Analysis Of The Hero's Journey In The Grapes Of Wrath

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Successful heroes in literature must overcome plenty of obstacles in order to finish their journey. In fact, the journey of a hero in literature is characterized by 12 specific stages: ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the first threshold, tests and allies, approach, ordeal, reward, the road back, resurrection hero, and return with elixir.1 The Grapes of Wrath is an allegory for the hero’s journey because the Joads experience each of these stages on their trek from Oklahoma to California. The ordinary world is the first stage of the journey for the hero. The normal life of the hero is revealed before the quest begins. The Joads lead a life very common for Midwestern, 1930s families. They own 40 acres of farmland in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The grandparents, Grampa and Granma, lead the household. Pa and Ma are the middle aged adults living on the farm. Pa and Ma have 6 children- Al, Tom, Rosasharn, Noah, Ruthie, and Winfield. The entire family living together is characteristic of the time period. The family only knows the farming lifestyle. So, like the majority of farming families in the 1930s, the Joads were negatively affected by the Dust Bowl and …show more content…

In The Grapes of Wrath, that first step into adventure is both mental and physical. The mental aspect of crossing the threshold is acceptance of the journey. The Joads realized that their only option to survive was to move to California. This was evident by the actions of the Joads: planning, selling, and packing. They planned their journey with a careful budget and an inventory of items to take. They sold any items they weren’t taking. And they packed everything they were taking onto the back of a truck. The physical aspect of crossing the threshold into adventure was when Al drove the truck away from the house and barn. Once the truck got over that first hill, the Joads had entered their

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