Tractor Driver's Seat Dialectical Journal

Through the roughest times in life, we come across crises that reveal the true character in those around us. Those who are strong are divided from the weak and the followers divide from the leaders. In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck presents the character Ma Joad who serves an important role as the rock that keeps the family together. The Joad family, apart from many families in Oklahoma, is forced to leave their homes in search of work and better opportunities; California not only leaves them in poverty but despair. But through it all Ma Joad is the leader of the family that exhibits selflessness in order to protect and secure her family.

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.

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.

“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.

John Steinbeck inserts accurate facts into The Grapes of Wrath to demonstrate the narrative events of this book actually occurred in real migrant’s lives. Steinbeck uses the names of actual towns and cities in California so his readers can obtain deeper meaning in his work. “Well why don ' we go to Marysville? Ma demanded… Ma said “We’re a-goin to Marysville. I don’t care what the pay is, were a-goin” (451) “Sallisaw to Gore is 21 miles and Hudson was.. from Gore to Warner 13 miles; Warner to Checotah 14 mile; Checotah a long jump to Henrietta,- 34 miles” (157) Each of the towns mentioned are actual places that migrants traveled through. Steinbeck demonstrates the reality of migrants situations by using authentic information about migrant’s journeys. Steinbeck’s application of historically accurate facts creates a more realistic story. “Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman. At one end of the counter, a covered case; candy cough drops, caffeine sulphate called Sleepless; No Doze; candy,

To quote Ma Joad in the film The Grapes of Wrath, “I ain 't never gonna be scared no more. I was, though. For a while it looked as though we was beat. Good and beat. Looked like we didn 't have nobody in the whole wide world but enemies. Like nobody was friendly no more. Made me feel kinda bad and scared too, like we was lost and nobody cared....Rich fellas come up and they die, and their kids ain’t no good and they die out. But we keep a comin’, we’re the people that live. They can’t wipe us out; they can’t lick us. We’ll go on forever Pa, ‘cause we’re the people.” This statement captures the resilience of the American working class since the birth of the country. Ma 's speech can be read as a proclamation of necessary fictions to bolster the morale of the family. She is the uncomplaining maintainer of status quo in the home, the ultimate mother figure who not only attends to physical needs, but mental needs as well.

The Grapes Of Wrath introduces many real life topics, and difficulties relevant to the people in the 1930s and some still relevant to today. Throughout the book topics like migration, corporate profit, and even environmental impacts of human choices are all present in the book. Steinbeck is shown to makes many claims about each of these topics, but the topic that stands out the most are the issues with the criminal justice system. Steinbeck believes that the police and the criminal justice system are corrupt and generally police have a tendency to abuse their authority against poor people and migrants.

The Grapes of Wrath offers a political dispensation characterized by the collective movement of the lower class to stand firm against their oppression by the ruling and banking elites together with the biased public policies that were simply geared towards profit maximization. It is ironical that “the public policies of land share tenancy only enriched the minority landlords but starved the majority of the poor farmers who directly contributed their efforts towards food production to death,” (pg. 117). Even though the laborers lived a life full of destitution due to their reduced state of landlessness, they were determined to soldier on and lived better lives. Led by Joad and Casy, they rose up against the oppressive landlords, and joined Unions against the demands of their masters. Through the series of successful strikes and incessant advocacy efforts of Joad, the laborers finally got some justice from the landlords at the end despite the demise of Casy.

The 1930's were a decade of great change politically, economically, and socially. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl wore raw the nerves of the people, and our true strength was shown. From it arose John Steinbeck, a storyteller of the Okies and their hardships. His books, especially The Grapes of Wrath, are reflections of what really went on in the 1930's. John Steinbeck did not write about what he had previously read, he instead wrote what he experienced through his travels with the migrant workers. "His method was not to present himself notebook in hand and interview people. Instead he worked and traveled with the migrants as one of them, living as they did and arousing no suspicion from employers militantly alert against

One of the central themes of The Grapes of Wrath is the unity and strength that comes from family and friendship. The members of the Joad family rely on each other for support through hard times as well as join each other in celebration of good times. Additionally, neighbors rely on each other for help in times of dire need. They hold together as a community for the good of everyone. Therefore, when Joe Davis’s son takes a job with the bank to drive a tractor, he is betraying his community, his family, and his very own way of life. By working for the bank, he becomes part of the monster that is destroying their way of life. To Old Tom Joad, he is the physical embodiment of evil, inhumanity, and betrayal.

The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of two types of ‘families’ in that the Joads are a factual one and the body of migrant workers as the other. The Joads are actual blood

As gampa gives the full image of what their future could look like if they gave up the life they have and receive a possible amazing life change, the life's conditions could not be worse. When the Okies are mentioned it instantly portrays the romantic feel because of the orange handbill that's mentioned. The family setting off on their new future the families traveling all have a fear of unknown letting each character try and lift up their spirit and support everyone risking the same “Ma, you scared a goin’? you scared a goin’ to new place?”(Steinback, 124). The Joad family care about one another, each person cares for the whole family. Ma is someone who is the center strength of the family and loves all giving the book a feel for love and determination.She portrays the most hope throughout the story even when the times were bad. The land is the symbolism for hope but ma is the only true hope and romanticism archetype. Steinbeck uses romanticism in “Grapes of Wrath” by the imagery of the land from oklahoma to california, and the family relationships of the family moving for a better

In The Grapes of Wrath, Joad states “I knowed it wouldn't be the same as it was… an' come daylight we'll get on to Uncle John's (38). Joad is telling Muley and Casy that he would head over to his uncle’s place the next day to see his family. This shows that Joad viewed his family as his chance at survival. Joad’s father also states that “we sol' all the stuff at our place, an' the whole bunch of us chopped cotton” (56). He was explaining to Joad and Casy that after things got rough, they had to stick together to ensure their survival.

In Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he describes the struggle of the small farmer and farmworker. The principal characters define quiet dignity and courage in their struggle to survive and in the caring for their loved ones. Through this novel, Steinbeck displays his respect for all the poor and oppressed of our world.

Together, the family decides to go to California so they can find work. They could have decided to spilt up and find work in different parts of the country. It might have been easier to split up because you are not trying to find work for a lot of people at one time at one location, especially during a time when work is very difficult to find. Again, keeping the family together is important to the Joad family so they stay together and to head west. Before they can leave the farm, the grandfather has a breakdown and refuses to not leave the farm. The grandfather say’s “It 's my dirt! Eh-heh! No good, but it 's - it 's mine, all mine” (Grapes). Although the farm is in horrible condition and the plants are not growing, he feels that all his hard work has gone into this land. The only option the family has to keep the grandfather with them is to drug him and bring him with them.