Social Protest In The Grapes Of Wrath

Throughout the book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the physical transition of the Joad family from a small close-knit group of people living a quiet life on a farm in Oklahoma, corresponds with the internal transition of the concept of family. As the Joads leave their farm and journey westward, they no longer live just within their own isolated unit. Becoming involved with other families as they migrate, changes their focus and by the end of the book, the family members each reach out in their own way to embrace all of mankind as a family.

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

Steinbeck's intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters of the novel, but help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different viewpoints of the migration, and clarifying parts of the story that the reader might not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of migrant Okies and the residents of California reveals the changing nature of land ownership among the changing population of California and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the Joads meet in California.

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.

“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.

One would say that on a literal level The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the Joad family's journey to California during The Dust Bowl. However, it is also about the unity of a family and the concept of birth and death, both literal and abstract. Along with this, the idea of a family unit is explored through these births and deaths.

In his novel Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck integrated many biblical references and values throughout the book. This provided a more intriguing and complex style of writing that he used to tell about the Dust Bowl of the early 1900’s and the arduous journey the Joad family and many others took to reach California.

The traditional human family represents a necessary transition between self and community. In the difficult era of the 1930's, the family's role shifted to guard against a hostile outside world rather than to provide a link with it. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other tragedies of the Great Depression, many were forced to look beyond the traditional family unit and embrace their kinship with others of similar necessity. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the theme of strength through unity to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people. The journey of the Joad family

The unconventionally written intercalary chapters of Steinbeck's novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, are designed to show the readers a view of economic depression and social aspects of America during this time period. Steinbeck tells the reader about the situation through a macroscopic point of view, when he writes the intercalary chapters. It is through these intercalary chapters that Steinbeck tells us about the struggle of many migrant farmers who are pushed out of their homes and start to live their lives on the road, while trying to find places for them to work. Between each of these intercalary chapters are narrative chapters where Steinbeck gives the readers a microscopic view of the situation, by giving us an example of one of the migrant

Steinbeck’s loss of humanity based on loss of morals causing loss of faculty rather than solely the latter. Similar to Chaplain, Steinbeck uses a dichotomy with a simultaneous juxtaposition where [the farmers] were man and slaves, while the banks were machines and masters” (32). This illustrates the subjugation and powerlessness the farmers feel before they are forced off their farms: the man can not reason the the machine as the slave can not reason with the master. When the farmers are finally pushed off their land, they are replaced with machines. When the tractors come in to replace the farmers ¨the [men] sitting in the iron seat[s] [do] not look like [...] men [...] [they are] a part of the monster, a robot in a seat” (35). Steinbeck illustrates the same transformation Chaplain illustrates: that of man succumbing to the work he must do and becoming a machine. One driver of a tractor, when confronted about the morals of large-scale farming brushes the idea of personal connection with the land, stating that “times are changed [...] get your three dollars a day, feed your kids” (37). The banks force out farmers through endangering the lives of farmers children. The only choice when one’s child is on the line is always the choice for the

Shem Cheng Professor Doniella Maher English 110 3/6/2017 It is reasonable to believe that while John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, does represent the American Dream, it represents the failure of this idea due to humans’ tendency to hinder others out of greed and selfishness. The greed of the rich caused them to abuse and harass the poor, keeping the poor from trying to improve themselves. The selfishness of the locals cause them to fear the migrants and grow biased and hostile against the migrant. The Grapes of Wrath is a story that takes place during the 1930 Dust Bowl and focuses primarily on the Joad family, a family of farmers forced to leave their home in Oklahoma, as well as the people around them.  

Plot The Grapes of Wrath follows the trials and tribulations of the Joad family, a struggling group of farmers in Oklahoma after the devastating drought that created the Dust Bowl. Thanks to this natural disaster, the family can no longer support themselves through agriculture and must leave their home. Like many other families at the time, the Joads hear rumors of California having jobs, so they set out for California in search of a more promising future. The Joads experience many difficulties, deaths, and stops along the way, seeing all the different methods and solutions people have to cope with the Great Depression.

The 1930s were a time of hardship for many across the United States. Not only was the Great Depression making it difficult for families to eat every day, but the Dust Bowl swept through the plains states making it nearly impossible to farm the land in which they relied. John Steinbeck saw how the Dust Bowl affected farmers, primarily the tenant farmers, and journeyed to California after droves of families. These families were dispossessed from the farms they had worked for years, if not generations (Mills 388). Steinbeck was guided by Tom Collins, the real-life model for the Weedpatch camp’s manager Jim Rawley, through one of the federal migrant worker camps. He was able to see for himself,

Not only did the 1930s see the Great Depression, where America faced severe economic downturn, but it also brought the Dust Bowl. Due to overzealous agriculture practices, the soil of the Great Plains turned to dust and blew away, sending many people away with it. With all of the turmoil, many Americans fell back on religion. The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck chronicles the fictional Joad family, giving a harsh, yet realistic depiction of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the journey from Oklahoma to California. On their travels, the Joads bring along the former preacher, Jim Casy, who often serves as a voice for Steinbeck’s attitudes towards religion. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck critiques characters who display blind devotion toward religion, enjoying its ease and simplicity, and favors those who are able to think for themselves and benefit in meaningful ways from their religion.

“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). The renowned novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a realistic portrayal of life and social conditions 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