Literary Devices In The 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.

Allusions are used in literature for multitudes of reasons; usually to foreshadow an event in the novel, or to give the piece a deeper meaning. Sometimes, allusions are used to prove authorial purpose. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses allusions to prove the resiliency of the human spirit and how hope can persevere through even the worst of situations.

The specific structure and literary devices used in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, provide clear insight into the main theme of the book: the triumph of the human spirit, which culminates in the final image of the text, where the idea of service in favor of the greater good and the pathway to creating a kinder future is shown in Rose of Sharon’s act of kindness. Steinbeck reaches this final image using specific literary devices, chapter structure, and by employing the final image of the text to serve as a culmination of that structure.

“And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass. His hard legs and yellow-nailed feet threshed slowly through the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along…For a moment he stopped, his head held high…At last he started to climbed the embankment…As the embankment grew steeper and steeper, the more frantic were the efforts of the land turtle…The head upraised and peered over the wall to the broad smooth plain of cement…The car swung to the right…The turtle had jerked into its shell, but now it hurried on, for the highway was burning hot. And now a light truck approached…His front wheel struck the edge of the shell, flipped the turtle…and rolled it off the highway….little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright….And the turtle crawled on down the embankment.” (Steinbeck, 15-16) This is compared to the flight of the migrant workers down Highway 66. “Highway 66 is the main migrant road. 66-the long concrete path across the country, weaving gently up and down on the map, from Mississippi to Bakersfield…66 is the path of people in flight,. ..66 is the mother road, the road of flight…All day they rolled slowly along the road, and at night they stopped near water. In the day ancient leaky radiators sent up columns of steam, lose connecting rods hammered and

Metaphors are used a lot throughout the book The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Some examples of metaphors in the story are, the sand turtle trying to cross the road in chapter three, the bank monster that is described in chapter five, and the car dealership that is described in chapter seven.

“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.

“You don’ know what you’re a-doin’,” were Casy’s last words before he died as a martyr. Casy died for his cause, his belief that the elite were not truly aware of how their greed was causing the suffering of the weak and that the weak could only surpass their sorrows if they worked together. Steinbeck uses chapter 25 of Grapes of Wrath to portray this very message. Steinbeck uses an array of rhetorical devices such as symbolism and the use of a instructive tone which gives the reader a sense of being sermonized to portray the greed of the elite and how that fuels the wrath of the weak, while also empowering the weak to join together and warning the elite of the inevitable consequences of

The Grapes of Wrath is a novel written by John Steinbeck. Throughout the novel Steinbeck uses rhetorical devices such as syntax and diction to support his tones and themes. In chapter 5, the tenants get vested by the men of the bank, and were told they had to leave. This chapter created 3 tones: hatred, sympathy and hope. One of the rhetorical devices used in The Grapes of Wrath is syntax.

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.

Romanticism is a style in literature that explores the romantic spirit or tendencies. John Steinbeck uses the romanticism archetype to portray how and why the poor, lower class families kept hope throughout the great depression. In the novel “Grapes of Wrath” the author, John steinbeck, describes the different types of land in the many and various chapters,“The Western land, nervous under the beginning change. The Western States, nervous as horses before a thunderstorm. The great owners, nervous, sensing a change, knowing nothing of the nature of the change.” (Steinback, 150). The author uses imagery to let the reader know how important land is for all families, as well as, the significance of the life changing experience each family will receive. Steinbeck uses imagery of the land

In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family experiences many hardships on the journey to and in California, ranging from dying family members to a lack of sufficient food. In the third chapter of the novel, author John Steinbeck introduces a determined turtle who attempts to make its journey across a highway. The turtle is apparently nearly run over multiple times, and is actually hit by a car. This causes the turtle to be flipped on its shell, until it catches its footing and “little by little the shell [pulls] over and [is] flopped upright”(16). The turtle then continues its journey and successfully crosses the highway. Although this chapter may have seemed out of place, as the turtle seems to have nothing to do with the novel, Steinbeck’s use of symbolism is apparent. The turtle itself is supposed to symbolize the Joad family and the struggles they face trying to find a better life. Like the turtle, the family is knocked down many times, and like the turtle the family is still able to find its footing and stay determined. The Joad family’s goal is to make a living in California, and although they will face many challenges, they still have their eyes set on crossing their own personal and hazardous turtle highway.

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

The Grapes of Wrath is an important commentary on society and humanity, and is intended to evoke intense feelings from readers.  John Steinbeck, the author, attempts to create many true emotions about the book and the reality that it was based on.  Steinbeck uses images that are very effective and have a large impact on how the characters are perceived.  Some of the images show the dismal abyss that the Joad family survived in, and others show hope, endurance, and strength.  Some of the most effective images are those of sadness, failure, and devastation, which cause the connection between the unforgiving and tormented land and the anguish and persecution which the resolute Joads must face constantly throughout their lives

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

"That's what we did, the four of us, ran to the south exit. Well actually it was more of rode and club on to Tzorfok’s tattered shirt. As we neared the exit Tzorfok quickly veered left, all most flinging us all off.