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Struggles in the grapes of wrath
Struggles in the grapes of wrath
Symbolic Meanings in The Grapes of Wrath
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Life of Crime of the Joad Family
In the story The Grapes of Wrath the Joad family is forced into a life of crime. John Steinbeck illustrates the conflicts the family had to endure in their journey to California. These conflicts lead the desperate Joad family into a life of crime.
Tom Joad was the first who lived the life of a criminal. Tom murdered a man in self-defense during a drunken bar fight. Tom did not want to kill Herb Turnbull but if Tom had not defended himself he would have been killed instead. Tom using self-defense is what helps show that he didn’t want to kill anyone. Later in the story the entire Joad family was involved in a criminal act that involved Grandpa that would affect the rest of the story.
The Joad family didn’t have
Casy was murdered right in front of Tom and he reacted just like most people would have: “Tom leaped silently. He wrenched the club free. The first time he knew he had missed and struck a shoulder, but the second time his crushing blow found the head” (Steinbeck 386) Tom killed the man out of fear for his own life and rage of the death of his friend Casy. Showing that Tom did want to kill again he was worried about his own wellbeing forcing him to use self-defense. Tom and the family were faced with many obstacles in The Grapes of Wrath forcing them into a life of crime.
Steinbeck included numerous examples of crime in The Grapes of Wrath, some dealing with Tom alone, and others involving the whole family. Tom was involved in two murders both in which he was forced to defend his family and himself. The whole family was involved in the decision to bury Grandpa and not notify the authorities. They did this because if they hadn’t the family would have been out of money and stuck where they were. This all reinforces the point that the Joad family was forced into a life of
John Steinbeck once stated: “If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that nothin' he can do 'll make him feel rich.” The classic text Grapes of Wrath contains several characters with a considerable amount of depth. Characters like Tom and Ma Joad are usually celebrated for their symbolism and dialogue. I feel as though Grandpa Joad is a highly underrated character in Steinbeck’s text Grapes of Wrath.
Not in decency, anyways ... Sometimes a fella got to sift the law" (Steinbeck 179). As the seeds of change and defiance began to set in, both Huck and Tom decided to help free people from their bondage. After talking to Casy for the last time, Tom reached a realization that he can be a catalyst to change by bringing all the migrants together. He vows to free the migrants from their unjust treatment and use the festering "grapes of wrath" inside them all to produce their change. "I been thinkin' a hell of a lot, thinkin' about out people livin' like pigs, and the good rich lan' layin' fallow. An' I been wonderin' if all our folks got together an' yelled, like them fellas yelled –" (Steinbeck 536). Tom wants to save the starving kids and migrant workers from the hardships pushed onto them by the unspoken laws that are established to target them. He wants to overcome the legality of the situation by doing what he believes to be morally
Ma Joad in the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck In the 1930s, America’s Great Plains experienced a disastrous drought, causing thousands of people to migrate west. As their land was devastated by the Dust Bowl, deprived farmers were left with few options but to leave. The Grapes of Wrath depicts the journey of the Joads, an Oklahoma-based family which decides to move to California in search of better conditions. Coming together as thirteen people at the start, the Joads will undertake what represents both a challenge and their only hope.
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,
Steinbeck's intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters of the novel, but help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different viewpoints of the migration, and clarifying parts of the story that the reader might not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of migrant Okies and the residents of California reveals the changing nature of land ownership among the changing population of California and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the Joads meet in California.
In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family and the changing world in which they live is portrayed from a naturalistic point of view. Steinbeck characterizes the Joads and their fellow migrants as simple, instinct-bound creatures who are on an endless search for paradise (Owens 129). The migrants and the powers which force them to make their journey--nature and society--are frequently represented by animals. The Joads, when they initially leave home, are a group of simplistic, animal-like people who barely understand or even realize their plight, but as the story progresses, they begin to grow and adapt to their new circumstances. They evolve from a small, insignificant group of creatures with no societal consciousness into a single member of a much larger family--society.
The Joad’s were facing many conflicts and in the process of losing their house. They heard there was going to be work in California and wanted to take the risk and move out there to find a job to provide. The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression were pretty huge topics in history and the novel about The Grapes of Wrath had some pretty raw details about their journey and similar to both histories. The Joad family pushed each other to have a better life in California and did everything they could to have a job to provide and eat, and mainly survive to live another day. In the novel, the beginning, the Joad family faced and struggled with nature, dust nature, just like the people that experienced this during the Dust Bowl. The people in the Southern plains dealt with a huge dust storm and the Joad family were also faced with this storm but struggled from these dust storms because of no work. No work means you can’t eat and
Character arcs, a primary method of keeping the reader’s emotions tied to the novel and its characters in order to maintain their interest. This method of character development is often implored by writers such as John Steinbeck; this can be observed in his novel The Grapes Of Wrath. An example of such a character arc is Tom Joad’s spiritual and emotional development, as he gradually becomes Jim Casy’s spiritual heir and student. Fully understanding this dramatic development is started by one analyzing three different stages that Tom undergoes throughout his life; starting with his philosophy and actions as a young child, when he finally meets Jim Casy and the acceptance of the new way of thinking, concluded by when he decides to act on the
In conclusion the Grapes of Wrath is a literary masterpiece that portrays the struggles of man as he overcomes the adversity of homelessness, death, and the wrath of prejudice. Steinbeck fully explores each faucet coherently within the boundaries of the Joad family’s trials and
In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, there are many characters who have major influential roles in the overall development of this dark and twisted story. Characters such as Tom Joad, Ma Joad, and Roasasharon Joad are big characters who in some way, shape, or form impact the plot of this novel. Perhaps one of Steinbeck’s most important characters is Jim Casy. This character influences the entire Joad family, but ends up leaving a huge impact on Tom as the end of the story draws near. Steinbeck cleverly describes Jim Casy’s appearance, uses him as a symbolic figure, and gives the Joad family an overwhelming peace.
Tom Joad experiences many struggles in The Grapes of Wrath. Due to his struggles, he undergoes an immense change that causes him from being unconcerned and impassive to being contemplative and expressive. The journey with Casy and his family affects how he achieves success to become a true, strong character. With his responsibility of taking care of the family, he carries great burden and doubtful decisions of leading them to California. Throughout the journey, he faces trials and sufferings that lead him to have an inner conflict with himself in order for his family to have the golden opportunity to live prosperously in the scarce but hopeful land. His moments of feeling helplessness and vulnerability in the position of a deterred migrant,
In Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad is one of the main characters in the “The Grapes of Wrath,” years ago Tom was taken into jail because he got into a drunken fight and killed his attacker with a shovel. He has served his time and is now getting a different outlook on the things in life and is realizing everything happens for a reason.
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.
Steinbeck created many characters for the Joads to come in contact with for different reasons. These three characters mentioned above were created to contrast the Joads and to recognize the weaker individuals in a society. By giving up, or refusing to try, these characters display a fear of new challenges and a resistance to change.
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.