The Grapes of Wrath - Fear, Hostility, and Exploitation in Chapter 21

The novel The Grapes of Wrath is in many ways a one-of-a-kind piece of literature. This work is set up unlike any other book, written in a series of chapters and inter-chapters, which do a remarkable job of informing the reader of the travels the characters in the book are going through. Not only does the story focus on the problems one family goes through, but explains the problem is happening to many more civilians than the story focus's on. Steinbeck does not leave out a single detail about the Joad family and their journey to California, and that in itself is what makes his writing so entertaining. Not only is this a very powerful topic to write about, but the remarkable writing style of author John Steinbeck makes this book a

Steinbeck exploits a disturbing and melancholy tone in The Grapes of Wrath in order to describe the desolation and destitution of California, once the Joad family arrives. A majority of the novel supports Steinbeck’s disturbing tone, especially with the novel set during the Great Depression; moreover, the setting of the novel proves parallel with Steinbeck’s disturbing tone. Many families traveled to California in attempts to begin a better life; however, many of the migrants discovered that California’s lifestyle did not meet any of the expectation many of the families had. The poverty, low wages, and unemployment that the Okies faced in California proved disappointing, and Steinbeck continually illustrates the struggles the Okies face to

The intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath, also known as 'inner chapters,' are the chapters that do not concern the Joads directly, but provide some sort of indirect commentary on their struggles. The intercalary chapters are a literary device designed to show the general social and economic elements of America at the time. Steinbeck uses this device to show his belief that the story is not limited to the tale of the Joads only, but an entire mass of migrants. The interchapters predict events and sometimes explain the events of that specific time period, and then the following chapter describes the previously mentioned concept in specific relation to the Joad family.

At the river, they are given new names, and become the “Okies,” and the reality of becoming migrant laborers in California draws nearer to them. Similar to the Israelites who had to cross the Red Sea, the family is expecting a new hope and a brand-new life on the other side of the river. However, like the people fleeing Egypt, the Joad family is made to wait for their reward in California and encounter many difficulties and hardships, such as flooding, just like the Hebrews in the Exodus.

Steinbeck decided to write his novel The Grapes of Wrath by using intercalary chapters. This method of writing was a good idea on Steinbeck’s part for both the reader and the novel itself. The ways in which this was successful is that it slows down the story, gives readers the chance to make connections, gives readers a better visual for the following chapter and depicts the most important parts. Although, intercalary chapters can also have a downfall to the book. One of them is that it does not progress the story of the Joad’s and instead interrupts their journey with the unnecessary historical and social backgrounds.

Interchapter 21 describes the flood of migrants coming into California and the locals reaction to it. The migrants, forced out of their homes by the dust storms, banks, and tractors, are coming to California to find jobs and rebuild their families. The locals take up arms against the “dirty and ignorant” (Steinbeck 283) Okies “with clubs, with gas, with guns.” (283) The diction of “dirty and ignorant” shows the brewing hostility of the locals, prompting them to beat them back with clubs, gas, and guns. Despite the Californians best attempts to push the migrants

“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.

When examining John Steinbeck’s, Grapes of Wrath’” he details the story of the Joads an Oklahoma family on their way to California in the midsts of the Dust Bowl. As he discusses their journey towards the american dream he inserts several intercalary chapters that break up the discussion of the Joads and shifts the focus towards the things that symbolizes them. In the novel there are several intercalary chapters that are used to depict the lies and deceit that occurs to the Joads right under their nose.

Steinbeck utilizes the novel as a form of social protest by enunciating the brutal and inhumane way the wealthier class treat the migrant workers. For instance, in order to not loose any profit from the fields, the affluent bankers decide to forcefully drive the families off the fields using tractors to “bite into the house corner, crumble the wall, wrench the little houses from its foundation”(39). However, the working class does not have the opportunity to refuse this decision because of the desperate

John Steinbeck's epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, chronicles the struggles of the Joads as they join the thousands of fellow "Okies" in a mass migration westward. The Joads reluctantly leave behind their Oklahoma farm in search of work and food in California. While Steinbeck writes profoundly and emotionally about the political problems of the Great Depression, his characters also show evidence of a deep concern with spirituality. When they feel hopeless and are uncertain about their immediate future, their concentration on religion dwindles. On the other hand, when they leave their home, the Joads regain spiritual faith; they have something to live for: California. Once

As depicted in John Steinbeck's novel Grapes of Wrath the 1930's was a time when migrant workers like the story's Joad family had to leave their homes, cross a perilous desert, live through the social injustices of the time, and work at jobs with low insufficient pay just to have a better life (Steinbeck). Seventy years later, the situations and experiences stay the same but the people are no longer native-born Americans but illegal immigrants who sacrifice everything to come to the United States to live a better life, as a result of that the 500,000 immigrants that illegally enter the United States through the Mexican border annually and stay in the country are the Joads of today (Aizenman).

Characters in The Grapes of Wrath are often contrasted to emphasize certain qualities in their relationships, the most notable being a lack of empathy versus a caring and generous nature. Steinbeck’s use of juxtaposition is key to understanding the significance of the contrast involving the landowners and the migrants and why they cannot share sympathies and opinions. These two groups are both rivals and continuously reinforce differences in their lifestyles, and such is the case for the landowners and migrants, which are two drastically different classes that will not cooperate. The migrants are searching for job opportunities and safe places, but are often cheated by the landowners, who are corrupted by their drive for cheap labor and, ultimately, riches,

While visiting migrant camps that were being flooded by the torrential rain in Visalia, he was filled with anger at the conditions in which these people were living (DeMott 3). The people

In American Exodus, James N. Gregory presents the struggles and misconceptions of the Okie migrant, their defiance to cultural oppression and the change they brought. To analyze the brunt force of the Dust Bowl and the Depression of the Great Plain region; he traces the movement from route 66, evaluates the reception in California, and shows how the migrants both accommodated and left from the culture of the Golden State. Throughout the book, he dismisses many of the stereotypes created by John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and Dorothea Lange’s messages in photography. In doing so, Gregory presents a social wave, from the norm of stereotyping and the defiance of culture itself by bringing about unity in the form of narration of events and sub-topics. Furthermore, this event is brought to the hands of historians and future historians, a subject that often ignored in American history that has impacted various states including California.

The hatred felt by the Californians toward the Okies is exemplified by the law enforcement’s eagerness to “take in” anyone they feel shows the tiniest signs of trouble. For instance, a deputy makes up a reason to take in Floyd Knowles, from the Joad’s first Hooverville, because he questions a man offering work on how many men he needs and how much the pay is (Steinbeck 263). Shortly after the Joads leave the first Hooverville, they encounter a group of armed men along the road who insist that they “ain’t gonna have no goddamn Okies in this town [sic]” and make them turn their truck around (Steinbeck 279).