The Struggle In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Quest is a method where a literary work is broken down into five simple components. The five aspect of Quest consists of a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go, challenges and trials, and a real place to go. This method can be applied to a novel by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath because many examples are peppered throughout the story.

The Grapes of Wrath is about a family who is thrown out onto the streets during the Depression. A paroled prisoner named Tom gets a ride to his family’s farm, but soon discovers that his family was kicked off of their property because they can’t produce enough crops. Once he finds his family, they travel to California in search of jobs which proves to be tough. The first job they find is in a camp where they are surrounded by police. When Tom defends the family’s old friend and former preacher Casey, the family must leave. The next camp they find seems like paradise in comparison. However, Tom flees when it is discovered that he is breaking his parole. The family then catches word of another job and heads out on the road once again.

In the American epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, there are pivotal and dynamic changes that occur in the various significant characters of Jim Casy, Ma Joad, and Tom Joad. Steinbeck specifically uses these characters to show their common realizations about all of humanity, in order to demonstrate his underlying meaning about the importance of people coming together, helping each other out, and surviving. Ma Joad illustrates this idea clearly when she speaks to Tom mid-way through the novel: “Why, Tom, we’re the people that live. They ain’t gonna wipe us out. Why we’re the people--we go on.” (350)

Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, many concepts appear that were noted in How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. However, the three chapters of Foster’s how-to guide that most apply to Steinbeck’s novel were “It’s All About Sex…,” “Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not),” and “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow.” On more than one occasion these concepts are hidden within the book, and two of them actually seem somewhat linked together. After reading between the lines, The Grapes of Wrath has an extremely intricate plot and many ulterior meanings. Foster’s book helps to solve these meanings and make it so that the novel can be completely understood.

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

You will have many obstacles in life but you must always persevere, you must try to think positive and use different ways to cope with your problems. In one story they burn and sell their things, in one they have to skip school to do farm work, and finally, in another, a man thinks fast on his feet to save everybody. They have different lives but the same goal, to overcome their struggles in life. For example, in the novel excerpt “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck tells how a family, during dust-storms in the Great Depression, had to sell or burn their things and leave their home behind.

“ Some pets, come into our lives and leave paw prints on our hearts, and we are never the same.” ( anonymes) 'This is telling you that animals come to us and as soon as you let them in you will never be the same also change and grow because of animals. And therefore pet can give us protection,love and you can learn from them.

The 1930’s era was an incredibly tumultuous time for the United States. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Dust Bowl exacerbated the already high tensions between the rich and the poor. These tensions were also present and becoming a growing problem within the justice system of this era. As the country plunged into the depths of the Depression, the poor treatment of men and women imprisoned within the country’s jails deteriorated as well. The Dust Bowl along with the economic conditions the country, at the time led to the disparate treatment of prisoners at this time. Prejudices against certain groups of people during this time were very strong. This prejudice was demonstrated in John Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath, especially

1. The death of Jim Casy completes the transformation of Tom Joad into a man ready to take responsibility for the future and to act accordingly. Throughout the novel, Casy acts as Steinbeck’s moral spokesperson, articulating several of the book’s more important themes, such as the holiness of human life and the necessary unity of all mankind. In this quote the theme of unity is exemplified by Tom. Tom takes and stand and unites with mankind to fight any problems that come in the way. He realizes that he is needed and is willing to take the responsibility. These lines show readers the end of Tom’s transformation and show him as a complete person ready to fight any future problems. Through Tom’s tone of confidence readers mirror the change which

Similar to a cactus’ bloom in the heat of the desert, through adversity humanity prospers and processes. Society, as a whole, has experienced, at least once, hardships in their lifetime, and through these trying situations people acquire compassion. Being familiar with challenges, people more readily accepts the distress of others and offer required assistance during times of difficulty. Although adversity is seen as the creator of contempt and hatred because of its negative effects on mentality, adversity fosters compassion through the creation of empathy, morality, and association in a person with others in a calamity.

John Steinbeck's, The Grapes of Wrath follows the life of the Tom Joad and his family during the Dust Bowl. The Joads are a family of farmers looking for a better life. The Joad family migrated to California for a more desirable life, but is met with, migration camps, hunger, and jobless people. The family struggles to stay alive, hopeful and

The Grapes of Wrath is set in the horrible stage of our American history, the Depression. Economic, social, and historical surroundings separate the common man of America into basically the rich and poor. A basic theme is that man turns against one another in a selfish pride to only protect themselves. For example, the landowners create a system in which migrants are treated like animals and pushed along from one roadside camp to the next. They are denied decent wages and forced to turn against their fellow scramblers to simply survive.

The message in the article above explains the importance of "The Grapes Of Wrath" to modern society, and how it still applies to this day. The author goes on to state that immigrants, and farmers are still treated as badly as they were when the book was made. The article shows the problems of today in relation to the novel, and show the similarities of the past and the present through Steinbeck's novel. One problem the article points out is the treatment of farmers. The article shows how Steinbeck's novel is relative to present times.

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.

In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck in 1939, he tell us a story of the struggles of a family during the Dustbowl Era. The Joad family leaves their home in Oklahoma and make the long journey to California, in hopes of finding work and a better life. Along the way the family faces many struggles, hardships and losses. The story begins with Tom Joad recently being released from the State Penitentiary, after serving his term for manslaughter.