In the grapes of wrath, John Steinbeck shows that class money and power is an important aspect of life. The reader can see that the upper class offers no help or assistance to the poor and working class. The reader can see that these people do not have many possessions due to the fact that they cannot work, this is supported by the quote “Then from the tents, from the crowded barns, groups of sodden men went out, their cloths slopping rags, their shoes muddy pulp.”(Steinbeck 591). These people had no money to buy new things such as cloths. The quote indicates that these people were in barns huddling together in there old rags for clothing that have been soaked by the rain. They had no dry cloths to change into nor did they have their own cloths, most were probably hand-me- downs that have been passed down by the older sibling or parent. Money is means of survival and without it you will die. Steinbeck writes “to beg for food to cringe and beg for food, to beg for relief, to try to steal, to live, and under the begging and under the cringing, hopeless anger began to smolder.” (Steinb...
The Grapes of Wrath explicates on the Dust Bowl era as the reader follows the story of the Joads in the narrative chapters, and the migrants in expository chapters. Steinbeck creates an urgent tone by using repetition many times throughout the book. He also tries to focus readers on how the Dust Bowl threatened migrant dreams using powerful imagery. As well as that, he creates symbols to teach the upper class how the Dust Bowl crushed the people’s goals. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck utilizes imagery, symbolism, and repetition to demonstrate how the Dust Bowl threatened the “American Dream.”
One of the ironies of Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath was that, as Ma Joad said, "If your in trouble or hurt or need -- go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help -- the only ones."(pg 335) The irony is that if you need something you have to go to the people who have nothing.
Throughout the novel, The Grapes of Wrath there are intercalary chapters. The purpose of these chapters are to give the readers insight and background on the setting, time, place and even history of the novel. They help blend the themes, symbols, motifs of the novel, such as the saving power of family and fellowship, man’s inhumanity to man, and even the multiplying effects of selfishness. These chapters show the social and economic crisis flooding the nation at the time, and the plight of the American farmer becoming difficult. The contrast between these chapters helps readers look at not just the storyline of the Joad family, but farmers during the time and also the condition of America during the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck uses these chapters to show that the story is not only limited to the Joad family,
Money was tough for people to come by. As Dobie says, “Money sure can buy nice stuff can’t it? Boy, if you had the dough you sure could fix up a swell house. (Bell, 309) Money could do so much for person. Often times there was not enough money to buy meat or pay the bills. Money would come in on paydays and often that would be the only day when the family had money. Like when Francka sar...
Steinbeck strikes at the fear in every man’s soul, with his portrayal of the poverty stricken life of the Joads as they travel from one stage of abandonment and what would seem like a helpless state to a journey of enduring perseverance. The Joads, Steinbeck’s creation in the Novel Grapes of Wrath is a large close-knit family living in Oklahoma during the “Dust Bowl” era. Steinbeck documents their journey beginning with their homelessness due to the crop failures to them surviving in a box car at the end of their journey. I think Steinbeck’ intention is to illustrate to the reader that being poor doesn’t always equate with being helpless. The Joads demonstrate this by their resilience to overcome homelessness, death, and prejudice.
The tale of The Grapes of Wrath has many levels of profound themes and meanings to allow us as the reader to discover the true nature of human existence. The author's main theme and doctrine of this story is that of survival through unity. While seeming hopeful at times, this book is more severe, blunt, and cold in its portrayl of the human spirit. Steinbeck's unique style of writing forms timeless and classic themes that can be experienced on different fronts by unique peoples and cultures of all generations.
In the gruesome novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque, tells a story of a young boy named Paul Bäumer that fights in World War I as a German soldier. Paul is the protagonist and the narrator for most of the novel. The reader can see, through Paul, the horrors of war. Critics agree that the novel is believable. “Paul's story is the realization of the horror of war…” (Tighe 60). The setting of the novel is in the trenches of the Western Front in France and in Germany. There are numerous cultural aspects going on within this anti-war novel. Remarque accurately portrays the culture aspects of, male roles, family relations, the economy, and historical references to life during World War I in Germany and France for the soldiers on the Western front during the last two years of Word War I between 1916 and 1918.
...ave money value, because then at least those who wanted to make a profit from you would make sure you were fed enough and not damaged too much. Also, there were many who had neither love nor money value, and having one of these things was better than having nothing. (Atwood 126)
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit em', but remember it's a sin To Kill a Mockingbird." This quote demonstrates Atticus's firm belioef in the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule is to treat others how you want to be treated. Atticus follows the Golden Rule throughout the novel, including while defending Tom Robinson, a local African American accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Due to Atticus's firm belief in the Golden Rule and the fact he must live with himself before others and tries to teach his children the right thing to do, it makes sense for him to defend Tom Robinson.
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
One would never be capable of living through the horrific war in Vietnam without developing any sort of coping mechanism. Some preferred self-abusing mechanisms which include dope and alcohol, while others developed psychological mechanisms which almost ‘grew on them like a parasite’. Although it is the most gruesome technique, killing others was also a way for soldiers to get through the war. Of all these methods to survive the war, there is no better or worse method, due to the fact that different things worked for different soldiers. Unquestionably, drinking and smoking was the most obvious way to cope with the war. Be it legal or not, it was the most common approach to dealing with guilt, fear, and anxiety caused by the war.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty of the land owners that take advantage of them, their poverty and willingness to work.
People often find themselves in trouble, but they try to get out of it by themselves. However, there is one person in my life that always need rescuing, my sister: the damsel in distress. She always dreams about impossible that she does not stop and think that trouble awaits for her in the near future. Perhaps she does, but she has this idea that someone will always save her. This revelation of her character leads to another revelation which is being self-absorbed. No cares—none! She has very limited understanding that one day she might be required to save someone else who is in trouble. Someone she might know and love and cherish. However, if she does not come to a realization soon then she might loose someone forever. Everything, no matter what decision you make; whether it is on your lifestyle or about the little things, if it is wrong then, it has severe consequences. This is a life lesson that each and every human being has to learn and I have been trying to teach this lesson to her for a very long time, but as you can imagine, she is as stubborn as a cat. I remember one time when she, Ms. Vanity, had a very difficult analytical assignment to submit, and she did not finish it on time. So I read as much as I could about the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and worked with her the entire night making insightful connections so that she was able to pass that assignment. However, this is not the first time she had made this mistake, there are a lot of examples that relate to this one and I know there will be many more. I am just waiting, for her to realize this so that she may one day escape from this rolling stone and I would finally be relived from saving this damsel in distress.
As young adults, we cannot recall a life without the web. The web is young because recently it had its 25th anniversary. 25 years ago ,Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau changed the world forever. According to boutell.com, “ In 1989, while working at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), both men made proposals for hypertext systems…And in late 1990 and early 1991, Tim Berners-Lee wrote the first web browser.” These men started the technology phenomena, but as time progressed, society started to become more advanced. People do not interact the same with each other. As we move on forward, the definition of a friend is lost because of the indecency of social media. The growth of social media causes people to question what a friend is because people do not understand the difference between interacting face to face, rather than socializing on the web. As more social media sites come to the market, people are social without going out. The growth of social media causes people to think, act, and interact differently, causing the meaning of friendship to be lost, because of the growth of the web.