John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

In the novel, Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, depicts the struggles between upper class, middle class, and poor, migrant workers which show how natural human greed and selfishness amongst those with sustainable income increases tension between the separate classes. Steinbeck also uses the empathetic views shared amongst those in the same situations and how it gives them a want to help each other survive. The rich are wasteful with things they are unable to profit from; they cannot stand the poor nor the thought of the stagnation of their company. They are unable to accept a large consistent profit; the business itself is not the monster that begins to die from a constant profit but the greedy humans behind it.

The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a story that construes the journey of the Joad family through the brutal migration from Oklahoma 's destroying Dust Bowl to California corrupt promised land. Through the depiction of events and portrayal of characters, the bible takes part in the novel as one whole allusion. The anecdote of the struggle for survival in the fallen state of Oklahoma and in the “promised land” of California, reveals the same ideas shown as we explore in the bible. In The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck integrates the allegory of biblical references and values to create the image of a family’s journey to California during the Dust Bowl of the early 1900s.

The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is a novel which demonstrates the lives of families during the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and the struggles they faced on their route to California. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck applies his writing style in order to convey the theme and general plot of the novel.

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.

California brings about another biblical allusion. As part of Moses bringing his people out of Egypt, he told of a promised land to where he would take the Israelites, and that land was Canaan. For the Joad’s and many other migrants, California was the promised land they were searching for. Apart from both of the promised lands beginning with the letter C, they had many things in common. “The vineyards, the orchards, the great flat valley, green and beautiful…the peach trees and the walnut groves, and the dark green patches of oranges (Steinbeck 227).” This is an allusion to the promised land of the Jews, where in Numbers 13:27 it states “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit (Zondervan 207).” Both lands were bursting with

The Grapes Of Wrath introduces many real life topics, and difficulties relevant to the people in the 1930s and some still relevant to today. Throughout the book topics like migration, corporate profit, and even environmental impacts of human choices are all present in the book. Steinbeck is shown to makes many claims about each of these topics, but the topic that stands out the most are the issues with the criminal justice system. Steinbeck believes that the police and the criminal justice system are corrupt and generally police have a tendency to abuse their authority against poor people and migrants.

A monopoly is when a firm sells a product that has no substitutes and is the only seller of that product. In the book “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck really portrays the idea of monopoly in the peach picking incident. A firm gains monopoly power when they are able to set prices. This occurred when the Joads were fixing their flat tire, they got offered a job as peach pickers in Hooper Ranch by a well-dressed man. On their first day of the job, the Joads need to be escorted by police because there are people angrily yelling by the entrance. When they began their job as peach pickers their wage was five cents per box. The whole family worked from morning to sundown, only to earn a dollar on their first day of work. However, they were paid in credit and had to go to the company store in order to use that credit. Then that same night, Ma went to the company store to buy something for dinner. She realized that the prices for the goods were much higher than normal and was only able to buy some not so tasteful looking burgers and coffee. Then when she asked why the prices on the goods were higher, the clerk said ““yes, it’s high, an’ same time it ain’t high. Time you go on in town for a couple poun’s of hamburg, it’ll cos’ you ’bout a gallon of gas. So you see it ain’t really high here, ’cause you got no gallon a gas.” (Steinbeck) What he means by this is that since the area is isolated and the company paid only in credit, the only place to buy goods is the company store.

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was first written and later published in the 1939. From the time of its publication to date, the exemplary yet a simple book has seen Steinbeck win a number of highly coveted awards including Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and later on Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Set at the time of the Great Depression, the book most remarkably gives a descriptive account of the Oklahoma based sharecropper Joad’ poor family in the light of economic hardship, homelessness, and the impacts of worst changing agricultural and financial sectors to the poor in America then. Throughout the chapters, the book brings into sharp focus the dehumanizing individual lives of the lower class during the time of Great Depression

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.

The 1930’s era was an incredibly tumultuous time for the United States. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Dust Bowl exacerbated the already high tensions between the rich and the poor. These tensions were also present and becoming a growing problem within the justice system of this era. As the country plunged into the depths of the Depression, the poor treatment of men and women imprisoned within the country’s jails deteriorated as well. The Dust Bowl along with the economic conditions the country, at the time led to the disparate treatment of prisoners at this time. Prejudices against certain groups of people during this time were very strong. This prejudice was demonstrated in John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath, especially

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.

The Grapes of Wrath, originated from a John Steinbeck’s book, a legendary film that focus on a major point of American history. The story follows the Joad family on their journey to California trying to survive the hardships. This film, focus on the social problems of America like the Dust bowl, The Great Depression, and industrialism. The Grapes of Wrath was filmed in a journalistic-documentary style, which displayed the realism of the epidemic in the thirties. The thirties the period The Grapes of Wrath was set was considered the worst time of America.

John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of Tom Joad, a man who leaves his home state of Oklahoma and journeys with his family to California for work during the Great Depression (Steinbeck). However, although fictional, the story hit too close to home for many Americans at the time. Some argued that the book was propaganda and exaggerated the conditions of the working class, and copies were burned in protest (“Banned Book Awareness”). In reality, Steinbeck 's description of the conditions workers deal with was an understatement, and he speaks out against banks that evict families with debt (“Banned Book Awareness”). Steinbeck’s novel was a call to action addressed to the government, demanding that they do something to

   When Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, our country was just starting to recover from The Great Depression.  The novel he wrote, though fiction, was not an uncommon tale in many lives.  When this book was first published, the majority of those reading it understood where it was coming from-they had lived it.  But now very few people understand the horrors of what went on in that time.  The style in which Steinbeck chose to write The Grapes of Wrath helps get across the book's message.