Dynamic Characters and Survival 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)
Early in the novel we are introduced to a journeying preacher named Jim Casy, who has already been drifting for four years. He has gone through a dynamic change, and through the course of the novel he learns how to apply his new Emerson worldview of an Oversoul that all of humanity is a part of. Jim Casy sees the good in all things and people: “There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do.” (30) He therefore shares a concern for and a need to be with the people. It isn’t until later in the novel, however, that Jim Casy becomes fully aware of the truth behind his ideas. When he sacrifices to go to jail for Tom, he learns in prison about the strength and power of men working together to reach their goals. Jim Casy is murdered after he gets out of jail, trying to put some of these new ideas into action. His message only comes into true realization after his death, as it branches out and attracts followers such as Tom Joad, but it can be seen in many of the actions of Ma Joad throughout the book.
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... She comforts the Wilsons, feeds the starving nameless faces when she barely has enough for her own family, works together with the Wainwrights, and as the novel closes she is still directing her assistance to those who are in need any way she can, by helping the starving man and taking control of the situation. She feels that as long as she can hold on to some part of the family, she will see to it that they keep on going.
Thus with the Joads and company, the journey West is also a journey from personal concern for oneself, to a larger concern for all of humanity. When there doesn’t seem to be anything left, at least you have each other, the people. That is what will endure, continue, live on, and populate the world. Ma reassures the family at the end of the novel that they are not going to die out, they may change a little, but they will go right on.
When times get tough, many people turn away from everyone and everything. It must be part of human nature to adopt an independent attitude when faced with troubles. It is understandable because most people do not want to trouble their loved ones when they are going through problems, so it is easier to turn away than stick together. Maybe their family is going through a rough patch and they reason they would be better off on their own. This path of independence and solitude may not always be the best option for them or their family, though. Often times it is more beneficial for everyone to work through the problem together. It is not always the easiest or most desirable option, but most times it is the most efficient and it will get results in the long run. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck makes this point very clear through several characters. Many characters throughout
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.
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, a fictitious migrant family, the Joads, travel west in search of a new life away from the tragedies of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. Along the way, Steinbeck adds a variety of minor characters with whom the Joads interact. Steinbeck created these minor characters to contrast with the Joad’s strong will power and to reflect man’s fear of new challenges, and to identify man’s resistance to change. Three minor characters who fulfill this role are Muley Graves, Connie Rivers, and the tractor driver.
drop their life and move to a different state. When they arrived in California they were not
Tom Joad is an ex-convict that was only into his own self-interest and lived by a mantra of live your life day by day and not concerned with the future, to becoming a man who thinks about the future and someone with morals and an obligation to help others. Ma Joad is a typical woman of the early 1900’s whose main role was a mother only with a role of caring and nurturing. Later in the novel, she becomes an important figure for the family and is responsible for making decisions in keeping the family together and emphasizes the importance of unity. Another important transition in the book is the family starting off as a single close knit unit to depending on other families to survive. This common interest and struggle bonded the community of individual families to a single one. Steinbeck wrote this novel very well, by having great character dynamics and development that displays the characters strengths and also their
The greater detail provided by the book about the monster’s experiences allows the reader to sympathize with the monster more so than an audience member. When the Frankenstein monster is retelling the story of the hardships he has endured, he mentions events that were overlooked in the play. One example of this is when the monster saved a girl’s life. Such an act would normally be considered very heroic and receive much praise under any circumstances, but instead the monster is rewarded by being shot, receiving only “the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone.” (Shelley 135) The book also examines the months of hard work the creature put into learning about human nature and language in order to be fully accepted when he chose to reveal himself. The monster hid by the cottage for around a year, listening and learning during t...
The creature’s moral ambiguity characteristic was a vile ingredient to the construction of this novel Frankenstein because it made the reader 's sympathies with him even after the audience knows he had committed murder because the readers had seen the truth this creature had to face. That he had tried everything within his power to peacefully live with them, to interact, communicate, and befriend them “these thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language”, that even though he was seen as a monster because of the looks he was created with, something he had no control over, he still had hope to be seen as equals, ”My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration;” this hope of his was utterly crushed, and can only set him up for utter disappointment(12.18). Because in the end he only received hates, scorns, violence, and prejudice from his good will. So in the end of the story, Mary Shelley’s forces the readers to see within the creature’s heart and for
It is in the complex structure of the novel that Mary Shelley creates sympathy. We shift from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to the monster and finally back to Walton. With each shift of perspective, the reader gains new information about both the facts of the story and the reliability of the narrator. Each perspective adds pieces of information that only they knows: Walton explains the circumstances of Victor’s last days, Victor explains his creation of the monster, the monster explains his turn to evil. This impact of the change of narration gives us a better understanding of each person, and we see that the monster is not such a monster at all.
... for the Joads and a burning hatred against the greedy landowners who crushed the hearts of the destitute. It establishes a desire for the unloved land owned by selfish landowners. The once comforting scenery is instead spiked with an intense lust for the land and an ensuing hatred for those who own it. But still, the Joads held on to a stubborn hope, the only comfort they had and the only reason they continued to fight. A quote from Chapter 20 of The Grapes of Wrath explains this, “Why, Tom - us people will go on livin' when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people - we go on.” (Steinbeck 359) Steinbeck’s writing style effectively develops these opinions of the readers, preserving the sympathy for the migrant workers for years to come. (Shmoop Editorial Team, "The Grapes of Wrath Analysis")
...most readers tend to sympathize with Frankenstein because of the way in which he is mentally and physically harmed by his creation. However, one must also realize that while Frankenstein is a victim in the novel, he also exhibits features that make him a monster. These monstrous qualities, however, stem from his passion for science and his desire to create life. Not only does the reader criticize and pity Frankenstein, but the reader also empathizes with Frankenstein’s creation. He was unjustly shunned by society because of his physical appearance. On the other hand, the reader realizes that like Frankenstein, the creation can not be sympathized with entirely. He too exhibits traits that make him appear villainous. It is the duality of these two characters that make Frankenstein and his creation two of the most appealing characters of the nineteenth century.
...ctor Frankenstein, while Victor gains monster-like traits, Frankenstein gains human-like traits, this journey is particuallary evident in the early development of the two characters and their acquirement of knowledge. While the reader generally gravitates towards the monster, through empathy they experience disappointment in Victor Frankenstein, this leaves the reader is left in confliction. The reader is unsure whether in today’s appreance focused society it will be viewed as appropriate to feel empathy towards a ugly monster. This confliction ultimately results in the reader reflecting upon the extent of which they wish to conform to society.
There are two types of research that can be conducted in research studies, these are qualitative and quantitative (Newman, 2011). Qualitative research is a process that uses detailed oriented methodology that tries to achieve a profound knowledge or understanding of specific incident and circumstance, wh...
Throughout Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the reader is lead to sympathize with the monstrous creature, which was created by Victor Frankenstein. Despite any internal contradictions, the creature has the indisputable outward appearance of a monster, one repulsive to even his own creator. Inevitably, the appearance becomes the creature’s most significant quality, which eliminates any recognition of other, more human, qualities. As a result, any possibility of acceptance within human society are completely destroyed. The creature himself even recognizes this fact. Expressing many human qualities, such rejection and the consequential loneliness has a tremendous impact on the creature, especially in the impressionable years after his initial animation. With the psychological effects caused by these factors, the creature is sent on a rampage, causing tragedy throughout the course of the novel. Many may question Victor’s culpability and lack of responsibility over his creation; however, the ultimate blame for the events must be placed while considering the situation on a larger scale. Without a structured beginning to life, the creature is subjected to the harsh society around him, whose reactions only lead the creature to exile and psychological torment, justifying his wrongful actions.
In this essay I am going to answer ‘how and why does Mary Shelley make the reader sympathise with the character of the monster in her novel Frankenstein’.
The book goes into greater detail regarding the monster’s hardships, has a more eloquent and persuasive monster and has a more heartbreaking ending. As a result a reader feels greater sympathy towards the monster in the novel rather than in the play. The monster begins his journey a purely innocent and kind being, but because he has to suffer the misfortune of having such a monstrous appearance he is condemned by society. Frankenstein tells the story of a benevolent being persecuted by man, and has the reader questioning who the real monster is.