Essay about The Grapes of Wrath - Lifestyle in the 1930's

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

“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.

However, as time develops and the migration continues her exterior begins to slightly crack as she realizes she cannot fully keep her sorrows to herself. As she is not a full advocate of solitude, the unity of her family is important and keeps her moving forward. The father of the family, Pa Joad, is a character that is naturally god and thoughtful. The hardship of the trip as a whole and attempting to remain the head of the family affects him, and causes him to become emotionally drained. However, he began as the strong leader collaborating the big move for the entire family, upon leaving several shelters Mama Joad informed him that he is beginning to loose his responsibility to support the family. For the reason that Pa Joad gradually breaksdown continues to remind the family that hardships are not the only way to build character. Tom Joad, becomes friends with a very important person throughout the uprooting process and learns that a human being can have a little effect on the world if they do not bond together as a whole. The hardships faced with, cause Tom to follow this teaching and come to the realization that he cannot continue to be a silent witness to the injustices in the world. This experience, and from meeting friends who share the same beliefs ultimately caused him to become an advocate and join union organizers. The strength that is portrayed from the individuals who choose to remain together showed Tom another side of life, and that he will

As can be seen in The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads are a very tight-knit family. Yet on their trip to California, they experience many losses and additions to their family. In general, Steinbeck's novel abides by the circle of life. When a birth occurs, a death follows, and when a death occurs, a birth follows. However, in The

They start to picket and stand up for equal pay and rights. As a result, law enforcement breaks up the camps and drives the people apart out of fear of a revolt. This in turn, fires up violence and an eruption of caos and anarchy. Tom and Casy are victims of the upheaval, which in turn, results in the death of Casy and Tom’s retaliation against the man who killed him. Tom becomes a fugitive running and hiding from the

This news is disheartening to Tom, but the family’s only choice is to keep traveling west. Tom’s grandmother eventually dies too from exhaustion and heat. Finally after many grueling days in the hot sun and numerous stops to fix the car, the Joads arrive at California. However, their dreams of finding a wonderful place to live are shattered when they hear California residents calling them Oakies and saying bad things about them. Californians feel threatened by the families migrating into California because the newcomers will take all the job opportunities and they will steal food to avoid starvation. At first the Joads can’t find work and they are forced to live in one of the Hoovervilles. The Hoovervilles are very run down and Connie , Tom’s brother, runs away from the family because of the disappointment of realizing his dreams will not come true.

Tom, though, is a very complicated individual who turns out to be a tremendous asset and burden to the family. His parole causes the family an unneeded worry, but does get work that helps the family. He is the main protagonist for his family and the main follower of Jim Casy's philosophy on human nature. Jim is much more of a talker and idealist, and he actually puts what he preached into action. Jim Casy is frequently compared with Jesus Christ and his lifestyle of preaching and leading people. As well as sacrificing himself for Tom and the Joad family which upholds his common held belief. Tom carries Jim’s message after his death and aids others with it. The Joad family, along with Jim Casy, shows the benefit of people uniting in order to accomplish goals and this is a lesson that the reader can take away from this novel.

John Steinbeck and James Baldwin outline several themes throughout their literary works. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is written in 1939 during the midst of America’s Great Depression. The novel includes a family's journey from their home in Oklahoma to the promised land of California. The Great Depression occurred after the stock market crash in 1929 where the economy was at an extreme low. James Baldwin wrote “The Creative Process” twenty-six years later in 1962.

In John Steinbeck’s tragic, mangled novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the reader is shipped off into the heart of the great Dust Bowl in the American Midwest in the peak of American hardship. Through his use of realism in the era of the modern age, Steinbeck reveals the hardships that were faced by common American citizens during the Great Depression, and utilizes the Joad family in an effort to depict the lives of the farmers who had to flee to new land in the high hopes of a new and better life. The obstacles the family faces are similar to what countless other families had to face, with very little of the population able to successful thrive at the time. By utilizing the empowering endeavors unforeseen by these poor families and the meteorological catastrophes overlooking the Midwest, Steinbeck illustrates the nationwide panic faced by many Americans in an effort to delineate their confusion and uncertainty.

The mood and effects of The Great Depression is well documented within John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, predominately in the values and customs of familial and societal standings. This novel is paralleled by documents and pictures that further extenuate the points made by Steinbeck, by highlighting the setting and theme of the novel and this era in history. A primary example of this is the picture entitled, “Families on the road with all their possessions”, it mirrors three main overall themes that the novel elaborates upon; these themes include the horror and dread the average family had to endure, the family problems and values expressed, as well as the symbolism and meaning of the rain. To fully understand how this image parallels the

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

The Grapes of Wrath is a great example of the historical events that have happened in America. The book focused of the things that took place in the 1930s when the book was written. Steinbeck focuses on three main events that took place and they were the Depression, Dust Bowl, and the New Deal. All of these things have had a great impact on everyone’s life that have survived through the great ordeals. This book let you in on what the people went through in the 1930s and how they moved on from it.

Tom Joad and his family always kept a sense of subtle hope throughout their journey from Oklahoma to California. Hope is what kept them from falling apart. Although Casy struggled with his inner faith, overall, the family did have faith that a new life in California would work out in the long run and would eventually be best for their family. They hoped that this new life would provide their family with more opportunities, and most importantly a job. When they arrived, they discovered that "all of California quickens with produce, and the fruit grows heavy”(Steinbeck). This was the beginning of a new start for the Joad family, but also the beginning of a new struggle. Throughout the novel the Joad family is challenged to survive both physically and spiritually. Their power and resilience is challenged at every turn in their unfolding journey. Casy begins to question his own beliefs along with the teachings of God preached in the Bible. Over the course of the novel, Casy drifts away from the teachings of the Bible and stops believing in the concept of right and wrong. "Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain 't

In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the author uses the link of the lifestyle people were forced to live, to show just how bad this period was for living. The time of the Dust Bowl was not an admirable time in Americas history. Lifestyle during this period included dusty air, miserable temperatures, and a homeless type of living. These three life style characteristics specifically made living during this time extremely bleak and gloomy.

The Grapes of Wrath tells the bitter story of the Joad family as it struggles to survive and to maintain its dignity in the middle of the Great Depression. But it is also the story of the social class of people like the Joads, tenant farmers who have lost their land and decide to move to California in hope of finding a better life. John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, in 1939, amid the Great Depression, in response to the enduring he saw of individuals with disadvantages. He wrote regarding Oklahomans that were incapable to continue farming since of the disastrous climate conditions. Particularly, he wrote about the Joad family having to emigrate to California. Steinbeck composed the novel from a Marxist point of view. Steinbeck is supporting Marxist thoughts by delineating the distinction of individuals included in capitalism, as the owners take advantage of the helpless.