Grapes Of Wrath Setting Analysis

Setting
The setting of The Grapes of Wrath continues to move about during the story, beginning in Oklahoma and ending in California. However, even at the end of the novel, the family has yet to achieve a permanent home as they spend the night in a “rain-soaked barn,” and by morning it can be inferred that they will move about on their feet again (Steinbeck 578). This shows the ever present idea that life always changes and things can never be the same. By having a setting that lacks permanence, Steinbeck shows that “every night a world created… and every morning the world torn down like a circus” (Steinbeck 250). Another major use of setting shows in the destructive power of nature. The Joads originally leave Oklahoma because of the “dust

[that] came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled like pollen on the chairs and tables” (Steinbeck 5). The Dust Bowl caused “fallen corn” and devastation for the Joads, so “they were in flight from the sun and the drought” (Steinbeck 5, 260). However, once they reach California, the complete opposite becomes true. Rather than having an abundance of dust and drought, an abundance of water exists, causing just as much destruction. In their new home of a boxcar, the Joads watch as “the water [creeps] to the edge of the doorway… and then [moves] slowly inward over the floor” (Steinbeck 574). No matter where they go “the muddy lakes [rise] higher, and the steady rain [whips] the shining water,” forcing them out of their homes (Steinbeck 553). Although both rain and dryness can cause goodness, too much of a good thing can cause harm instead of healing. The Joads had to learn this the hard way. However, these two natural disasters did bring about some positivity in the development of the Joad family. Although it “use’ ta be the fambly was fust. It ain’t so now. It’s anybody” (Steinbeck 569). They learn to help everyone in order to end the vicious cycle and prevent suffering (Word Count: 349).

Theme
An important theme in The Grapes of Wrath is the idea that the greed lies at the root of all evil. When someone believes that they worth more than another human being, problems arise, and their vision becomes clouded by greed. Human beings have fundamentally good traits: “they [are] nice fellas, ya see. What made ‘em bad was they needed stuff… It’s need that makes all the trouble” (Steinbeck 490). This simple idea, has a very simple solution; stop having greed and treat all human beings equally. As Jim Casey states and Tom Joad learns, “a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a big one” (Steinbeck 357). Everyone has emotions and experiences anger, suffering, joy, and sadness, but the shock that not everyone has compassion for others only gives birth to more negativity. People cannot survive on their own, and they need one another to continue living. “Ever’body got scars,” and rather than greedy and insensitive to those scars, human beings need to recognize that they do not exist as the only people to experience suffering (Steinbeck 518). Towards the end of the novel, the Joad family has also grasped this concept by saying, “We don’t joke no more. When they’s a joke, it’s a mean bitter joke, an’ they ain’t no fun in it’” (Steinbeck 507). However, inhuman objects do not have to follow or learn from this theme; it does not apply to them. The greed of the banks and the destruction of tractors has a great impact on humans, but they remain machines, not people. The “banks breathe profit; they eat interest on money. If they don’t get it they die the way you die without air,” but if human beings banded together to overcome the greed of the banks, much of the suffering that occurred could have not happened at all and overcome (Steinbeck 41). The Great Depression could have been avoided altogether if everyone treated everybody else with kindness and compassion, throwing away all greed (Word Count: 329).

Title
The Grapes of Wrath shows itself quite a few times throughout the novel, but some difficulty arises when it comes to trying to analyze its meaning.

The direct quote including the grapes of wrath states, “in the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage” (Steinbeck 449). This has a very tragic meaning. It describes how “children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange” (Steinbeck 449). Even though food is wasted and rotting, children die of malnutrition due to greed and money. This relates directly to the theme of greed existing as the root of all evil. Because food “must be forced to rot,” people die, and this causes “the eyes of the hungry [to grow with] wrath” (Steinbeck 449). The greed and the grapes cause suffering for everyone else, causing their souls to grow “heavy for the vintage” (Steinbeck 449). Human beings hope to go back to a simpler time where people did not die of malnutrition due to rotting food. The Joads initially do not know about this horror when they first bring up the topic of California. Grampa claims he is “gonna get [him] a whole big bunch of grapes off a bush an’ [he’s] gonna squash ‘em on [his] face” (Steinbeck 107). Little does he know that people die due to other people’s ignorance and frivolousness. The grapes serve as anger and hatred spurred by human greed. However, the grapes do not symbolize hatred alone; they also have to do with perseverance. They grow as hearty plants “swelling from the old gnarled vines, [cascading] down to cover the trunks” (Steinbeck 445). Like the Joads and many other families, they can get through difficult times, and relate directly to how human beings can pull through and come out as triumphant. (Word Count:

316).

Style
Steinbeck’s writing style is very descriptive yet simple. He steers away from more complex vocabulary to make his writing appeal to a wider range of audiences, which makes sense when you view the book as a piece of literature designed to convince people to steer away from greed. As someone who experienced and lived through times of “ruined corn, drying fast” with “only a little green showing through the film of dust,” Steinbeck used his simple style of writing to describe these horrors and get his message out (Steinbeck 6). Most of his messages and ideas revolving around the Great Depression hide in the natural world he describes. He describes the sky as “darkened by the mixing dust, and the wind felt over the earth, loosened the dust, and carried it away” (Steinbeck 4). This imagery of his serves to create a mood that lacks light, painting a dark picture, but it also serves as symbolism. The “mixing dust” causes the sky to become darkened, but the wind eventually loosens “the dust, and [carries] it away” (Steinbeck 4). This can relate to human beings directly. Although times may look dark and the light may look blocked out, things always get better, and eventually the darkness that obscures vision will leave. This symbolizes fresh starts and how the human spirit must not break because things can always get better. Steinbeck also uses symbolism combined with imagery when talking about a particular turtle in chapter 3. This turtle comes upon a “highway embankment, reared up ahead of him” (Steinbeck 20). Instead of fleeing this obstacle, he “kicked his feet along,” and “as the embankment grew steeper and steeper, the more frantic were the efforts of the land turtle” (Steinbeck 20). Eventually he makes it and continues on his journey. Once again, human beings can relate directly to the turtle. Steinbeck uses imagery to describe the turtle with very humanoid characteristics: “humorous eyes, under brows like fingernails” (Steinbeck 20). He further enhances his imagery by adding symbolism. Like the turtle, everyone faces obstacles in their path at some point or another; they can decide to run and hide or face it head onwards. Although there may occasionally be a “driver [that swerves] to hit” someone on purpose, there also exists those that swing “to the right, off the highway” to avoid any trouble (Steinbeck 21). Bottom line, in life there those that cause difficulties and those who try to prevent difficulty both exist, and human beings must remember to have strength and face it all just like the land turtle (Word Count: 431).