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Survival In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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Tom Joad returns home on parole, after four years behind bars for killing a man. Once home, he finds that his family had been kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. Tom catches up with them on his Uncle John’s farm, and joins them as they travel to California. On the road, the Joads meet dozen of other migrant families suffering the misery of being homeless and without a job. Once in California, however, the Joads realize that it is not what they expected. The theme of survival can be seen throughout the book, as the migrant workers attempt to find work and shelter to provide for their families. The families often worked, if they could find a job, and traveled to survive the harsh conditions of the Great Depression. The lack of jobs …show more content…

when telling us about the Joads. However, in alternating chapters, the narrator shifts from from the Joads and instead gives us descriptions of the Great Depression Era. At times, the narrator will address the reader as “you.” For example, he says, “For the quality of owning freezes you forever into “I” and cuts you off forever from the we” ( ) By exposing the reader to a variety of perspectives, Steinbeck allows the reader to get a sense of what life was like for migrant workers in the late 1930s. It's almost as though Steinbeck has created a textbook about migrant workers in California during the Great Depression, and he wants to represent as many stories as possible so that we can learn as much as …show more content…

Depression is causing families to leave their homes in search of a new life. "California. This here's California and we're right in it!" (Steinbeck 202). Tom and his family do make it to California okay and are all still together, with the exception of the tragic loss of Grandma and Grandpa.The Joads face many tough times along they way, but it is when they have a chance to settle down for a while and plan out what they will need to do next, that keeps them alive. Although it may not be easy, it is still a chance and they are going to take whatever they can get in order to keep living and strive for something

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