Grapes Of Wrath Heroism

The cultivation of the American identity and American heroes has been a long arduous task that has resulted in a staggering amount of diversity. Most of heroes contain some similar traits, upholding a type of morality, the protection of what is deemed good, and the implementation of the American identity. However, these are broad themes that can be manipulated to represent a myriad of values or actions that could not be carried out by other American heroes. This level of diversity and contrast can be seen in Birth of a Nation, directed by D.W. Griffith, and Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck. Both of these texts contain elements that can be loosely tied together, but overall the type of heroes that are characterised are incompatible,

Griffith focuses heavily on the period before the Civil War in the beginning of the film. Griffith creates shots that depict both families, the Stonemans and the Camerons, as happy and content in their lives. The lighting purposefully bright to convey a sense of peace and prosperity (Griffith 5:00-17:37). The Camerons are also presented to be the proud owners of happy slaves who dance about as the family visits the slave quarters. This scenes help construct a notion of class and racial superiority within the film, as the camerons are depicted as the pinnacle of success and happiness. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War the tone of the film changes drastically. Griffith uses Ben Cameron, a Colonel in the Confederate Army and a proud Southern white man as the hero. After the attempted rape of his sister Flora, an imbalanced legislature, and general disorder and violence all prompts Cameron to break from the norm of white passivity and government indifference and creates the Ku Klux Klan, a vigilante group of “freedom” fighters. This does create a semblance of community as Cameron is actively attempting to protect the white population, but this flies in the face of the morality that other heroes have in later texts, as many American heroes protect all individuals from injustices rather than a select few. This protection of a particular community is best seen at the apex of the movie. D.W. Griffith uses cut aways to different narratives happening simultaneously to reinforce the dichotomy of good and bad within the society he wants to perpetuate. This is acutely depicted in scenes where the freed slaves are rioting in the streets.Griffith uses a high angle extreme long shot to show the magnitude of the black mob emphasizing the chaotic and