Grapes Of Wrath Family Essay

1034 Words3 Pages

A family is a connection among a group of people that provides guidance through trustworthy acceptance, security based on concepts of love and respect, as well as stress that stems from authoritative conflict and conformity. Families are a necessity in society. Whether or not some people wish that they were not a part of their family, they would still seek the comfort and security that a family provides. Throughout our lives we are influenced and taught by many. It can have an effect on the way we view problems and events within public boundaries. One of the most important and most effective influences children have in their lives comes from their families. The family can have both a positive and a negative influence on their lives. The family …show more content…

The structure of the traditional family is still the same but the functions of family have changed. In every culture values, norms and lifestyles differentiate. However, there's one aspect of every society that does not differ greatly, the importance of family. The role of family is important in every society because it is the main foundation and structure of society itself. John Steinbeck's novel "Grapes of Wrath", expresses the significance of family very strongly and delivers an unbelievably stunning story from a family viewpoint of life struggle the migrants went trough when forced of off their land. The role of family plays a very important role in "Grapes of Wrath", showing the passage of the inner family to a construction of family of families, the …show more content…

In her work on childhood development, The Invisible Heart, Nancy Folbre writes that, "The child's personality evolves as a composite of all things social...but a child's character is based entirely on the home." Later she elaborates by adding, "The first four years of a child's development are more crucial then her next fifty; no school curriculum can correct the patterns of thought that develop during infancy"(119). The practices and beliefs of the family are critical since the first six years of a child's development are spent almost entirely within the house, where family ties form the boundaries of the child's socialization. With the outside world completely unknown, the baby relies solely on its family to learn how to

Show More
Related

  • Grapes Of Wrath

    2419 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most influential books in American History, and is considered to be his best work by many. It tells the story of one family’s hardship during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The Joads were a hard-working family with a strong sense of togetherness and morals; they farmed their land and went about their business without bothering anyone. When the big drought came it forced them to sell the land they had lived on since before anyone can remember. Their oldest son, Tom, has been in jail the past four years and returns to find his childhood home abandoned. He learns his family has moved in with his uncle John and decides to travel a short distance to see them. He arrives only to learn they are packing up their belongings and moving to California, someplace where there is a promise of work and food. This sets the Joad family off on a long and arduous journey with one goal: to survive.

    Read More

  • Steinbeck's Social Commentary in The Grapes of Wrath

    679 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Family Bonds In The Grapes Of Wrath

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film Grapes of Wrath, directed by John Ford in 1940 is based on John Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, in which a family migrates from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma to California, after economic depression caused their family farm to collapse. The main characters of the three generation family are Ma and Tom Joad. They are joined by Jim Casy, a former preacher, now fallen out of religion who inspires Tom to support the cause of the working poor. Migrating to California, the Joads and Jim Casey have to overcome a variety of different problems. The central argument made in the movie is that people had to stick together during the time of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression in order to overcome hardships, such as trouble with the law, starvation,

    Read More

  • Grapes of Wrath Essay: Steinbeck's Powerful Style

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, our country was just starting to recover from The Great Depression.  The novel he wrote, though fiction, was not an uncommon tale in many lives.  When this book was first published, the majority of those reading it understood where it was coming from-they had lived it.  But now very few people understand the horrors of what went on in that time.  The style in which Steinbeck chose to write The Grapes of Wrath helps get across the book's message.

    Read More

  • Dignity and Transformation in the Face of Tragedy in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is not very often, when you read a book that you see hopeful and stirring themes placed against a backdrop of terror and tragedy. The “Grapes of Wrath”, written by John Steinbeck in 1939, is a gritty and realistic picture of life for migrant families in California during the Great Depression in the face of a drought, all struggling to build lives for themselves and maintain their dignity amongst the rampant capitalist self-interest of landowners. “The Grapes of Wrath” is both a novel both a naturalistic epic and a social commentary. Steinbeck tackles major themes such as suffering inflicted from man unto man and the snowballing effects of both selflessness and selfishness, all seen through the eyes of an altruistic, omniscient narrator following the much begotten Joad family on their migrant journey. Through characters such as Tom Joad, a young man struggling to overcome his past and endeavoring to live in the moment who learns to be a leader of all people, and the painful yet dignified character arcs of his entire family and his best friend, Steinbeck shows what he most wants us to take away from this novel, which is the understanding of the transformative power of passion and anger, as well as respect for the holiness of our fellow man.

    Read More

  • The Foundation Of Love In Barbara Kingsolver's Stone Soup

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    Family, and its definition, is universal, it describes a union, particularly with parents and children. One could define Family as a group of people who are related to each other, a person’s children, and a group of related people who lived in the past. In reality, Family has a profound meaning, unique to every household and family. On a personal note, family is defined as a foundation of love, support, and strength.

    Read More

  • The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck: The Strength Of Unity

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    A sense of community was a necessity for many Americans during the era of the Great Depression. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other catastrophes, many were forced to relocate elsewhere in attempt to survive. The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the importance of unity during privation through the idea that members of society must work in unison to achieve a common goal. Steinbeck demonstrates this theme through multiple aspects in the book. Being united in a group provides people the intrepidity to accomplish tasks they would not be able to as individuals. Unity is the utmost importance during a hopeless situation as it restores faith and optimism. Without the cohesion of individuals, families begin to stray from their intended purpose and sense of direction. In his novel, Steinbeck elaborates on the idea that unity is imperative because it is necessary for the survival of all, it restores faith when all hope is lost and grants a deliberate focus on an individual’s choices.

    Read More

  • Family Definition Essay

    1029 Words  | 3 Pages

    Family is a group of people like parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, spouses, siblings in law, parents in law and children in law. Who are considered to be related in some way such as by blood, by common ancestry, by descent or by marriage. There are two types of families, the nuclear and the extended family.

    Read More

  • Gay and lesbians today

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a Utopian society most of us would rejoice in knowing that two people such as Mel and Kel who care so deeply for one another, have found each other and are willing to spend the rest of their lives together. Unfortunately we don’t live in a society of that quality and admiration. In any culture, it’s generally conceived that the family is the absolute core of a society. In that, the norms and values of a civilization are directly conveyed from one generation to another through this bloodline. But what exactly is a family? Are there distinct specifications, qualifications or even guidelines that govern the framework for what a family should be? In the Webster’s dictionary a “family” is clearly defined as: “the basic unit in society having as its nucleus two or more adults living together and cooperating in the care and rearing of their own or adopted children.

    Read More

  • The Socialization Of The Family In The American Family

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Family, as defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, “a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head” (Merriam-Webster, n.d). The family is the first and primary agent of socialization. This is where children learn about love, acceptance, security, and companionship (Kendall, 2017).

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Of Domestic Violence

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    Since we were little we were taught that the family is the main support of the person. It is a place where we feel the support and love, where we are surrounded by loved ones, where we are accepted as who we are. In a family we find understanding and protection, when it seems that the whole world is against us.

    Read More

  • Reflection On My Development

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...n the future. Sometimes I wonder how my behavior would be today if my parent’s spent more time with me instead of their jobs and if their relationship didn’t end the way it did. Maybe if my family shared more activities together such as mealtimes or spent more time together period I wouldn’t be so kept to myself. Maybe if my parents were more loving towards one another I wouldn’t be so anxious about meeting new people or paranoid about relationships. I still just find it intriguing how a simple missing factor in the structure or atmosphere of a family could create this domino effect that leads to a drastic change in a child’s behavior in the future. Something as simple as a child eating breakfast or dinner with their family everyday can prevent their behavior from heading in the wrong direction. If only more parents knew how much they could influence their children.

    Read More

  • Family: The Importance Of Family In The Family

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the word “family” is discussed, most people think of mothers, fathers, and other siblings. Some people think of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins and more on the pedigree tree. Without family in people's lives, they would not be the same people that they grew up to be today and in the future. When people hear the word family they think about, the ones who will help them in any way they can whether it’s money, support, advice, or anything to help them succeed in life. Family will forever be the backbone of support.

    Read More

  • Definition Essay Definition Of Family

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every person has a different outlook of what family means. Family is not just being related to each other and living in the same house. I believe its way more than that. Family means being there for one another, loving each other no matter what, making memories that you will always remember, and supporting each other through every step of life. Without family and th...

    Read More

  • Intertexual Essay

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Family is not an important thing. It's everything.” This remarkable quote by Michel J. Fox should be the definition of family. Family is everything, they are our motivation, the ones that will love us when others don’t, and are the ones who stick to each other as gum when times get tough. Families have the most robust connections alive. These ties are so solid, and deeply intact that they can do everything and anything. These links allow a family to influence, shape, impact, and change one’s life. The intimacy within the family sphere, shape all who are inside it, this cannot be changed, and well anything that comes from within the family cannot be changed. The family itself can control and change our views on society, influence how we view the family unit, and yet most of all impact our everyday choices. The family’s capacity of guidance can make such an abundant shift that can only be felt, and barely visible unless seen through strained eyes, that makes this connection even more inexplicable than love.

    Read More

More about Grapes Of Wrath Family Essay

Open Document