New beginnings and new land, while made out to seem as beacons of hope and chances for prosperity, are complete opposites; new beginnings offer neither success nor happiness, but rather more failures and recurring sorrows. John Steinbeck and Jack Hodgins introduce the idea of new beginnings and settlements just as they emphasize the importance of togetherness as a community and a family in The Grapes of Wrath and Broken Ground. However, it is important to consider that these new beginnings were involuntary and rather forced due to situational circumstances. These circumstances caused drastic changes in the lives of the characters, changes that ultimately led them towards a downward spiral. In both novels, change in location helped advertise new beginnings as a chance for a new, improved lifestyle, which turned out to be a mere lie. The “promised land” was simply a hoax, which they would later realize, as it left them with nothing more than the broken pieces of their woven dreams. Steinbeck and Hodgins both examine the idea of “promised land” where their characters, Steinbeck’s Joad family and Hodgins’s returned soldiers, hope to find both joy and prosperity. The characters, however, later learn that the idea of the “promised land” is simply just that - an idea - because it does not exist. While the “promised land” is different in both novels, it being a beautiful home and paying jobs in The Grapes of Wrath and actual land for settlement in Broken Ground, it represents the same hope for both novels – the hope of new, positive beginnings. Both Steinbeck and Hodgins lead readers to believe that the relocation of their characters is setting the stage for a turn of events in their lives, a turn for the better. This change, though, ... ... middle of paper ... ... harsh and tragic. Similarly, Hodgins symbolizes a life full of hardships in Portuguese Creek with the death of Elizabeth, for she had been the only good thing that had come out of the war. The positives of the families and communities working together were ultimately overshadowed by the negativity of these same families and communities falling apart; only further showing readers that new beginnings are not a chance for a better life, but center stage for one that is worse. Thus, both novels, full of tragedy and sorrow, began with the promise of new land, new beginnings and a better life, but all three were impossible to find within the pages of these novels. In the end, it was broken relationships, broken families, broken communities, but most importantly, broken dreams and broken hopes that were left on the final pages of both woeful, yet celebrated, stories.
Throughout history man has made many journeys, both far and wide. Moses’ great march through the Red Sea and Columbus's traversing the Atlantic are examples of only a couple of men’s great voyages. Even today, great journeys are being made. Terry Fox's run across Canada while fighting cancer is one of these such journeys. In every one of these instances people have had to rise above themselves and overcome immense odds, similar to a salmon swimming upstream to full fill it's life line. Intense drive and extreme fortitude are qualities they needed to posses during their travels.
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.
Title: Grapes of Wrath: Questions and Answers What are the chief reasons for the mass migration to California? I believe that the primary reasons for the mass migration to California were poverty and the desire for a better life. The people in Oklahoma were struggling to make ends meet and barely had enough to survive. They worked long hours on farms and received little compensation for their hard work. This made them frustrated and unhappy.
John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most influential books in American History, and is considered to be his best work by many. It tells the story of one family’s hardship during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The Joads were a hard-working family with a strong sense of togetherness and morals; they farmed their land and went about their business without bothering anyone. When the big drought came it forced them to sell the land they had lived on since before anyone can remember. Their oldest son, Tom, has been in jail the past four years and returns to find his childhood home abandoned. He learns his family has moved in with his uncle John and decides to travel a short distance to see them. He arrives only to learn they are packing up their belongings and moving to California, someplace where there is a promise of work and food. This sets the Joad family off on a long and arduous journey with one goal: to survive.
The Nebraskan prairies are beautiful and picturesque and set the scene for a memorable story. Big farm houses and windmills placed throughout the graceful flowing golden yellow grass become a nostalgic aspect of Jim as he leaves his childhood life behind. The frontier includes destructive and depressing winters and luscious summers that affect Jim's family and the immigrants. The gloominess of winter and the suicide of Mr. Shimerda provide memories that associate Jim's recollections with nature's seasons. The Christmas season provided faith to persevere through winter and the exchanging of gifts made happy memories, which Jim could not experience if snow darkness did not exist. The summers were most unforgettable though. The smoldering sun and fertile land made growing crops easy. The immigrants references of roads lined with sunflowers as opportunity inspired Jim to appreciate the splendor and bountifulness of the land. Later Jim encounters these pathways, now concealed because of erosion, remembering that "this was the road over which Antonia and I came when we got off the train . . . the feelings of that night had been so near that I could reach out and touch them with my hand. For Antonia and me, this had been the road of Destiny" (Cather237).
All across the United States, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is known as a great American classic. Although it has been perceived to many controversial, there are many valid arguments as to why it is the quintessential American novel. The themes Huck Finn portrays obvious themes that play a key role in America; especially in the time it was published such as racism, slavery, and a child running away from home to help out someone who was seen as below him. Along with the controversial elements in the paper, the novel’s characters also had individual voices that made them all stand out in a way that made it more interesting to read. The theme of perseverance is apparent as Jim and Huck Finn are separated on multiple occasions.
Steinbeck’s novel demonstrates the value of members in a society to work in unison to achieve a common goal. Without each other, the Joads will have no way of coping with the loss of their land in Oklahoma and reach their destination in California. Unity as a family is the only option they have to endure this hopeless calamity. In addition, the collapse of the family results in their initial purpose and intention to fall apart. The Great Depression was an era that was detrimental to many individuals. It affected farmers drastically as it forced them to look for work elsewhere in the country. Regardless of how severe conditions were, many remained sanguine in anticipation of a brighter tomorrow.
John Steinbeck's epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, chronicles the struggles of the Joads as they join the thousands of fellow "Okies" in a mass migration westward. The Joads reluctantly leave behind their Oklahoma farm in search of work and food in California. While Steinbeck writes profoundly and emotionally about the political problems of the Great Depression, his characters also show evidence of a deep concern with spirituality. When they feel hopeless and are uncertain about their immediate future, their concentration on religion dwindles. On the other hand, when they leave their home, the Joads regain spiritual faith; they have something to live for: California. Once they arrive and find only more difficulties, they lose their sense that better things are ahead of them and gravitate back towards thinking politically. However, they finally return to the source of their original faith--religion-- at their most desperate time.
How does California seem to modern America? Violent. Crowded. Filled with bad people. People who live in cities and have lost touch with the earth. These people are portrayed in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath as Californians. Yet, people from the Midwest flocked to California seeking prosperity and opportunity. Their land had been taken by the banks and turned into cotton fields. They were left homeless and desperate. These people sought to work in the fields where they could eat a peach or sit under a tree to relax.
Despite new laws, migrant laborers are still dehumanized as they face discrimination from employers of small contractors and big companies. (Lopez, 2005). Migrant laborers are those who migrate from one place to another looking for work. A lot of the time, these migrant laborers are undocumented farmworkers (Lopez, 2005). Farmworkers play a key role in our U.S. food system, however even with the important role they play in our agricultural society, they are still mistreated and deprive of positive human qualities by their employers in ways beyond unconceivable (Lopez, 2005). Even with labor laws in act, farmworkers are excluded from state protection laws such as Occupational Safety and Health Act of
The novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain has been called many things, over the years, by critics and scholars. Along with the plethora of criticism about its’ depiction of slavery and its’ use of the word “nigger”, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered by many to be the father of all American Literature. This high praise is puzzling, considering all its’ faults coupled with its’ unsatisfying ending. However upon a deeper examination of the text itself a parallel emerges among The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the classic Greek epics. In both novels an epic journey is employed by the author to provide a moral education to the main character, as well as shaping the plot and adding meaning to the story as a whole. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the physical journey is what makes the book a classic, it not only provides a moral schooling for Huck, and it is a safe sanctuary for Huck and Jim against the ills of 18th century America.
“And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quicklime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is a failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath” (Steinbeck 349). John Steinbeck, the author of The Grapes of Wrath, portrays the migrant’s resentment of the California land owners and their way of life and illustrates that the vagrants from Oklahoma are yearning for labor, provisions, and human decency. Similarly in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee elucidates the concept that people should be treated with inclusive human dignity and be affected by good aspects rather than deleterious behavior. In addition to both novels, “Suffering with Them”, “Evil’s Fate”, and “To Hope” share the same concurrent theme. To Kill a Mockingbird and The Grapes of Wrath and “Suffering with Them”, “Evil’s Fate”, and “To Hope” illustrate a synonymous, thematic message that evil’s inhumanity, during corrupt times, induces a perception of hopefulness for good to conquer immorality.
Gretel Ehrlich describes her move to Wyoming as awakening from a nap, satisfied in her new home she becomes absorbed in its tranquility and indifference. She is reborn, starts anew and creates a new life for herself. Ehrlich even cut her hair and buys new clothes to create a "new" and different person. To read and understand this essay means looking deeper into the author's story of rebirth, and how the big Wyoming skies were healing and put things into perspective for her. Thus, improving her quality of life without any fillers or distractions.
This is a brief literary analysis of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath is a classic American novel written by Steinbeck in 1939. It narrates the life of the Joad family as they travel from Oklahoma to find a new home in California after they are moved off of their farmland. The Grapes of Wrath also provides historical narrative on America during the time of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Steinbeck's descriptive language paints a picturesque, however appalling, image of the land, its people, and the living conditions of families who were forced out of their homes. This paper will analyze the roles of men and women in the novel and how they may or may not have conformed to the roles traditionally expected of both genders at the time.
To human beings, environment is vital. After spending a number of years in one place, it is very human to become attached. This is especially true with farmers. They spend their lives learning the land around them. The land becomes a friend to them, having almost human value. In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck conveys the connection people have with their land, without which they feel they cannot survive mentally or physically.