Steinbeck and Babb played a great role in shaping the literature of America. Although the authors were not recognized significantly during the past, their ideologies are relevant to the modern society. Steinbeck was an activist who wrote many books about the struggle between people who are poor and the rich ones.
However, researchers and authors have questioned the originality of his work because they speculate that he copied Babbs stories. On the others hand, Babb was a determined writer who faced harsh experiences during her childhood, education life and employment. She is recognized for collecting authentic books based on participatory observations.
Situation in California
While seeking to articulate the situation in California, Steinbeck wrote a famous book known as Grapes of Wrath. On the other hand, Babb focused on similar issues and wrote a book that was titled Whose Names are Unknown. In the two books, Steinbeck and Babb wrote about the plight of migrants in Oklahoma and California.
They focused on the miserable conditions which dust bowls migrants experienced in Oklahoma and California. The authors described how the migrants pursued their rights from the relevant authorities. Steinbeck based his story on non-participatory observations where he visited migrants camps and interviewed the migrants.
On the other hand, Babb was employed as an assistant manager of FSA where she observed how the migrants were treated in a direct way. This implies that she had firsthand information about the treatment of migrants. As a result, her book focused equally on the oppression of migrant workers. While evaluating the plight of migrant workers, the authors adopted different stances which portrayed similarities and differences.
Similarity and Differences of Perspective
Similarities
The two authors suggested that migrant oppression was a barbaric act that portrayed recklessness. They condemned this oppression for propagating inhumanity. Babb stated that the Californias labor system exploited the workers heartlessly. Furthermore, she contended that the system in California was abusive and desperate.
Also, she suggested that oppression of migrants was a show of human greed where the crop owners never cared about the welfare of the colleagues. Lastly, she stated that the oppression was a source of unending pain. On the other hand, Steinbeck argued that the system forced the migrants to live in miserable conditions.
In fact, it was evident that author was very outraged by the treatment of migrants. This was portrayed when he stated that the migrants who worked for cash crop growers were treated in a discriminatory and brutal manner.
He revealed that the cash crop growers blamed the migrants for laziness without any justification. Finally, he stated that the authorities could have treated the migrants properly by providing them with the basic needs.
Difference in Perspective
The differences between Steinbeck and Babb emerged during evaluation of the dispossession that happened in 1930. Steinbeck articulated the issues in a figurative manner by describing the Okies as people who had a lot of essence. On the other hand, Babb portrayed a humanistic perspective by arguing that the world should be defined by human relationships.
She suggested that the migrants were neighbors who shared the same destiny with all human beings. Therefore, she argued that the migrants should not have been treated wrongly. Instead, they should have been treated humanely regardless of their origin or financial status.
John Steinbecks book, The Grapes of Wrath, is a standard book that is renowned for its interesting writing skills and expressive quality. However, the supposedly historical theme is generally projected to sustain socialistic hypotheses. The book concentrates on an unfortunate family of sharecroppers forced from their Oklahoma home by financial constrains, food shortage, and unproductively of the agricultural sector. As a result of the desperate conditions desperate, and partly since they were locked ion the Dust Bowl, the Joad started their journey to California. In company with other Okies, they tried to find land, dignity, employment, and future for their children.
Main body
The Grapes of Wrath begins with a representation of the Dust Bowl, the incident that brings about all that occurs in the other parts of the book and brings in Tom Joad, the main character. In the beginning of the story, Tom has just been paroled from prison after he was sentenced for a murder case and he went back to his family where he was accompanied by a former preacher on his return trip. When both arrived at the Joads home, they discovered that the house is vacated and was nearly falling down.
They finally met their family at Tom uncle house, where they were ready to travel to California. It was found out that famine destroyed their family produce and when the bank closed out the farm of the Joads family, they were compelled to take refuge in Toms uncle house. Tom was among the people who were forced to travel to California, where they expected to find jobs and create a better future. When they arrived at their intended destination, they discovered their expectations to be insufficiently unachievable.
The announcements concerning ample jobs for all are actually just tricks by the property owners to obtain inexpensive labour by driving in employees more than the available jobs. Slowly, the state of the family deteriorated as some of the family members depart. Rosasharns husband left her, even though she was expecting a child and Casy is detained by the authority, where he got separated from the rest of their members. The remaining Joads family members remained for a short time at a government structure, but jobs were not there for them. Therefore, they were caused to abandon the government camp and migrate to another destination.
However, when they eventually got a job in a fruit farm, they find out that they are indeed engaged in strike breaking that was arranged by Casy. When the strike becomes brutal, Casy is murdered and Tom got himself in a killing to avenge the Casys murder. The Joads family decided to run away so that they can safe their family member from the police arrest since he had committed a murder offence. The rock bottom is reached when the child of Rosasharm is stillborn and the story was concluded with Rosasharn breastfeeding a hungry person so withered that he can only digest milk.
The Grapes of Wrath uses a range of remarkable writing methods to present its message and generate emotion inside the story. The key plot is repetitively combined with short narratives and sketches, or descriptive discussions that portray the state of that era and the activities that were being performed during that time. Some of these techniques are employed to generate a general atmosphere. A vehicle hits the poor turtle and makes it to fly over the highway. Although it is still living, it is persevering. In the following chapter, Joad observes very similar turtle and lifts it up since he was expecting to carry it home to his younger sibling as a pet.
When Joad met Casy and both began talking, the turtle nearly ran away in different occasions, but Tom prevented it several times. When Tom arrived home and realized that the house was deserted, he allowed the turtle to go since he had a sign of hopelessness. The unfortunate turtle experiences another attack from a cat left after the family migrated. The poor turtle only covers itself in its shell and waits for the enemy to go away before continuing his journey.
The incidence of the turtle covers over chapter three to chapter six, binding them together and creating the people to feel sorry for experiences of the poor turtle for the experiences that it was passing through. The turtle efforts and experiences foretell those of the Joads relatives to whom the sympathy of the people will eventually move or change. Like the poor turtle, the Joads family will not surrender and both Joads family and turtle stories will not come eventually to be joyful. However, both turtle and the family will continue to exist regardless of the attacks and challenges they experienced.
Another important and inclusive writing technique that was used during the writing of the book is encountered in chapter seven when the used car seller intended to make a deal with distressed immigrants to purchase his old and worn-out jalopy. Through this process, he combines explanatory and short expressions not including predicates into a continuing monologue, which is the car dealers personal consideration.
Like a sketch where some carefully illustrated lines generate an image, the descriptive and short expressions that the author employ confine the needs of the car dealer to trade his old and worn-out jalopies and the immigrants to purchase a car that will help them reach their destination, California. For instance, the author hurriedly introduces his old car using just some short and significant expressions. He stated: A lot and a house large enough for a desk and chair and a blue book. Sheaf of contracts, dog-eared, held with paper clips, and a neat pile of unused contracts. Penkeep it full, keep it working. Owners with rolled-up sleeves. Salesmen, neat, deadly, small intent eyes watching for weaknesses (Steinbeck 25).
Such short expressions reveal the fast and brief discussions of the car dealer when he said: Lookin for a car? What did you have in mind? See anything attracts you? Im dry. How about a little snort a good stuff? Come on, while your wifes lookin at that La Salle. You dont want no La Salle. Bearings shot. Uses too much oil. Got a Lincoln 24. Theres a car. Run forever. Make her into a truck. (Steinbeck 30). Both the car dealers continuous monologue and the significant expressions are short and concise. This difference is small, but it brings about these two narrative constituents to reinforce significantly each other with the intention that the general sketch is balanced and complete.
Another impact that the author employs all through the story is the repetition of a major phrase. For instance at the start of the story, the author illustrates the symbols used to publicize used cars provided by the care dealers. Steinbeck said: In the towns on the edges of the towns, in fields, in vacant lots, the used-car yards, the wreckers yards, the garages with blazoned signsUsed Cars, Good Used Cars. Cheap transportation, three trailers. 27 Ford, clean.
Checked cars, guaranteed cars. Free radio. Car with 100 gallons of gas free. Come in and look. Used Cars. No overhead. (Steinbeck 56). In this narrative and expression, Used Cars. Good Used Cars (Steinbeck 56) is a major expression that is seen frequently on the story. It binds the whole passage together with a general idea or subject. The continuous repetition of Good Used Cars moves toward the stage of sarcastic irony that reveals the used care dealers scheming trick to make the most of the distressed immigrants.
This is particularly shown in the last part of the passage when the author stated: Goin to California? Heres jus what you need. Looks shot, but theys thousans of miles in her. Lined up side by side. Good Used Cars. Bargains. Clean, runs good (Steinbeck 57).
Steinbecks writing technique of the repetition of single phrase all through the story may be seen in yet another passage in his writings. In chapter twelve, the author starts with a sketch of Route 66, the key immigrant route. The Steinbeck changes to a continuing flow from the viewpoint of a crowd of distressed immigrants. The migrants disagree about the issues and things that they will encounter in California before it hands out. Temporarily, their young boy sitting at the back of the car complains regarding the way he was thirsty. In four occasions in two pages, the author suddenly and intentionally interrupts his explanation of the journey and the adults discussions with the expression, Danny wants a cup of water (Steinbeck 58).
The author repeats this expression so that it can generate the impact of a childs backseat grievances and to bring in the existence of the child. The author uses such examples and other writing devices to provide competently his message that is more appealing as the story continues. Steinbeck, in The Grapes of Wrath, uses the incident of immigrant employees to present an essential message to the readers. In providing this experience, Steinbeck portrays that life is a combination of both mean and interesting events and activities. This combination presents the unifying theme of the book and particularly observed or encountered at the last part of chapter twelve. The people in flight from the terror behindstrange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever (Steinbeck 60).
Conclusion
To conclude this book review of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck has made a touching and relatively well presented piece of art that contained different writing techniques. The narrative is extremely descriptive and the manner in which the author presented his writing skills and methods made the story a distinct experience. On the other hand, the reader of The Grapes of Wrath should recall that the author had his personal purposes in presenting or writing this piece of art. The author tried to draw the readers attentions through his writing skills and the way he used sympathy phrases and examples, such as Joads family and turtle experiences.
Bibliography
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Great Books, 2002. Print.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that was published in 1939 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. This book was initially withdrawn from the libraries of New York, Kansas City, and Buffalo because of its detailed description of a hard life. It was also banned in Ireland in 1953 and the Canadian city of Morris in 1982.
However, The Grapes of Wrath is now part of many US school and college curricula. Furthermore, it created a national sensation for its depiction of the devastating effects of the Great Depression (1, p. 1). This essay considers the plot, main characters and several crucial issues addressed in the novel, such as family, workers lives, and other social problems.
Summary of the Book
The story takes place during the Great Depression and begins with the moment when the protagonist, Tom Joad, returns home from prison. He was convicted of accidental murder and was released early for good behavior (2). Returning to his homeland, Tom does not know that strange events are happening on the farm. Now, the owners of the land banish farmers from these sites. They decide to use mechanical devices instead of manual labour as it is much cheaper for them than to support the whole family.
When Tom comes home, he sees that the house is empty and there is no one there. Neighbors said his family was packing up at Uncle John. Relatives meet the man happily, and soon they go to California to find work. On the highway, Tom and his family join other people moving West and make friends with the Wilsons.
However, when former farmers approach California, they meet many refugees who run from these places. It appears that all the information spread through leaflets is propaganda and a hoax. People work virtually for free, and there is a high unemployment rate because of refugees. Nevertheless, despite the rumors, the Joad family continues on their way.
Finally, they decide to stop by the river for a rest, because the road continued through the hot desert. Noah, one of Toms brothers, separates from the family and continues to look for work on his own. The rest of the family is forced to go on, as the police suddenly begin to chase them. Crossing the desert, the family loses their grandmother, and they have to spend all their money on her funeral in California.
Finally, Tom and his family are offered to earn some money by collecting fruit. While walking around the neighborhood in the evening, Tom meets the Reverend Casy, who tells him about how he got out of prison. He explains to the protagonist that everyone here is being cheated, and that is why the workers go on strike.
However, refugees, who arrived to earn money, prevent them from defending their rights. Casy is also tempting to start to agitate migrants, but Tom knows that hungry people will not agree to it. After the conversation, the preacher is killed at night, and Tom is beaten, but he manages to murder the attacker. The police start looking for him, and, therefore, the Joad family has to drive away.
Soon they stop at a place where the cotton harvest brings them considerable profits. However, his younger sister plays with another child and blurts that her brother is forced to hide because of the murder. Tom understands that it is dangerous for him to stay there, and the work is over. The family has to go to another area, where Toms sister Rose gives birth to a dead baby. After that, they find an abandoned barn and meet a boy. He persuades them to help his father who is dying of hunger, and Rose helps him.
Main Characters
Tom Joad
In the beginning, the protagonist of the novel has his philosophy, which represents the principle carpe diem. However, when Tom meets the Reverend Casy, he realizes that he needs a longer-term view of his actions. As the family travels West, Tom learns more and more, and Casy teaches him that the only way to be powerful in this world is to join other people and struggle together for a better life. The murder of the Reverend turns Tom into a firm advocate of social justice.
The Reverend Casy
Jim Casy is also one of the main characters of The Grapes of Wrath. He supports the idea of sacrifice and stands against injustice by organizing laborers to fight the terrible conditions they faced in California. At the end of the story, Casy decides that he wants to devote himself to improving the workers lives in California. In addition, the Reverends death helps change at least one person, Tom Joad, who becomes an activist.
Ma and Pa Joad
These two characters represent complete opposites, as Toms mother becomes the center of strength during their trip, while his father weakens. When Pa loses his confidence, Ma tries to hold the family together and takes essential decisions on her own. More than that, this character depicts the theme of sacrifice, like the Reverend Casy. While Pa tries to serve his family as the provider, he isolates more from the rest as finding work is a hard time for him. Eventually, readers may notice that Pa becomes another one of Mas children.
Main Themes
One of the central themes of The Grapes of Wrath is familial and community support during hard times. John Steinbeck uses the Joad family as an example of mutual assistance and empathy.
Besides, other migrant laborers face hardships and share their sufferings, which allows them to build a strong community. Another critical issue risen in the novel is social injustice (3). Workers are exploited on the plantations, forced to work hard, while they are paid very little money, and the protagonists try to fight this inequality in different ways.
Personal Opinion
Observing the settlers, I notice how the author expresses his sympathy with the fate of people who cannot defend their dignity and human rights. I believe that The Grapes of Wrath is a thought-provoking novel as it makes people reconsider their values and principles.
Furthermore, the book teaches to treat each other with respect and kindness, especially in challenging situations. The author explains that only through solidarity groups of ordinary people can hope to change and transform the system itself (4, p. 50). Therefore, happiness can be found only when all people strive for it together.
Conclusion
The novel The Grapes of Wrath is one of John Steinbecks most famous works. The author managed to describe vividly the hardships and problems that working people had to face. It plunges into the era of the Great Depression, which refers to the 30s of the 20th century, and shows the atmosphere of that time in a very detailed way. That is why this book remains popular with readers all over the world in the 21st century.
References
Study guide for John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning; 2015.
Steinbeck J. The grapes of wrath. Brantford: W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library; 2016.
Kaushik M, Atri N. The plight of migrant labor in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. GNOSIS. 2016 Oct;3(1): 81-87.
Kuelzer L, Houser N. Addressing the living history of oppression and emancipation in American education. J Thought. 2019;38-54.
The Grapes of Wrath is a story of family named Joad’s written by John Steinbeck. In the book, John Steinbeck mention the struggles faced by Joad’s family by travelling from their hometown Sallisaw, Oklahoma to California for finding a better life. They had a family of five, grandparents, parents and son. Author mentioned that they packed everything they needed in a truck and started travelled don’t knowing what they will encounter via route. The story line is created from the point of view happened in 1930’s.
They started their journey because during 1930 dust bowl happened. The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms which damaged the land and destroyed fertility of agriculture field in American and Canadian prairies (Dusk Bowl). It also damaged Sallisaw. Farmers over there don’t have money, so they borrowed money from banks and putted their lands as a guarantee. As Dust Bowl happened, land became useless and farmers don’t have money to repay it back to banks. Banks took there land instead of money. Joad family also one of the farmers who took money from bank and putted their land as a guarantee. As Dusk Bowl hits Sallisaw, they became helpless as they can’t grow anything on land. And as they have loan on their head, bank took their land and occupied. As they have no choice, they went to tom uncle’s place and then started moving to California.
They choose California because California is a fertile land and they thought they might find jobs over there. As they started moving to California, on there first stop they find Wilson’s family whose car is broke down. As Wilson’s family saw that grandpa is ill, they offered Joad family a tent. But after some time, grandpa got more sick and died. Instead of tent, Joad family helped Wilson to fix their car and decided to go on journey together. As the time went, grandma also started feeling sick because of grandpa’s dead. As both families reach the desert bordering California, Wilson’s wife fell sick and Joad family has to moved forward leaving Wilson’s family back. As they started moving forward, Grandma’s health became crucial. Halfway through the desert, grandma died. But Joad’s wife didn’t tell anyone, as she thought that telling in the middle of the desert will not good and she kept it from everyone. Once they travelled desert, Joad’s wife told everyone that Grandma died.
As they reach the end of desert. They buried grandma and went to look for a shelter. After some time, they found a camp. As Tom went to talk to man named Floyd Knowles, he sawed a businessman walking with a policeman to talk about job. When Floyd asked for written paper, policeman made him a criminal. As he went to arrest Floyd, Jim Casy, leader who fights for low wages, saved Floyd and pushed Policeman. After Cop came to consciousness, he arrested Casy and Joad family moved from that place to avoid any difficulties. After some time, they reached a government camp in Weedpatch. In this camp, there are certain people who formed their community to run that place. After spending some days, Joad’s didn’t find any job. After going somewhat farther, they found a place named Tulare. Where they found job in pick peached farm. But wages over there were too low. One day Tom saw the policemen which came up to him before, and somebody shouted Casy is dead and policeman killed him. He attacked policeman and in process his nose is broken, and he became wanted.
Tom escapes from farm and next morning whole family moved out of that place. After some time, they got job in cotton farm, but they must share their work with family called Wainrights. As Tom is wanted, he went to hide in a cave and his mother feed him daily by going to cave. After some time, Tom started to fight back against landowners because they are paying less to people.
As people in California increased, government started to remove migrants. Because people are not getting enough money to feed themselves one time per day also. As people started to claim residency of California, government named them Okies. Called to people who were from northern and southern Plaines.
As stock market crash in 1929, Americans were hugely affected. The most affected people were landowners and farmers. Because they don’t have a livelihood. As banks have the land papers, they don’t want to wait for economy to grow back. They took away all the land from farmers and landowners and took charge. As farmer already grow plants before this, banks cultivated whole farms and took their crops. As the farmer families don’t have much knowledge, they can’t find employment elsewhere. Banks hired farmers who lost their land and made them work on there on field for low wages. As farmers don’t have any choices they worked for low wages.
From my opinion, from this book I can say that the social and economic problems during thirties were worst. As we saw that people lose their lands but there is nobody to help them. Even government can’t help them. Banks were the most superior at that time I can say that, as they took all the lands during Dust Bowl and market crash. And they even forced farmers to work in low wages. New Deal became very useful to the people as president Roosevelt help all the farmers. As soon as he became president, he proposed New Deal and put banks on strike. He encourages people to deposit funds in bank and stop spending. He tried to stop emergency and help to increase stock market and end great depression. From new deal he also wants to create more jobs with proper wages and help people.
Work Citied
“Dust Bowl.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 June 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl.
“The Grapes of Wrath.” Chapter 9, www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/g/the-grapes-of-wrath/summary-and-analysis/chapter-9.
In American Literature history, writers mainly focus on the development of the male characters throughout the story. This main focus on the male characters throughout the story allows the authors to create a stereotypical strength in men which is reflected in society. This standard is obeyed by many authors, portraying men as the more dominant and powerful characters throughout the story. Very rarely are women characters portrayed as being the most dominant and influencing character in a story, as they are commonly oppressed by male characters. This dominance of male characters influences the stereotypical views of genders not only in literature but also in real life. However, this stereotypical male dominance is challenged by Steinbeck in, The Grapes of Wrath, as he amplifies the roles of the female characters. This development of the roles of female characters leads to the stereotypical barriers being overcome in the story as characters step up as the main characters. In the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck allows characters such as Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon to take the role as a leader by oppressing Pa Joad, and exposing stereotypes about the emotional and decision making skills of women.
To start, Ma Joad is not always seen as the leader of the family as it takes a while for Pa Joad to give up the reigns to her, which may have been a little difficult for him. This resistance between male characters being able to give up their head roles in a story acts as a metaphor for how most authors do not want to fight the norm in society by allowing women to take the limelight. This resistance from Pa Joad can be seen when Pa said, “ “John, what should we do … Be a good girl, Ma. Don’t make us more complicated.” The thought that Pa Joad excluded Ma from the conversation explicitly shows that they look down upon Ma when it comes down to responsibility. However, throughout the story Steinbeck’s use of tone and characterization shows us how Ma Joad not Pa Joad has the optimal characteristics to be the leader of the family. This revelation eventually leads to Ma Joad taking over the family and their migration to California. This shift in responsibility can be seen when Ma allows Casey to join them on the trip showing her authority to make decisions, “ “ We’d be proud to have you.” The act of Ma Joad stepping up in her roles, supports the idea that both sexes are, “ Nothing if not equilitarian,” a topic discussed by Warren Motley, the author of From Patriarchy to Matriarchy: Ma Joad’s Role in The Grapes of Wrath. The idea of both sexes having equal societal roles is a, “ entirely foreign [concept] to primitive humanity,” thus showing the effect that stereotypes have on our society. Hence, the fact that Steinbeck has allowed female characters to expand their roles shows possible change society could have. allows the thought for a change needed in society.
In addition to Ma Joad, Rose of Sharon is another character who is a female character that has developed from a childish young character into a young woman through the uptake of responsibilities. In the beginning of the story, Rose of Sharon was described as a childish nuisance in the family till Steinbeck allows her to gain responsibility by making her a mother. The responsibility of a child has placed Rose of Sharon in a state of need; however, this is where the character transformation occurs. Instead of becoming more of a nuisance, she steps up and assists the family in their troubles. This can be seen when she is pregnant, she insists that she has to pick cotton showing that her mindset has grown and now she is thinking for the better of the family. Factors that add to her desperate state include her husband leaving her and giving birth to a stillborn baby; however due to the expansion of her characteristics she finds generosity inside of her to give to the community and family. She, “ loosened one side of the blanket and bared her breast …” to feed the sick man at the end of the story. This shows the independence which is a characteristic which is seen as something women lack in society. This addition of strong characteristics to female characters allow for their roles to expand setting an example to women in society.
Furthermore, in addition to the expansion of female roles in the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck’s specific development of the story, precisely targets certain stereotypes about women in society and reveals that they can be broken. History has previously pictured women as incompetent and emotionally unstable to complete any work or lead a family on any occasion. This is the main reason why the male characters are usually the ones taking the main role. However, these stereotypical weaknesses are not seen in Ma Joad or Rose of Sharon. Throughout the story, along with the development of characteristics they show bravery and leadership. Certain situations called for, “Ma’s face blackened with anger. She got slowly to her feet. She stopped to the utensil box and picked out the iron skillet.”Mister,” she said. “You got a tin button an’ a gun …” This specific part of the plot shows her bravery and courage to protect and lead the family through hardships. This shows how women are capable of taking the roles of men not only in literature but also in society.
To sum up, the role of women in literature have been limited as a secondary character mostly lead by other leading male characters. This is due to the stereotypical constraints placed on women in society depicting them as : weak, emotional, and incompetent. These characteristics not only limit the roles of women in society but they also influence the literature written at that time. The literature written influences the fact that women are incompetent and are always so dependent of male characters for success. However, Steinbeck in the Grapes of Wrath is one of the only authors of his time to actually go against this societal norm and fight for the equality of women roles in society. By placing Ma Joad, a female character as the head of the family he depicts the change in society needed to find equality among both sexes and to break down stereotypical barriers.
The Grapes of Wrath was written using any information in order to capture the life of the people that lived back in the day of the great depression. Steinbeck was a man that wanted to show the people the way that others lived, and also why America was not the way that we dream it is. The people of the 1900s had the so-called “American dream” which gave them hope, passion, and perseverance. People showed hope because they always believe that all people are trying to help others reach the dream and that people will try not to hurt people while doing trying. They express passion with everything that they do meaning that they do their jobs with joy and to the fullest even if they have the lowest job that made the least money they still work hard to support their family. Perseverance is the best word that can be used to describe the 1900’s because that century is the century that people think of when they think back in American history. Wifes, husbands, kids, grandpa, grandma, rich, or poor the perseverance was in all of them, they all wanted to go as far or more than they can in order to improve their life. In The Grapes Of Wrath Steinbeck shows the perseverance of the American people through Steinbeck used historical facts, relationship,and Religion.
John Steinbeck unlike most of the author of this time didn’t write about an event that related a lot to his life but more of what he saw and what he reshared. The research that he collected was used in his novel to make it more believable to the reader. Steinbeck portrays the acute suffering of people by paying close attention to small details and bringing them to the attention of the reader.If he did not, indicate what you believe his intentions were in writing about such a dark and difficult period in American history. “The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country.” (Steinbeck 14). The dust bowl was used in the book to portray the historical timeline and the adversity that causes the Joad family and the other Okies to move towards California to escape the bowl. The novel was also set during one of the most economically devastating times in the history of the world and especially the United States is known as “The Great Depression”.
‘We’re Joads. We don’t look up to nobody. Grampa’s grampa, he fit in the Revolution. We was farm people till the debt. And then–them people. They done somepin to us. Ever’ time they come seemed like they was a-whippin’ me—all of us. An’ in Needles, that police. He done somepin to me, made me feel mean. It made me feel ashamed. An’ now I ain’t ashamed.” ( Steinbeck 277).
The Great Depression was very impactful to the creation of the book and also the main reason why the Joad family had to borrow money causing the bank to come and confiscate their land. Some experts have researched the migration patterns used in around that time to travel to California. “Steinbeck conducted extensive research for his novel, visiting migrant camps and utilizing resources that could strengthen his account of migrant life, including FSA photographs. These photographs enhanced Steinbeck’s understanding of the migrant situation and helped him craft a convincing narrative.”(Pillen). All the ways that John used historic markers in order to create a more realistic and accurate novel to make it feel like he lived that life instead of research.
Due to the fact that John Steinbeck didn’t write the story about his life and his travels he was still able to use great emotional connection so that the reader can to feel for the main character.
And then all of a sudden, the family began to function. Pa got up and a lighted another lantern. Noah from a box in the kitchen, brought out the bow-bladed butchering knife and whetted it on a worn little carborundum stone. And he laid the scraper on the chopping block, and the knife beside it. Pa brought two sturdy sticks, each three feet long, and pointed the ends with the ax, and he tied strong ropes, double half-hitched, to the middle of the sticks. (Steinbeck 114).
Steinbeck talks a lot about how a family that is getting ready to pack their stuff on the car so that they can get ready to leave all they have behind in order to go to the dreamland. When Steinbeck also uses the family to connect to the reader he also uses there life in order to express is emotional stance towards the great depression by showing the effect that it brings to poor farmers. “It’s mine. I built it. You bump it down — I’ll be in the window with a rifle. You even come too close and I’ll pot you like a rabbit.”( Steinbeck 49). The poor don’t know what to do about losing their land because they didn’t know anything but to find who to shoot, how can you shoot something that can not die. “How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it. They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How’ll it be not to know what land’s outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know — and know the willow tree’s not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you.”( Steinbeck 114).
When the family is leaving Oklahoma to go to California they burn all that they have because they don’t have enough space to take it with them. The family is leaving their old lives to go start a new life when they don’t know anything about the new land which brings the American dream to the reader of that time and to readers right now.
When you write a book back in the 1900’s most of the authors tend to put their religious views into their works. John Steinbeck put Reverend Casey a preacher who stopped believing in God in his novel The Grapes Of Wrath to portray his view on religion.
“I ain’t preachin’ no more much. The sperit ain’t in the people much no more; and worse’n that, the sperit ain’t in me no more. ‘Course now an’ again the sperit gets movin’ an’ I rip out a meetin’, or when folks sets out food, I give ’em a grace, but my heart ain’t in it. I on’y do it ’cause they expect it.”( Steinbeck 16). Casey talks to Joad about how people don’t really praise god anymore and that he finds no motive to praise god except when its time to eat. John Steinbeck was not a religious man but he still believed in god to the point where it’s not excessive, he also makes jokes about how religion is sometimes a not the answer to all the questions in the world.
“I says, ‘Maybe it ain’t a sin. Maybe it’s just the way folks is. Maybe we been whippin’ the hell out of ourselves for nothin’.’…Before I knowed it, I was sayin’ out loud, ‘The hell with it! There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do. It’s all part of the same thing. And some of the things folks do is nice, and some ain’t nice, but that’s as far as any man got a right to say.”( Steinbeck 72). This quote is the way that John Steinbeck feels about religion and how him and he feels other people feel on religion.
The shifts between the Old and New testaments coalesce with Jim Casy, whose ideas about humanity and a new social gospel parallel Christ’s new religion two thousand years ago. Biblical myths also inform the final scene through a collection of symbols that demonstrate the existence of a new order in the Joads’ world. As the Joads seek refuge from the flood in a dry barn, the narrative offers symbols of the Old Testament deluge (Noah’s ark), the New Testament stable where Christ was born (the barn), and the mysterious rite of Communion as Rose of Sharon gives life to the starving man.( Theme and construction).
The representation that the author of this article talked about was that John Steinbeck even when he writes he always relates to the bible when most of the readers don’t know where it’s from.
The novel shows all the ways that John Steinbeck portrayed himself in this work, he tries to represent the bad part of the American dream and the fact that not everyone that follows the American dream gets the happy ending that they deserve. The American people even if they have no way of knowing that they are going to succeed will always push forward because they have perseverance built in their system and that’s what Steinbeck was writing about.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. He grew up recounting stories that had Salinas tattle inserted in them. His characters in his stories were usually about misconstrued ranchers and farmers. ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is a story where he discussed the events of how he grew up and the shattered dreams of land ownership in California. His family immigrated from Germany. He had a comfortable yet humble childhood. He invested a great deal of his energy working on farms to help to harvest and earn extra money. His work on the ranches gave him an understanding of the life of migrant workers. The encounters he had through this were embedded into his composition of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Later in life, Steinbeck studied environmental biology and became especially intrigued by ecology which helped shape his view of environmental injustices and how they affect so many people. Despite many people thinking of Steinbeck as one of the best novelists, he was always a journalist at heart. All of his best work was when he wrote about current conditions and personal connections or stories he learned from them. Steinbeck uses his knowledge of news and current events as well as his own experiences to create the novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’.
Jay Parini, an American writer, talks about Steinback as someone who was never egocentric. He recalled stories where he would sit on the seashore with a few hobos throughout the day and listen to their life stories. Steinback believed that these stories would advance his understanding of lives that were completely different from his. In ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, the art of storytelling is used by so many people. For example, migrants use storytelling as a way to try and find comfort and pleasure amid their suffering. Even though Steinback was considered to be middle class he always hated the high-class attitudes of the people around him. When he speaks about the elitist people who already lived in California he is drawing connections to the types of people he hated growing up: “The majority of our alleged fruitful men are wiped out men, with awful stomachs and awful spirits”. He gets this idea because many of the migrants that he worked with were seen as many people see as dumb people who are “trying to make it” somewhere big. Farmers were constantly demeaned and ripped of humanization.
Steinbeck experienced childhood in Salinas, California so he shaped a thankfulness for the land. When the land began to become mechanized the individuals there were loaded up with greed. He saw the distinction of Saline Valley previously, during and after the dust bowl and how mechanical life starts a terrible cycle of greed and extortion. The book took place during the time of the Dust Bowl. The Joads began a journey to California beside many other migrants since they were told it would be a spot rich with opportunities. Their voyage was a delineation of the crushed dreams that California gave migrants. California was a spot with few occupations, low wages, and little to no housing for them. Steinback depicted mankind and the progression of dehumanization very well in the book since he grew up around individuals who dealt with similar experiences. He believes that the individuals that could have helped migrants, Okies, or those who were less fortunate were brainwashed by the mechanical progression and institutional power. He saw the land as an automated, benefit hungry nature which thusly took the humanization from everybody included.
Due to the significant number of the issues that I have already talked about, Steinbeck took in the significance of family. His dad, John Ernst Steinbeck, was not an appallingly accomplished man. He was the chief of a Sperry flour plant, the proprietor of a feed and grain store, and the treasurer of Monterey County. However, he was constantly losing his job and trying to find new ones. despite his dad’s many working disappointments, he realizes that his dad endeavoured to support and accommodate their family. In ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, this equivalent hopefulness is seen in Ma since she has a lot of love for her family. Even though she experiences numerous hardships she proceeds with the journey for the benefit of her family. Steinbeck’s mom was a strong-willed woman. In ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is set in a time where women are not treated as well as men. He writes about how the mistreatment of women makes them stronger because it teaches them to keep their composure and dignity. He had two older sisters, Esther and Beth, and a younger sister, Mary who he was always closer too. These are the people in his life that he recognizes will be there for him knows it is vital to remain associated with them. How he esteems his family looks are seen in the way family is defined in his novel.
Steinbeck utilizes his understanding of information and contemporary affairs as well as his personal experiences to create the novel ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Steinback believed that these tales would develop his and others’ appreciations of lives that had been unique from their own which is why he wrote from the perspectives of those who had a different existence from his. However, Steinbeck also included knowledge of the place he grew up and his household dynamics to structure many of the fundamental principles in his novel. For these reasons, Steinbeck is an exceptional journalist and annalist of the world around him, even today.
The artist does not create in vaccum, he depicts the values of the society which is part of and the framework of his writing,and by his imaginative power his works present a picture of his own particular society. Hebeside being a painter, also plays a crucial role in explaining and interpreting its menances and then recreating them by his own experiences and their works seems to be a kind of social commentary. The artist creates artistic works based on the ideas and problem of the time and thus provides an elaborate details of social situation as Steinbeck depicts the socio-economic milieu which determines the characters, he can be safely placed in the tradition of realistic writers. He has blended scientific ideas, social realities, economic thoughts, biological views with moralistic approach. He has every determinately advocated a humanitarian religion. Sometimes, dominated by his desire to convey social realities, he becomes oversympathetic with characters who are victims of society to the extent that he is labelled with the charge of sentimentality and sometimes he becomes too objective to be charged of being too detached. His works are characterized by a predominance of social problems. In this Noble Prize acceptance speech he clearly defines the role of a writer:
“The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement furthermore, the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man’s proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit for gallantry in defeat for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation”.
Steinbeck went through many trails throughput his life which were difficult enough to deal with, among which many of experiences were very harsh and having adverse impact. Steinbeck’s life is the finest example of the saying whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger. Different phases of life, be it to be employed as a ranch hand or tobe a marine biologist or to be a war transcript writer, not only strengthen his being but also improved his writing. All the works of Steinbeck has in some or the other way a little piece of himself and it appears as if he has used his experience as a tool for his writing as many of his experiences are used in his novels. Sometime they are used so blatantly although used very well, suggest that they are having such an deep imprint on his mind and heart that he could not resist the temptation of sharing them with the people and instead of compiling books on his life he has incorporated his familiarities with the variety of professions and the people as well as the relationship that he formed with these people into the works through events and characters. Steinbeck met the variety of people during his life time owing to his different types of profession which aided him in the unique diversity of his characters. ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is a fiction work by Steinbeck which is based on the events experienced by him. The whole plot and structure of the novel revolves round the family of Joad which was directly affected by the Dust Bowl Tragedy. It follows the life and the journey of Joad family to California in an attempt to leave their shattered life behind and start a new life staying together. Steinbeck believes that the path of independence and going alone may not always be the best solution and option for their family. Though the novel was looked upon by some critics only as a documentation of class struggle but the critics like Chester E. Elisinger praises it and point out that: “Steinbeck was concerned with democracy, and looked upon agrarianism as a way of life that would enable us to realize the full potentialities of the creed”.
Steinbeck has mirrored in this novel a number of social , political, cultural and economical aspects of an American family of Okhlahoma in the great Depression time of the thirties. Peter Lisca points out: “’The Grapes of Wrath’ did not have a chance of being accepted and evaluated as a piece of fiction from the beginning it was taken as a substantial fact and its merits debated as a document rather than as a novel…a small sampling of the relevant literature may indicate the nature of social political economical controversy which eclipsed ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ as a novel”.
‘The Grapes of Wrath’ on a surface label can be considered as a documentary book as he first went to California as photographer from life magazine to observe the harsh condition of the migrant camps where he realished that the migration as well as the condition of these people was not to be taken so lightly rather was prefect material for an epic novel. But to confine the meaning of novel only to one particular land or social condition would undermine the significance of the novel since the novel has cosmic dimensions and universal significance and the framework of American society has been given a thematic extension which embraces the whole of mankind. Joad family epitomised the movement of humanity from a static position to an ever growing social, moral and spiritual state of human being. Natural calamities are the result of cumulative human action not only the wayward manifestation of nature and unless the people make united efforts for the improvement of the society. The Joad family is the strongest example of the unity throughout the novel and especially Ma.
Although women are considered very close to nature and man has controlled nature from primordial time by the weapon of culture making women away from the main stream as well as singled out from others inthe society. Steinbeck has also depicted the concept of the way families were run. At the beginning of twentieth century families were led by the men. They make the decision, they made the money for the family while women worked behind the scene and without taking any credit to their part, they used to do everything to make a better life for themselves and for their families but as the Dust Bowl struck, women’s role changed in the society. They started to take the charge of the family affairs since in the tough time of dispossession and migration it became inevitable for them to be financially independent to support the family Steinbeck has based the story on real events witnessed and experienced by him. In ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ Ma Joad is one of the finest portrait of women character who transcend the commonly known traits of women. As the Joad clan disintegrates due to migration, Ma Joad emerges as a central and cohesive force. Though in the beginning she also has stood in the shadow and accepted the things for the way they were without questioning. The degenerating condition of the women is clearly evident in the lines of the novel: “And then he stood embrassed by his own speech. Ma looked to Tom to speak, because he was a man, but Tom did not speak. She let him have the chance that was his right and then she said. Why, we’d be proud to have you” . She is the mother of Tom and she has to see his director indirect permission before giving voice to her opinion only because she is a woman. Neither age nor her motherhood can give her the right to speak her mind. Even her husband threatens her with a beating in an attempt to salvage his position in the family, though soon he realises the truth that Ma would be better choice to lead the family and bear up the responsibliles but not ready to accept. Ma gradually rises to power and everything is done by her for the good of the family. When the men of the family came up with the idea to split of the family, she vehemently opposed to the disintegration and tried everything in her power to keep her family together. She ceased to exist the era of women being considered as property; once she stood up for herself and having her moment of threatening she surprised the Pa: “Ma stepped infront of him. ‘I ain’t a gonna go’. ‘What you mean, you ain’t gonna go? You got to go. You got to look after the family’. Pa was amazed at the revolt, Ma stepped to the touring car and reached it on the floor of the back seat. She brought out a jack handle and balanced it in her hand easily. ‘I ain’t a gonna go’, – she said. ‘I tell you got to go. We made up our mind’. And now Ma’s mouth set hard. She moved the jack handle gently again. ‘An I’ll shame you’”.
In ‘Cup of Gold’ Steinbeck states: “All girls and women hoarded something they never spoke of…Another life went on inside of women…ran paralled to their outward lives and yet never crossed them”. Ma, Joad’s inside of a woman sublimates into love and she demonstrates the angelic quality of unqualified love for the member of her family which makes her the mother not only to her children but also to the family. She holds her dead mother in law all might long only when they passes away through the desert. She informs the family grandma’s death later on, she did it all to keep her family together and to enable them to survive the journey and discrimination of California. She does not get frustrated with the wretched condition in california rather exhibits optimism and firm belief in a better future. Being governed by her unshaken faith she sacrifices all the comforts of government camp and forces her family to move as she knows that the family need work. The last scene of the novel depicts the growth of Ma’s consciousness and raises her character to the size of a cosmic vision.
On finding the starving old man Ma: “Looked at Rose a Sharon, huddled in the comforter Ma’s eyes passed Rose of Sharan’s eyes and then came back to them. And the two women looked deep into the each other. She said, ‘yes’. Ma smiled, ‘I knowed you would I knowed’. Rose of Sharon loosed one side of the blanket and bared her breast. You got to she said and smiled mysteriously”.
‘The Grapes of Wrath’, a novel written in 1938 by an American novelist, John Steinbeck, exhibits the wretched lives Americans faced during the Great Depression. The American classic portrays the grim conditions of the 1930s faced by migrant families by using the Joad family’s point of view; the Joads take on a journey westward to California. This journey is greatly unwanted but forced upon the Joads. As the family continues west, they start to show how interrelated anger and hunger actually are. John Steinbeck, in his book ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, describes the harsh world that the migrant family must endure through their encounters with authority figures, starvation, and the deterioration of the family.
Along with the exhausting drive to California comes multiple obstacles; dealing with people of authority exemplified one hurdle. The reason that the Joads had to migrate stems from people in positions of authority taking advantage of those below them. The bank chose to replace entire sharecropping families with tractors because it is cheaper. This causes the Joads to be homeless and penniless. The bank abuses its power and kicks many farming families off the land they worked for generations. As a result, the Joad family is one of many that has to travel a long journey west in hopes of employment. As the Joads continue their migration, they stop to rest along Route 66. An encounter with an authority figure begins when the Joads settle in their tent. Deputies approach the family and order them to leave by the time the sun rises the next morning. When the family questions the deputies’ command, they give them an implausible reason: they simply do not like having “Okies” around. Even though the deputies’ reason for demanding they leave the camp is unfair, the Joads leave because the deputies are dominant over the migrants. Another example is when the Joads stay at a Hooverville and a sheriff is summoned to arrest a man named Floyd Knowles. When the sheriff arrives and realizes that the Hooverville is full of impoverished people, he and his backup officers announce that they will burn down the camp. At this point, the Joads decide to leave. These authority figures demonstrate an abuse of power by threatening the less fortunate without offering to help relocate them. The Joads could not stay in the camp for more than a day before they were forced to leave. Steinbeck clarifies how little power the Joads have over their course of seeking a new life.
One effect of the Great Depression further convinced families to move west: starvation. As families were being dislodged from their homes, they were left with as much as they could fit in their newly purchased cars. Before migrating, the bank takes almost all of the Joad family’s share of crops, leaving them with minimal money for food. This means that the family “half-starved” before their travels had begun. The Joad family encounters starvation in a Hooverville they stay at. Ma Joad cooks up some stew only to have many local children gather around with watering mouths; it is obvious that they have not eaten in quite a while. Ma gives them some leftovers and the Joads could not watch the sad sight as the local children quickly devour the scraps with improper utensils. A large number of people did not have jobs and could not find any. Unemployment results in little to no money which means little to no food. This scene captures the harsh reality many families suffer through. Even though the Joads faced this harsh reality, they are depicted as helpful and humane people throughout the novel. For example, the Joads stumble across a boy and man who is almost dead of starvation. Rose of Sharon takes it upon herself to feed this man her breast milk to prevent his death. Steinbeck makes it evident that migrant families face bleak conditions as they travel across the states in chase of a hyped up dream.
On their journey west, migrant families find it difficult to stay motivated. Losses were common; people frequently gave up or passed away. The Joad family went through multiple of these incidents. The first tragic event begins at a stop along Route 66 on their way to California. Grampa Joad starts to feel unwell after meeting the Wilsons, a family who ends up traveling with the Joads. Grampa tries to get some rest in the Wilsons’ tent, but, instead, has a stroke and dies. This fills Granma Joad with immense grief. Granma dies just before the family stops at the Arizona border; Granma dies partially from heartbreak. The loss of Grampa and Granma left the family to think about the fact that any of them could die on this trip. Ma Joad is highly affected by the loss of Granma but tries to keep her suffering private. The family learns that in order to be successful in starting their new life, they will have to cope with all of the upcoming unfortunate events. However, not all family members coped. Connie, Rose of Sharon’s husband, decides to run away from the family when no one paid attention; the family tries to make the most of their new “home” when they realize Connie is gone. Rose of Sharon is pregnant and is devastated to hear such horrid news; she is left to raise her child alone. The Joads were now tasked to deal with the family’s deterioration. When the family leaves Weedpatch, Tom decides that he should leave the family. He believes that if he stays, he is going to continue to put them in danger. Tom represents the glue that holds the family together after ma lost her motivation. Tom’s decision to leave is the final blow to the family. The Joad family crumbles right after arriving in California. Members who once held the family together have now lost everything, including their drive to start a new life.
Steinbeck illustrates migrant families’ numerous, heart-rending struggles including confrontations with people in power, hunger, and the fall of the family. The Joads’ encounters with authority figures continue throughout the novel, causing their travel experience to be prolonged and burdensome. Moving west enables the family to go from “half-starving” at the old family farm to “full-starving” on the road. They have no money to buy any food, so they have to live off of what little food they have. The family deteriorates while traveling to their new lives. The remaining Joad family members support each other as they cope with all their losses throughout the novel. At the end of his novel, John Steinbeck writes, “…and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry, there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage” (Steinbeck 349). This quote reveals the dissatisfaction and anger held by migrant workers. The American economy’s state caused the fruit farmers’ crops to sell for very cheap. California farmers could not afford to give their fruits away or hire any new workers, so the crops would rot. This quote also emphasizes the irony in the journeys of the migrant families. These families traveled hundreds of miles, dealt with abusive authority figures, starved, and witnessed their own families crumble in search of work to be able to feed themselves only to find that the farms do not need them and are wasting a plethora of food.
In what ways does John Steinbeck use the societal circumstances of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ to convey the depths of human nature?
Through “The Grapes of Wrath”, Steinbeck is able to illustrate two concepts in great detail. The first of those is opportunism and oppression, and how they coincide. As Steinbeck is able to successfully demonstrate the reactions that occur as a result of changes within the economic and social circumstances. During the text, Steinbeck uses the oppression of the working class to demonstrate the cruelty and greed of the landowners and big banks, “We know. We’ve got to take cotton quick before the land dies. Then we’ll sell the land.” Steinbeck goes further to state that “they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold.” Illustrating the idea that the landowners must be looking in the direction of their best interests. Steinbeck demonstrates the effects that oppression has even on those who would be classed as better off, stating that an environmental disaster had taken place and had shifted the mindsets of the landowners, “Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel”. From this, Steinbeck is able to illustrate the change in situation will be the main influence on the actions of man, regardless of morality. Steinbeck characterizes this shift in mindset through the landowners and “bank monsters”. Where not only has the disaster forced the shift within the landowner’s mindset, but the bank’s sudden enforcement of debt collection has forced the landowners to collect from the “squatters” resulting in “fifteen or twenty families can’t eat at all”. In complete disregard to the families, the banks take away their one and only source of income. Forcing even the strongest of willed people to switch careers to something they once stood against, such as the tractor driver who believed that carrying out his best interests was the only way to survive “Got to think of my own kids. Three dollars a day”. The growing greed of the banks has resulted in the instinctive human survival instincts becoming more prevalent, as those who are in search of any source of income are forced into seasonal work on big farms. Where the jobs are so scarce that it comes to an “every man for himself” situation. Through the depiction of this scenario, Steinbeck is able to convey the idea that power of any magnitude is destined to be corrupted. Where the opportunity to abuse power for the sake of personal gain will occur as it is human nature. Contrastingly, Steinbeck is also able to illustrate how opportunism can lead to hope and community. As the main set of characters is shown to be in dire straits but are able to make the most of it, as they believe that there will always the opportunity to regain what they once had. The Joad family is seen to stick to their moral compass and make decisions that are beneficial to all parties involved, regardless of the outcome. However, unlike the Joad family, the landowners and the big banks are shown to be “cold” and heartless, as it is their greed and desire that drives them. Through the separation of classes, Steinbeck is successfully able to present his idea on the corruption on power and how it is best achieved through the growing divide between the social classes.
In ‘The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck illustrates the perseverance shown by those experiencing oppression from the land owners due to the recent change in the social circumstances. Steinbeck introduces Muley to represent those who fight against the bank owners to remain on their land, despite the difficulty or the favorable outcome of being shot “They ain’t gettin’ rid me. If they throw me off, I’ll come back”. Muley’s mentality is recognized as idiotic as the odds are not in his favor, however, the human nature of Muley shows perseverance as he fights for what he has pride in and his family has worked for “My pa come here fifty years ago. An’ I ain’t a-goin’”. Joad’s Grampa also shows perseverance as Muley expresses “Your grampa stood out here with a rifle, and he blew the headlights off the cat”, the same mentality is seen within Ma where Joad states “An’ Ma ain’t nobody you can push around neither”. Muley found himself struggling to survive on his land without work providing an income as he ashamedly states he was eating “frogs an’ squirrels an’ prairie dogs”, however, didn’t see this as an option as he “had to do it” showing how he shows dedication to remaining on the land he grew up on and the human nature of standing in what he believed in as he expresses “Somepin jus’ wouldn’t let me’. Steinbeck shows the passion individuals had in their land through highlighting the effort and dedication they put into fighting for what believed was theirs, however, “Lot a the folks jus’ got tired out lookin’ for someone to be mad at”, although did not give up on hope and continues to persevere to find success. The Joad family continue to display faith and hope for successful living conditions as “they been choppin’ cotton, all of ’em, even the kids an’ your grampa”, in hopes of buying “a car and shove on the west where it’s easy living. John Steinbeck shows the struggle of the Joad family as they desperately attempt to salvage money from selling their belongings ‘we sol’ all the stuff at our place and the whole bunch of us chopped cotton, even Grampa’. The faith of the family can also be recognized through the perseverance of progressing further in hopes of work despite the obstacles they face “Damn ol’ tires on this truck ain’t gonna go far. Got a couple of wore out spares. Pick stuff up along the road, I guess”. Steinbeck shows the human nature of Muley to demonstrate to the reader how the social circumstance of being forcefully controlled by a higher power can impact an individual’s mentality to persevere. The human nature of the Joad family continuously persevering to gather money to travel to California through hard work, allows Steinbeck to illustrate that the human nature of individuals differs through the change of social circumstance through the oppression of higher a higher power.