Social Injustices In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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

John Steinbeck went into writing about the Dust Bowl migration feeling that he had the responsibility to convey the problem correctly. The Grapes of Wrath not only works as a call to action in favor of the masses of migrant workers that were forced to live in poverty, but also expresses several other messages about mankind itself. Steinbeck uses powerful imagery, unique and suspenseful structure, dramatic tone, and compelling symbolism to effectively squeeze a mountain of an issue into pages of text.

In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck depicts the stories of migrant families during the Dust Bowl, where dust covered plantations, resulting in barren fields with incapabilities to grow crops. Due to barren lands, landowners forced the farmers off the fields, which causes the farmers to lose all of the reasons to stay. Therefore, the farmers set out onto a new journey that will hopefully lead them to a place where life can restart. However, this journey is not a perfectly smooth path; on the journey, the farmers face various adversities. Out of the countless families, John Steinbeck highlights the Joad family, who suffers through numerous misfortunes on the way West, toward California. Through the Joad family, Steinbeck portrays the novel as a form of social protest by emphasizing the unjust treatments the families receive , the deterioration of the false allusions the families hold of the American Dream, and by suggesting a future revolt of the working class.

John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel, The Grapes of Wrath, embodies his generation’s horrific tragedy. John Steinbeck’s writing gives insight on the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl on thousands of families and those who helped them. While Steinbeck's novel focuses on the Joad's family journey, he also includes writing of the general struggle of many families at the time. In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the usage of the term “Okies” degrades the workers, while the personification of the cars help depict the struggle of the journey, to exemplify the adaptation the migrant workers had to make to survive the new life.

During the great depression in the plains of Oklahoma, workers were forced out of their homes as their crops withered away to nothing and dust took over. The general feeling of these migrant workers during the late 20’s and early 30’s can be summarized by the struggle for survival showcased in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In the novel, a family called the Joads makes their way westward in hopes of a better life for themselves and their future families. In order to understand the zeitgeist during the dust bowl and the experiences of migrant workers, one must first analyze the intercalary chapters and identify with the characters and their various struggles.

As a major literary figure since the 1930s, Steinbeck displays in his writing a characteristic respect for the poor and oppressed. In many of his novels, his characters show signs of a quiet dignity and courage for which Steinbeck has a great admiration. For instance, in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the unrelenting struggle of the people who depend on the soil for their livelihood. One element helping give this novel an added touch of harmony is Steinbeck’s ability to bind these two ideas into one story: the never ending struggle to survive and primacy of the family.

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

John Steinbeck’s use of the intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath helps weave the reader’s sympathy of the Joad family into a more broad sympathy for the migrant farmers as a whole, in the hopes that the readers would then be compelled to act upon what they have read.

Intercalary chapters are frequently seen in the novel The Grapes of Wrath. They are inserted between the ongoing narratives of the Joad family to bring major themes and ideas of the novel together. These intercalary chapters give insight on what is happening in society in Oklahoma, the drought, the Dust Bowl and the migrant farmers. Steinbeck’s choice of using intercalary chapters may distract the reader from the main points of the story; however, they have a deeper and more meaningful purpose. They intertwine the outer themes and symbols regarding man’s inhumanity to man and dignity of wrath with the Joad family and their migration journey to California. Steinbeck’s decision to insert these intercalary chapters impacts the power of the novel and amplifies its message. Each of these chapters provide specific details that contribute to the overall story of the Joad’s and gives the reader a better understanding, making it more powerful. It also accomplishes his goal of defining the American dream and the Great Depression era.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck depicts the story of the fictional Joad family on their journey from Dust Bowl-plagued Oklahoma to California in search of work as well as the struggles they encounter along the way. The Dust Bowl in Oklahoma displaced many families, and these so called “Okies”faced discrimination and, in some cases, illegal mistreatment by landowners and even by government agencies such as the police. Due to the failure of federal, state, and local governments to adequately address both the repercussions of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl natural disaster, victims of these tragedies were forced to help one another in order to survive.

In Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he describes the struggle of the small farmer and farmworker. The principal characters define quiet dignity and courage in their struggle to survive and in the caring for their loved ones. Through this novel, Steinbeck displays his respect for all the poor and oppressed of our world.

The Grapes Of Wrath, by John Steinbeck was based on the Joad family of tenet farmers from the 1930’s who bet their chances to get a better life and decided to move to California; little did they know what California held for them. After the dust storm the general population was impoverished; mostly including migrant workers, working class such as truckers, and waitresses. Banks and factory owners had no sympathy for these classes they cut off their resources and instead of handling with the people directly they employed workers such as police to do their immoral duties. The Joad family lost loved ones and lost what they knew of a home through their journey. In the novel The Grapes Of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, class conflicts and money is shown to cause a break down in society’s humanity, as seen in men are mistreating men and allowing money to control them.

1)The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck uses the story of the Joad family to portray the struggle of thousands of Dust Bowl farmers. Steinbeck tracks the Joad family with long chapters with short, depressing , and captures the westward movement of migrant farmers in the 1930s as they flee drought and industry.

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, depicts a migrant farming family in the 1930s. During this time, life revolved around the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, making circumstances difficult for almost everyone involved, especially those who had little. This time of drought and despair caused people to lose hope in everything they’ve ever known, even themselves, but those who did not, put their hope in the “promised land” of California. Here, the grass was thought to be truly greener on the other side. The Joad’s did not get so lucky, however, as Steinbeck’s novel describes the family’s pilgrimage and the hardships faced on their journey. The novel, a romantic gospel and naturalistic epic, presents an Exodus by the family, going from “I” to “we”, home to homeless, and selfish to loving.

Throughout history we have seen people degrade and abuse humans. In Grapes of Wrath we see the “okies” being used by the owners and abused by the people in power. They are dehumanized, in the way they are treated and how they are spoken to. This act seems outdated and ancient but it's not. Today we see many people being dehumanized because of sex, race and sexual orientation. An example of this is the way some gay people are sent away or forced to attend places or programs where they are told how to feel and what to feel for whom. The methods these places and programs use can be described as abusive and destructive. These methods have many names ranging from slang names such as “praying