Throughout the novel Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck illustrates the strength of the Joad family and their ability to keep family first amongst countless trials and tribulations. At the beginning of the novel, Tom Joad, the main protagonist of the story, experiences a sharp rude awakening to his plans of relaxing and “rutting after the women” when he returns home after serving a four-year prison sentence for a homicide he was forced to commit out of self-defense. The beginning quarter of this novel is devoted to Tom's reuniting with his family as he finds them just before they leave Oklahoma for California. Because the author devotes such a large section of the novel to this “reuniting” presents the importance of family as a stabilizing force. …show more content…
Our first glimpse of the makeup of the Joad family reveals that they operate according to a set of unwritten rules parallel to those of the publication time period. The family is patriarchal, which means that the men traditionally have more authority than the women. The main characters that are a part of the Joad family at the beginning of the novel include Grandpa, Pa, Uncle John, Noah, Tom, Al, and Winfield. In the world of the 1930s, the role of the man is to lead the family along the road of life and to stop at a positive end. As we begin to see, the Joad men all have different personalities, and this road not only brings out each man's strengths but also their individual weaknesses, leading to a disruption in the traditional balance of power. Being the oldest male in the Joad family, Grandpa Joad is the family's leader by title, but when the novel opens, Tom Joad’s father has already taken Grampa's place as the family's head.
In the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath at Uncle John's house, Steinbeck presents Grandpa as a comical figure who the family still respects even though he is in no condition to solly led the family. The first night on the road, Grampa suffers a stroke and dies. His early death signals that he was part of an old way of life that dies as soon as the Joads pull onto Route 66. With Grampa gone, Pa becomes the head of the family in every sense of the word, but soon shows no enthusiasm for leadership under the growing difficult conditions. Steinbeck starts by portraying Pa as the strong, silent type of man, but he becomes more and more silent as the family moves from location to location and circumstances call for skills that he can not provide. Neither Uncle John nor Noah are as emotionally suited for leadership, so for all practical purposes, the mantle falls first on Ma, then on Tom and Al in a turn of events that upsets the traditional balance of power in the Joad …show more content…
family. Tom survived his prison sentence with an intact mind, although more unsentimental than before. He reassures Ma that while in prison he minded his own business, and stayed out of trouble. Tom spends the novel taking one day at a time and doesn’t waste his time worrying about things beyond his control. He has very little patience for other people's self-pity. For the most part, Tom is a steady, comforting male presence on the road. But he also has a violent and rebellious streak that endangers and worries the family, manly his mother. Ma believes that keeping the family together is the Joads' only hope, but towards the end of the novel, Ma's worst fears come out of hiding when Tom kills another man and is forced to go into hiding, making his younger brother, Al to emerge as the family's hero. Steinbeck demonstrates in the beginning of the journey that Al worships his big brother and respectfully seeks his approval at all times.
However, it becomes clearer that with his brother not at home, Al had started becoming his own man. On a more specific level, he discovered his impressive talent as a mechanic, a skill that repeatedly saves the family. Al's talents as a mechanic also bring the family into contact with others who trade aid, comfort, and information for his skills, like the Wilson family. It's not a result of Al's personality to openly challenge the older men's authority, but the help and assistance he adds to the family becomes very obvious. Al is not arrogant of his skills in the novel, but he does become ready to live his life on his own and start a family. Sometimes Al gets frustrated because he knows his dreams are seen as a threat to the family's unity and survival but at the end of the novel, Al asserts his independence by refusing to leave his fiancee behind at the boxcar
camp. In The Grapes of Wrath, we're introduced to the Joad family as a patriarchal unit, meaning that the men have more authority than the women. This assumption of power is highlighted by the fact that Pa assumes the head of the household role with such indifference. However, Pa has to step aside and make room for leaders who might be non-traditional but better suited for the conditions they face, such as Tom's realistic quality or Al's abilities of working with cars. However, the family also contains tensions, like not being able to suppress Tom's anti-social tendencies or Al's desire for independence. Despite these tensions, John Steinbeck affirms that the family is a vital source of material and emotional security for its members.
truck that they are driving. Al takes his job very seriously and gets upset when
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.
Most of Steinbeck’s work conveys a deeper meaning or message to the readers, and The Grapes of Wrath presents no exception, as redemption’s prevalence influences the growth of each character. Although the book ends with a tragic flood after the family has faced the loss of Rose of Sharon’s newborn baby, the novel still ends in happiness, since characters such as Jim Casy, Uncle John, Tom Joad, and Rose of Sharon attain redemption and in doing so, become saviors for migrant families. Steinbeck manifests the idea the migration did not necessarily implicate the Joads would find prosperity in the promised land of California, but would instead fulfill the quest for absolution, which results in their heroic
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,
or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the 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 literature as in life, people often find that they must make difficult choices in order to survive. The reasons behind their decisions and the results of their subsequent actions affect our opinion of them. In the Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, the author portrayed situations where two main characters became involved. The nature of their choices, the reasons behind their decisions, and the results that followed affected them greatly. However, the choices that they made were surmounted successfully. Ma Joad and Tom Joad are two strong characters who overcame laborious predicaments. Their powerful characteristics helped to encourage those that were struggling.
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
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.
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
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 tale of The Grapes of Wrath has many levels of profound themes and meanings to allow us as the reader to discover the true nature of human existence. The author's main theme and doctrine of this story is that of survival through unity. While seeming hopeful at times, this book is more severe, blunt, and cold in its portrayl of the human spirit. Steinbeck's unique style of writing forms timeless and classic themes that can be experienced on different fronts by unique peoples and cultures of all generations.
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.
Throughout all of John Steinbeck’s book The Grapes of Wrath he shows many characters who were alienated or “different” from other characters, and like it states at the top Tom Joad is the perfect example of this. Right when you meet Tom you can tell he is a little off from the situation and thats why he starts to do things more his way. In this essay I will show with you ways Toms alienation showed how poorly the lower class were treated for the entirety of this book.