Unity In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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)

John Steinbeck sets his novel The Grapes of Wrath during the Depression of the 1930's. Universal archetypes play a significant role in Steinbeck’s story. Steinbeck creates a cast of characters whose archetypes can be easily related to. The Earthmother, haven versus hell, and the evil figure with the ultimately good heart are archetypes described in The Grapes of Wrath to show the bad and good times during a time of hardships.

Do the needs of an individual family or group supersede the needs of the many? In The Grapes of Wrath written by the John Steinbeck, the readers see the strength that is needed to be a mother when outside forces rip a family apart. Ma Joad is the living representation of strength given her unique role in the family. Ma took an almost patriarchal role in the family and demonstrated that she was unique among other characters due to her strength, love, and family power.

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.

One would say that on a literal level The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the Joad family's journey to California during The Dust Bowl. However, it is also about the unity of a family and the concept of birth and death, both literal and abstract. Along with this, the idea of a family unit is explored through these births and deaths.

The traditional human family represents a necessary transition between self and community. In the difficult era of the 1930's, the family's role shifted to guard against a hostile outside world rather than to provide a link with it. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other tragedies of the Great Depression, many were forced to look beyond the traditional family unit and embrace their kinship with others of similar necessity. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the theme of strength through unity to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people. The journey of the Joad family

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.

Unity is a crucial part of survival and maintains the strength and optimism within people. In the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the importance of unity is demonstrated throughout the book. With the deaths of Granma and Grampa and Noah and Connie’s departure, their willingness to survive begins to diminish. However, the Joads demonstrate hospitality to the Wilsons and the Wilsons reciprocate this kindness. In chapter 17, the quote “The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was one dream.” (Steinbeck, pg. 193) expresses the hardships and ambitions of the families united into one. The unity of their dreams made them seem real and closer to them than they had previously imagined. Furthermore, in the beginning

In the Grapes of Wrath, the author John Steinbeck really emphasizes the importance of unity and family throughout the novel. That is the main theme of this novel, Steinbeck shows us that you need unity and the help of family to succeed in many aspects of life. Without family and support we would all probably be very lost, family helps support you through tough times. And on the migrant's quest to find a new life family comes up big many times.

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.

The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is a novel which demonstrates the lives of families during the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and the struggles they faced on their route to California. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck applies his writing style in order to convey the theme and general plot of the novel.

In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck family plays a big part in the book. To the Joads their family is survival. Without each other, they wouldn’t be able to cope with the loose of land or their journey to California. Family is the single most important weapon that the Joads have against the cold, ruthless world around. The Joads learn that they work much stronger and safer when the engage with other migrant families and create a sense of security, shelter, and community.

Furthermore, the author's lack of quotation marks within the intercalary chapters provides a voice to represent the general migrant population, and implies kinship between the migrants, revealing the intrinsic value of community. In an intercalary chapter, the author introduces dialogue between two people negotiating a car sale and writes “an’ you put up fifty, an’ you can sign a contract to send the rest at ten dollars a month. But you said eighty. Didn’t you never hear about carrying charges and insurance?” (64).

Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” History shows how much progress we have made as a human race. This progress was only achieved through working together. Throughout history, human beings have been faced with extreme challenges and adversity. In order to move forward, collectively people had to work together. The timeline of our existence is littered with examples of progress. Wars would not have been won without countries allying together to defeat a common enemy. Science and technology would not have progressed without teams of scientists and researchers developing things together over the years. In the early 1900’s, the United States was faced with a huge economic crisis. A majority of the population lost their homes and sources of income; having to move out west in search of opportunity. If all had done this individually without the help of others, then it is likely they would not have been able to overcome it. People have to be faced with extreme adversity in order to overcome it, but sometimes an individual's focus on self-preservation can get in the way of working with other people. However when people do work together it can be beneficial for everyone. When faced with extreme adversity, individuals must join together, and only then can they overcome it.