walls - the people take care of each other and make their own rules. This is the place where quality of life is best for the Joads. Jim Rawley, the camp manager, comments on the hard work of the people when speaking to Ma Joad: "They keep the camp clean, they keep order, they do everything. I never saw such people"(415;Ch. 22). This is the result of cooperation instead of disorganization. This is the very thing that the wealthy want to destroy.

A clear concept in John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath was the way families were run. At the beginning of the twentieth century, men led the family. They made the decisions and they made the money for the family while the women worked behind the scenes and kept everything going. What the men did not realize, or did not want to recognize, was that the women were the ones who were really in control. Though they did not take credit for it, they were the ones who bought and cooked the food the men ate, bore and reared the children the men helped create, and did everything they could to make a better life for themselves and their families. This changed once the Dust Bowl struck. Soon after, women took charge of the family affairs and slid

“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, Grapes 296). The renowned novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a realistic portrayal of life 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 throughout the novel compel the reader to wonder about the so-called American dream as well as the promises and declarations America has made to its people. As Americans, we feel the need to challenge whether or not the United States is truly living up to its promises as “the land of the free and home of the brave” and its promise for “liberty and justice for all”, especially when examining such a depressing time period in American history when jobs, land, and hope were so scarce.

inmates were encouraged to assume responsibilities, but they knew was really in charge. An internee at Tule Lake camp wrote a letter to the governor stating that were over 15000 people in the camp and most were women and children. They worked many jobs for little pay, such as cleaning, teaching and plumbing (Maranzani, 2011).

These visits to the squatter camps led to his creation of the Weedpatch camp in “Grapes of Wrath”.

We don’t look up to nobody. Grampa’s grampa, he fit in the Revolution. We was farm people till the debt. And then—them people. They done somepin to us. Ever’ time they come seemed like they was a-whippin’ me—all of us. An’ in Needles, that police. He done somepin to me, made me feel mean. Made me feel ashamed. An’ now I ain’t ashamed. These folks is our folks—is our folks. An’ that manager, he come an’ set an’ drank coffee, an’ he says, ‘Mrs. Joad’ this, an’ ‘Mrs. Joad’ that—an’ ‘How you getting’ on, Mrs. Joad?’” She stopped and sighed. “Why, I feel like people again.”After the Joads arrive in the Weedpatch government camp in Chapter 22, Ma discusses the effects of life on the road. It has, she reports, changed her. The open gestures of hostility the family has suffered at the hands of policemen and landowners have made her “mean,” petty, hardened. In Weedpatch, however, for the first time since leaving Oklahoma she is treated like a human being. The camp manager’s kindness rekindles her sense of connection in the world: “These is our folks,” she says. Ma’s speech underlines the importance of fellowship among the migrants, suggesting that, given their current difficulties, one cannot afford to bear one’s burdens alone. Throughout The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck emphasizes the importance of the self-respect and sense of dignity that Ma displays here. The unfair treatment the migrants receive does not simply create hardship for them; it diminishes them

Steinbeck had been aware of the labor problems in his state of California, but for these articles he wanted to experience it firsthand. For inspiration for his articles, and also what would turn out to be the inspiration for "Grapes of Wrath", he visited the farms outside his native Salinas and also visited the squatter camps near Bakersfield (Lisca 12-14). These visits to the squatter camps led to his creation of the Weedpatch camp in "Grapes of Wrath".

The Grapes of Wrath offers a political dispensation characterized by the collective movement of the lower class to stand firm against their oppression by the ruling and banking elites together with the biased public policies that were simply geared towards profit maximization. It is ironical that “the public policies of land share tenancy only enriched the minority landlords but starved the majority of the poor farmers who directly contributed their efforts towards food production to death,” (pg. 117). Even though the laborers lived a life full of destitution due to their reduced state of landlessness, they were determined to soldier on and lived better lives. Led by Joad and Casy, they rose up against the oppressive landlords, and joined Unions against the demands of their masters. Through the series of successful strikes and incessant advocacy efforts of Joad, the laborers finally got some justice from the landlords at the end despite the demise of Casy.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a novel set during the mid-1930s drought and the fall of the American stock market. It depicts the plight of migrant workers throughout this time period, and follows the life of the protagonist, recently-released Oklahoma state convict, Tom Joad. He met up with former preacher Jim Casy, who renounced his ministerial calling due to his newfound belief that all life is holy, even the aspects that were categorized by others as sinful. After serving four years in prison on a manslaughter charge, Tom found Jim and together they returned to Tom’s family’s farm only to find it deserted, much like all the surrounding farms. The next day, the two men traveled to Tom’s uncle’s home, where he discovered the rest of his family packing to move to California in the hopes of finding a better life. This migration leads to death, abandonment, disappointment, and a new dream of organizing migrant workers to aid the depleted job market. The novel helped me to understand the struggle of the times, and what it means to lose everything and everyone in such a short period. Throughout these things, however grim they may seem, there is always a glimmer of hope.

When families like the Joads began on their treacherous journey to California, along with the thousands of other families, they were not socially accepted or taken care of along the way. Farmers traveling were given the derogatory nickname of “Okies”, stereotyping that they all came from Oklahoma (Schleeter). Everyone disliked Okies, especially those in California, and when they arrived they were stuck living in cardboard boxes in filthy camps (Schleeter). These squalid camps of thousands were called “Hoovervilles”, and the Joad family spent a fair amount of time in one (Marchand). Steinbeck depicted the horror these camps so fantastically, that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt called to reform laws governing migrant camps (Schleeter). Those in poverty could only rely on one another, Ma Joad describes this beautifully in saying,” If you’re in trouble go to the poor people. They’re the only one who will help” (Steinbeck). The camps were often burned, and when the Joad’s burned, they managed to get into a government-funded, self-managed camp (Marchand). Steinbeck structured the plot of his story to move from one family, to many families, to the human experience, in order to speak for the social issues of the masses (Schleeter). He also had effect of speaking for thousands who are suffering with the same prejudices as the Joad family by speaking in third-person plural to turn

The author of the book, “The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World” (2008), Dan Koeppel, who is a famous journalist describes in a fascinating way banana’s cultural importance, threats associated with the crops of banana in the future and banana’ history. Banana is a very delicious fruit and is eaten all over the world. Banana is one of the world’s fourth largest harvests in the world. Dole and Chiquita are eminent American based distributors and producers of banana. They are claiming to produce the banana on low price. In this book, Koeppel discusses the risks associated to the plantation of banana around the world. He also discusses the fact that due to blight, the plantation of banana is destroyed (Koeppel, 2008). He points out that the farmers and the producers have no insight at all regarding this matter (Koeppel, 2008).