Quotes From '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.

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

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.

Ye, have heard that it hath been said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy." But I say unto you, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hat you, and pray for them which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Chapter Four “The police won't do anything. These interahamwe are part of the government. Don't talk to them, don't even look at them especially since your Tutsi.” (Pg. 34) During this time of the book Immaculee was traveling with John to visit her friend Sarah and her parents.

“… Dick saw a man, who was his own age- twenty- eight or thirty. He could have been ‘a gambler or lawyer or maybe a gangster from Chicago.’ Whatever he was he looked as though he knew the glories of money and power… All that belonged to him, Dick, but he would never have it. Why should that sonofabitch have everything, while he had nothing? … With a knife in his hand, he, Dick, had the power. Big shots… like that better be careful or he might ‘open them up and let their luck spill on the floor’” (201).

Quote : “I realized that this man was not trying to arrest us, nor was he demanding money. He wanted to know what trouble we were in. He wanted to help” (.162)

During the story, a lot of families were losing their land to the banks. Many of the families had been living there for generations, and the land was wrongly taken from them. Steinbeck wanted to show how the conglomerates were taking away core parts of the families. He also wanted to show how they were mistreated by everyone. Steinbeck shows this point by writing how the banks severed the families’ ties that were connected to the land, showing how the banks destroyed people’s lands, and forced the families into destitution.

If I should die bfore i wake ch1-2: "we even wore the same coat, with the same star decorations: canary yellow stars, one on the front and one on the back" (11). The star symbolizes that Chana is a Jew. Do you believe that it was wise for the kids to try to go to school? No because not only do the kids not get to go to school they have to work. What is the motive for chana to keep cleaning?

A. In this passage, Miss Sadie is talking to Abilene about how even though something is dry or dead, it can still thrive. When they are discussing this, they are at Miss Sadie's Divining Parlor. They are speaking because Miss Sadie didn't agree with Abilene's opinion that everything is dry.

“The migrant people, scuttling for work, scrabbling to live, looked always for pleasure, dug for pleasure, manufactured pleasure, and they were hungry for amusement”

In John Steinbeck’s depression era epic, The Grapes of Wrath, families residing in the southwestern United States begin to suffer the consequences of the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was a time period in the 1930’s characterized by severe dust storms which crippled the agricultural economy of the American southwest. Steinbeck follows one family, the Joads, in particular as they partake in the exodus of Oklahoma in search of greener pastures in the heavily promulgated state of California. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck utilizes multiple rhetorical strategies to reveal the nature of his characters. Specifically in Chapter 2 of the novel; imagery, tone, and foreshadowing are used to introduce Tom Joad and divulge into his character.

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.