Category: Grapes of Wrath

Introduction

A scholar, literary critic and a philosopher among others, Mikhail Bakhtin contributed largely to literature. In his theory of dialogism, Bakhtin claims that language is based on the construct of dialogue where a writer or speaker exchanges information with the respondents and meaning of this language is only definable based on those communicators. In his book Rabelais and His World, Bakhtin comes up with two subtexts; that is, carnival and grotesque realism.

According to Morris (1994, p. 249), “Bakhtin refers to the multiple voices at work within any given culture as heteroglossia, a term which foregrounds the clash of antagonistic social forces. Moreover, he uses the term polyphony with regard to the fully realized form of a novel, a word coined to describe Dostoevsky’s ‘multi-voiced’ novels, whereby author’s and heroes’ discourses interact on equal terms.” This understanding forms the background of The Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying analysis in this paper.

John Steinbeck and William Faulkner’s Grapes of Wrath fits well into these Bakhtinian perspectives. The polyphonic traits of these works have given rise to numerous debates concerning their genre among other philosophical issues. Bakhtin would concern himself with establishing the evolutionary ontogenesis of the genre in these texts. The unity of structure and language in any comical genre take after carnivalistic folklore…”there is a strong rhetorical element, but in the atmosphere of joyful relativity characteristic of a carnival sense of the world this element is fundamentally changed: there is a weakening of its one-sided rhetorical seriousness, its rationality, its singular meaning, its dogmatism” (Bakhtin 1984, p. 107). Steinbeck and Faulkner’s works fit well in this concept. This paper analyses these works from a Bakhtinian perspective employing some of his literal principles. The Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying are carnalized literatures.

The Grapes of Wrath

As aforementioned; Bakhtin talks of two subsets in his analysis viz. carnival and grotesque realism. These two subsets come with different characteristics, which will be exposited in this text. Nevertheless, the outstanding element of Bakhtinian interpretation would be establishing whether these novels qualify as carnivalized literature or not. According to Bakhtin, any carnalized literature should have Socratic dialogue and Menippean satire among other elements and these elements stand the test of time; they do not die from any carnalized literature. Moreover, a carnalized literature detaches itself from traditional sorts like the tragedy, history, and the epic. On the contrary, carnalized literature is serio-comical and relates strongly to carnivalistic folklore. The biggest task here is to determine whether The Grapes of Wrath fit in this description and is it fits, on what scale.

To analyze The Grapes of Wrath from a Bakhtinian perspective, it is good to trace its serio-comical links. Bakhtin points out that, the commixing element of serio-comic genres lies in its relation to carnivalistic folklore and any literal work moulded by this lore, “directly and without mediation, or indirectly, through a series of intermediate links qualifies as carnivalized literature” (Bakhtin 1984, p. 107). The outstanding feature of any serio-comical genre is the inevitability of change. Change underpins the plot of The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck deliberates on how America was rapidly changing in terms of agriculture, economy, and the subsequent displacement of thousands of people as America grappled with change; the basis of Bakhtinian perspective on carnivalized literature.

Change stands out as one of the themes of this novel. As the novel opens, Casy, the preacher, has denounced his faith after realizing life is, “a map with every winding and turning of the road fair set forth” (Kennedy 1951, p. 7). Casy quits his ministry because he cannot bear with Christian teachings on immorality for he sleeps with women in his congregation on a regular basis. He says, “I figured, ‘Why do we get to hang it on God or Jesus? Maybe,’ I figured, ‘maybe it’s all men an’ all women we love; maybe that’s the Holy Spirit—the human spirit—die whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul everybody’s a part of now I sat there thinking’ it, an’ all of a sudden—I knew it.

I knew it so deep down, that; it was true, and I still know it” (Steinbeck 1939, p. 31). This is a change. Casy realizes that his holiness does not come from a faraway god but from people around him and that is why he calls his fellow men and women ‘holy spirit.’ The change also dominates the lives of other characters like Tom and Ma. As the novel opens, Ma’s actions are louder than words. She seriously yearns for change and this is why she burns the letters, which carry her past.

This act of ‘destroying’ the past indicates that this family is ready to accept change as part of facing reality. The fact that Ma notices and acknowledges change, paints her as a heroine even in face of uttermost adversity. As the novel closes, the family goes through trying times; however, she stands out as she claims, “it’s all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on We ain’t gonna die out. People is goin’ on changin’ a little maybe, but goin’ right on…” (Steinbeck 1939, p. 542).

This shows how she is determined to welcome change for she knows; change is inevitable. On the other side, Tom represents the theme of change perfectly. After spending considerable time in jail, he changes greatly. He does not feel guilty of being a murderer and vows to Casy that he would murder again if faced with the same situation. As the novel closes down, Tom has undergone a total psychic transformation and this explains why he ultimately leaves his family to finish what Casy had started before he was murdered. In this context, Tom’s perspective about his family has changed greatly thus accomplishing Bakhtin’s arguments of a carnivalized literature.

Steinbeck’s theme of change touches not only the characters, but also the chapters of the novel. He utilizes literal elements like repetition, apocalyptic tone, and journalistic documentation as he explores the theme of change pointing out how it measures heavily on the affected people. This is yet another feature of serio-comical genre. He says, “…the great owners, nervous, sensing a change, knowing nothing of the nature of the change…when theories change and crash, when schools, philosophies, when narrow dark alleys of thought, national, religious, economic, grow and disintegrate, man reaches, stumbles forward, painfully, mistakenly sometimes…here is the anlage of the thing you fear. We lost our land this is the beginning—from’ I’ to “we” (Steinbeck 1939, p.192-94). The application of repetition coupled with apocalyptic tone establishes the bearing theme of change in this novel. Bakhtin insinuates that multiplicity of voice is another characteristic of carnivalized novel.

Use of intercalary chapters throughout the novel increments the multiplicity of voices and tones. For instance, the dominant tone in chapter five is pessimistic and spells doom as the bank representatives embark on evicting farmers from their farms. However, in chapter seven the tone changes to optimism as car dealers try to strike a deal with their customers. Steinbeck further utilizes literal elements like personification, poetic description, and imagery in chapter eleven. In chapter twelve, the tone changes as immigrants march from Mississippi to California along Highway 66. These changing apocalyptic tones herald the fate that awaits these immigrants in California.

First, the job advertisements appearing on newspapers are nonexistent hence no wages. As these immigrants approach the Californian border, a border patrol car prevents them from entering California. The changing nature of tone here agrees strongly with Bakhtin’s arguments. Multiplicity of voices continues through the novel; in chapter, twenty-three people gather along the road to share stories of heroism. In chapter twenty-five, the carnivalistic nature of this novel sets in.

According to Holquist (1981, p. 18), Bakhtin’s element of carnivalesque may be taken to mean, “A literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humour and chaos.” This comes out clearly in chapter twenty-five through humour, irony and chaos. It is ironical and humorous that crops are being destroyed in a bid to keep market prices up while children on the other side are dying because of starvation. It is ironical that the immigrants cannot benefit from the rich Californian land and they can only watch as their children die of hunger. Steinbeck uses this irony to expose how human beings can become inhuman towards their fellow human beings.

As aforementioned, Steinbeck uses both intercalary chapters and narrative chapters, something that ties with ancient Socratic dialogue, “a rhetorical model which emerged from its base in carnivalistic folklore as a sort of remembrance of the actual conversations conducted by Socrates” (Morson 1990, p. 96).

The intercalary chapters elaborate on the immigrants’ sufferings, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the prevailing economic conditions and classes that never favored the immigrants. On the other hand, the narrative chapters shed light on family life in those days as different families grappled with changing environmental, social, and economical times. Differences in chapters bring about symphony in the novel. This mix up has drawn numerous criticisms towards this novel leading to what Bakhtin (1984, p. 111), calls anacrisis, “the provocation of the word by the word; the forcing of one’s opponent to articulate his position, thus revealing through spoken language any deficiencies in the logic or reason of his argument.” Similarly, Steinbeck’s work has drawn this anacrisis by prompting many critics to pick apart this work.

This novel has elicited anacrisis by arousing dialogue amongst differing sides of public thus exposing deficiencies in logic and reason leveled against The Grapes of Wrath. For instance, Kate O’Brien (1996, p. 180), claims that Steinbeck’s work “epitomizes the intolerable sentimentality of American ‘realism…he wrecks a beautiful dialect with false cadences…he is frequently uncertain about where to end a sentence.” This is immaterial and incorrect because there was nothing like ‘beautiful’ or ‘standard’ dialect, in the South; unfortunately, this is what O’Brien insinuates by claiming that Steinbeck was wrecking a ‘beautiful’ dialect. Steinbeck’s objective was to make his characters as real as possible. Numerous critics accuse Steinbeck of representing false religious practices.

Writing this novel off, West (1996, p. 181) concluded that this novel will “lie in that honorable vault which houses the books that have died when their purpose as propaganda had been served.” The fact is, this novel has stood test of time and won the coveted Pulitzer Prize. It is important to note that Steinbeck is not addressing a particular group of people; passive religious people for that matter, no; he is addressing active and physical religious, culturally diverse people. Nevertheless, these criticisms fit well in Bakhtin’s argument of anacrisis.

Another Bakhtinian element present in this novel is Menippean satire. According to Bakhtin (1984, p. 119), Menippean satire “possesses an inner logic, insuring the indissoluble linking up of all its elements…a great external plasticity and a remarkable capacity to absorb into itself kindred small genres, and to penetrate as a component element into other large genres.” This becomes clearer as the reader focuses on what Steinbeck meant by allusions he created about his characters in relation to their folklore. It is important to note that given the time Steinbeck wrote this novel, he was not bound by realism as Bakhtin observes on antiquated genres; actually, in Minippea satire, fantasy and allegory dominate.

Therefore, the extreme conditions that Steinbeck presents in this novel are logical in light of Minippean satire. Tom and Casy spend considerable time in prison where conditions are squalid; the Joads experience extremely tough situations on their way to California. Steinbeck did not need to be realistic in his writing; however, taken from contemporary thematic assertions, Steinbeck’s work does not fit in because they are based on realism. Therefore, does The Grapes of Wrath fit in Bakhtinian theories?

From the above discussion, this novel qualifies as a carnivalized novel because of several factors viz. connection to Socratic dialogue, theme of change, presence of anacrisis and Menippean satire. These elements give this novel a Bakhtinian perspective of interpretation especially the rich application of dialogism theory. Most of the criticism leveled against this work is based on religious stance that Steinbeck takes. Nevertheless, “Bakhtin viewed the account of Jesus in the Christian Gospels as the most highly evolved textual expression of dialogue and of carnival as it manifests in literature” (Morson & Caryl 1990, p. 49). Therefore, these criticisms serve to qualify Bakhtin theories in this novel.

As I Lay Dying

Written by William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying fits well in Bakhtinian concepts of dialogism, carnivalesque, and heteroglossia. The most outstanding feature in this novel is the failure by critics to look at the novel from Bakhtinian perspective. According to Peek and Hamblin (2004, p. 59), “Bakhtinian saw the study of the novel as an entirely separate enterprise from that of analyzing poetry.” Therefore, many of the criticisms leveled against Faulkner and his work simply serves to highlight deficiencies in logic of thought of these critics.

Anacrisis is the most outstanding Bakhtinian concept of this novel. Upon its first publication, As I Lay Dying elicited shock and outrage from different corners. For one, Faulkner chooses to “misuse narrative conventions hence overlooking realism; moreover, Faulkner is a botched realist; a de-constructionist” (Liburn 2000, Para. 9). These criticisms leveled against As I Lay Waiting emerge from what Bakhtin calls failure to detach study of novel from poetry analysis. Other critics have described this novel as a tragedy; however, it qualifies as a serio-comical genre, which is neither a tragedy, historic nor an epic. Nevertheless, these criticisms and differing points of view in interpreting this novel, confers this work one of Bakhtinian elements; that is, anacrisis.

In the theory of dialogism, Bakhtin (1984, p. 107) indicates that, “…there is a strong rhetorical element, but in the atmosphere of joyful relativity characteristic of a carnival sense of the world this element is fundamentally changed: there is a weakening of its one-sided rhetorical seriousness, its rationality, its singular meaning, its dogmatism.” This novel is weakened in its seriousness, rationality, and dogmatism hence eliminating realism. It is important to note that Bakhtin says that archaic writers did not need to be realistic in their writings.

Most of scenes in this novel are unrealistic thus qualifying this novel as a carnivalized literature. Carnivalesque here may be taken to mean, “A literary mode that subverts and liberates the assumptions of the dominant style or atmosphere through humour and chaos” (Holquist 1981, p. 18). Surely, humour and chaos dominate the scenes of this novel as exposited next.

Right from the beginning, Faulkner embarks on a journey to kill dogmatism and realism in this novel. As the novel opens up, Addie Bundren is about to die. Contrary to what many contemporary writers would consider ‘unreal’, Cash is busy preparing a coffin for his mother in what contemporary writers would call ‘extreme.’ “A good carpenter; Addie Bundren could not want a better one, a box to lie in, it will give her confidence and comfort” (Faulkner 1985, p. 5).

This is unrealistic; one would expect Cash to be taking care of his mother not making a coffin for someone who is alive. Thereafter, Vardaman comes home from fishing and compares his mother to a fish he has cleaned some minutes earlier. In an unrealistic turn of events, Vardaman is troubled so much by the fact that his mother is nailed inside a coffin. Consequently, as other family members sleep at night, he perforates the lid of Addie’s coffin to allow some fresh air in. unfortunately; two of his drillings go through Addie’s eyes. This scene is comical, a characteristic of subverting a dominant style throwing assumptions off balance through chaos and humour. These incidences herald Menippean satire in this novel.

Menippean satire dominates this novel with scenes of chaos and humor allover. After Addie dies, Anse remembers her dying wish was to be buried in Jefferson; a place of her people. Nevertheless, Anse is not just interested in going to Jefferson to bury his wife; no, he wants to get new false teeth and this journey offers him an opportunity to do so. Cash is like his father, he wants to get out of Yoknapatawpha County and get a phonograph; Vardaman wants to get a toy train, while Dewey wants to abort. This sets in the ironical part of this novel. It is ironical that, whilst these family members know very well that they have lost the mother of the family, they do not care about her well-being in death. This prompts Darl to set the barn in which Addie is housed after realizing his family member’s craftiness and selfishness.

As the journey to Jefferson embarks, chaos dominates the scenes. On their way to Jefferson, there is a heavy downpour leading to floods, which washes away the main bridge forcing the Bundrens to use a makeshift ford to cross the river. Unfortunately, a stray log comes from nowhere and throws the wagon off balance drowning their mules and aggravating Cash’s pain from his broken leg. Fortunately, Vernon Tull rescues them with the help of Jewel who refused to ride with the rest of the family. After surviving this incidence, they continue with their journey but Darl reads mischief in everyone’s agenda apart from Jewel.

Consequently, he decides to cremate Addie for he knows no one is interested in giving her a decent burial. Jewel again rescues the coffin and they manage to burry Addie finally. Meanwhile Dewey falls into a trap of a rogue shopkeeper who pretends to understand abortion issues only to lure her into sex. Darl is sent to a mental institution for the rest of his family thinks he is insane. Finally, the novel closes on an ironical tone when Anse introduces his newfound love, “’It’s Cash and Jewel and Vardaman and Dewey Dell,’ pa says, kind of hangdog and proud too, with his teeth and all, even if he wouldn’t look at us. ‘Meet Mrs Bundren,’” (Faulkner 1985, p. 248). It is ironical that, Anse has barely buried his former wife when he marries another one. Through anacrisis, dogmatism theory and Menippean satire, As I Lay Dying qualifies as a carnivalized literature.

Conclusion

A Bakhtinian analysis of As I Lay Dying and the Grapes of Wrath is made possible by several characteristics of literature that Bakhtin puts across. He points out that literature analysis contains two elements viz. grotesque realism and carnivalism. These two stories are not historic, epic, or tragedy but they are serio-comical. Change is an outstanding characteristic of carnivalized literature and this theme dominates The Grapes of Wrath. The other element is anacrisis. In anacrisis, there are differing opinions and interpretations amongst different interpreters. In As I Lay Dying, many critics have come out to criticize Faulkner’s work branding it extreme due to the chaos and extreme suffering that seem to take place. Similarly, many critics have come out strongly to criticize the extremes that Steinbeck presents in The Grapes of Wrath.

Actually, many critics pointed out that these works would soon be forgotten for they were ’illogical.’ Nevertheless, Bakhtin sees anacrisis as a product of failure to detach novel reading from poetry analysis hence the differing opinions. Menippean satire stands out in these two works as it seeks to root out dogmatism that contemporary writers are used to. It also roots out reality. Archaic writers were not concerned about reality; therefore, Faulkner and Steinbeck are justified in their works. These two works qualify as carnivalized literature for they contain the central concepts of the same.

Reference List

Bakhtin, M 1984, “Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics”. Caryl, E, (Ed). Introduction by Booth, C, Theory and History of Literature, Volume 8. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Faulkner, W 1985, As I Lay Dying, New York; Vintage Books.

Holquist, M 1981, “Introduction to Mikhail Bakhtin’s”, The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays, London: University of Texas Press.

Kennedy, S 1951, “John Steinbeck: Life Affirmed and Dissolved.” Fifty Years of the American Novel: A Christian Appraisal, edn, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Lilburn, M 2004, “Overview of As I Lay Dying.” Literature Resource Centre. InfoTrac, SWVCTC Library. Web.

Morris, P (ed.) 1994, “The Bakhtin Reader: Selected Writings of Bakhtin, Medvedov, Voloshinov”, New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc.

Morson, S & Caryl, E 1990, Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of a Prosaics, CA: Stanford University Press.

O’Brien, K 1996, “Fiction: Rev. of the Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck”, Spectator, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Peek, C & Hamblin, R (eds.) 2004, A Companion to Faulkner Studies, Westport, Greenwood Press.

Shockley, M 1963, “The Reception of The Grapes of Wrath in Oklahoma”, A Companion to The Grapes of Wrath Ed. Warren French. New York- The Viking Press, Inc.

Steinbeck, J 1976, The Grapes of Wrath. New York: The Viking Press, Inc.

West, A 1996, “New Novels; Rev. of the Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck. New Statesman and Nation, Cambridge; Cambridge University Press.

The Grapes of Wrath

Ideas depicted in The Grapes of Wrath are still relevant today. Social inequality, violence, poverty, and financial collapse are the today of the United States. The movie represents rural poverty as the foundation of social conflict. However, the primary emphasis is made not on the gap between rural and city dwellers, but on migrants and challenges they face every day. As people are caught up in poverty, they do not have adequate access to social protection, sources of income, and even food or hygiene (Dela). It means that their common life is filled with violence and struggle. The lack of financial resources is what affects people in the first place. In most cases, the influence is negative because living in a constant need cannot but lead to fighting each other in order to gain sources for living. Nevertheless, positive changes can as well be stimulated by poverty, as the existing social conflict entails sympathy for poor migrants – those who are degraded and exploited by people with more resources and authority. So, launching the struggle for social equality is the main consequence of interactions between people belonging to different social classes.

To sum up, this movie is a powerful remainder of a significant success that was achieved in the sphere of guaranteeing social justice and protecting human rights. However, at the same time, watching it now, in the era of official equality, is helpful for realizing that even though everyone is legally equal and all critical challenges are filed as history, the problem of rural poverty and migrant exploitation remains and these people are degraded due to the lack of adequate financial resources that are necessary for carving out decent living.

As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying is a perfect representation of the elements of social justice. For me, this piece of writing best describes participation in social decision-making, as it is highlighted that options for the wealthy and the poor differ. For instance, the ability to affect others’ lives is given to those who are wealthier, as well as the poor cannot control their decisions and the course of their lives (recall the scene when Dewey Dells seeks an abortion with money from Lafe). Moreover, the poor are forced to accept their lifestyle and constant need that as well means that they take no steps to break out of this vicious cycle and alter social reality (recollect how Cash becomes disabled because of the lack of finance to fix his broken leg). Finally, those living in poverty are forced to agree to any opportunities of income they are offered because they do not have options for changing their lives and participating in social decision-making until they look like people with money (think of Anse accepting an offer of lumber jobs or him taking Dewey Dells’ money to obtain new life).

This piece of writing has larger implications because “rich town ladies can change their minds [while] poor folks cannot” (Faulkner 4). Nowadays, the ability to participate in the social decision-making process is significantly affected by the level of income, social status, and volume of accumulated wealth. However, what remains unchanged is the fact that the poor are forced to cling on to the slightest opportunity to change their lives. As they are busy with seeking financial stability, they cannot afford the luxury of fighting for social equality and the right to become a part of social issues settlement.

Works Cited

Dela, Shantay. “The Grapes of Wrath 1940 Full Movie.” Online video clip. 2015. Web.

Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. 1957. Web.

In Chapter One of the book Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck describes the erosion that happened in Oklahoma and the impact that it had on local people. Steinbeck (1992) talks about how the last light rains in the state came in May, after which the sun started scorching the area. What follows is the illustration of fields and plants that had barely come to life dying – slowly and painfully – from the heat of the impending summer. The roads became dusty, the wind grew stronger, the sun was hardly visible. Men tried to put on a brave face while attempting to measure the damage, so that their wives and kids knew that not all was lost. The author’s purpose in writing this chapter was to set the scene for the narration by illustrating how severe the drought that had occurred was, using various stylistic devices and expressive means.

First of all, Steinbeck uses personification when describing the forces of nature (The last rains lifted the corn quickly; the rain-heads […] hurried on; the wind […] dug cunningly). In doing that, he draws attention to how powerful it was in that particular context, as if had will of its own. Alliteration is another stylistic device used extensively by the author in Chapter One. Its’ purpose is to impart a certain emotional tone to the sentence with the help of repeated consonants.

This sequence focuses on fragility of the land and its people before the oncoming drought, so it is only fair that there are examples of phrases featuring rather light and airy sounds “h” and “f” (the clouds that had hung in high puffs; high heavy clouds, rain-heads; the dust from the roads fluffed up and […] fell into the fields; men and women huddled in their houses, and they tied handkerchiefs over their noses).

Moreover, the author uses syntactical devices to help him paint a particular picture. For instance, repetition is good at reflecting the chaos that was occurring (The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale; It settled on the corn, piled up on the tops of the fence posts, piled up on the wires; it settled on roofs). Additionally, Steinbeck employs syntactical parallelism to show how the people of Oklahoma seemingly hopelessly approached the tragedy (They awakened […]. They lay […]. They knew […]; Men stood […]. The men were silent […]. And the women came out […]. The women studied the men’s faces […]. The children stood […]. The children peeked […]), but than emphasizes that everything was going to turn out fine (But, it was all right. The women knew it was all right, and the watching children knew it was all right).

In conclusion, in order for the events described in Chapter One to make as strong of an impression as necessary, Steinbeck turned to various stylistic devices and expressive means. By utilizing them as he did, the author depicted the nature’s violence and the state’s helplessness before it. Being the beginning of the book, this chapter helped set the tone and prepared the reader for the following developments of the story.

Reference

Steinbeck, J. (1992). The grapes of wrath. Penguin Books.

Introduction

The Grapes of Wrath which is written by Steinbeck is in the era of a great depression that caters to the poor family and dealing with economic hardships. It presents a hopeless scenario that the people experienced through the journey of their life. A presentation of the bitter tension between the fortunate and unfortunate people is greatly depicted. It showed pride in American literature and captured the repulsion of the great depression as it headed through the system of justice and parity in the country.

The author depicts reality in the scenarios of the world and shows a modern era. The journey of the Joad family and other significant characters in the story who played the roles in building the whole context take the path of meeting miserable economic situations. Powerful and powerless people are distinguished in the story and highlighted the boundary between the fortunate and unfortunate people as to how it is conveyed in the given situations of Joad’s journey. The release of Tom Joad from being imprisoned for four years in the manslaughter conviction does not mean starting a new life for the protagonist (Zirakzadeh, 2004). Instead, his release started a new life though but full of trials and hardships. However, the determination of the Joad family to survive made them to the triumphs that they faced in their battle for living in California. Although they have been treated cruelly, the family still remained determined to continue living and fight for what they believe is right.

The interpretation of John Steinback’s work caters to the current situation of certain areas in the world. Not totally in America as it is known for being a progressive country, but in places where poverty and disparity still arise. The things that the family need are the rights of a person in order to live. However, the setting of the story is not in a democratic time where freedom has widely prevailed and many opportunities are open for all. It is good to know that the people before are striving hard for their living and practices self-expression for their own sake. It just gives the readers the idea of people being a fighter now and then. Fighting for the people’s rights is a must and this should be treated as one of the biggest deals and that disparity should be disregarded. Joad family also various face through their journey and experienced scenarios that taught the readers the lesson of being strong in times of hardships. Humanity also arises through the context because of treating each person as if a family member. But of course, death cannot be stopped throughout the journey and it needs to be part of the cycle. People come and go. Each played a significant role in the lives of the other. The newborn child signifies new life as other people passed away (Zirakzadeh, 2004).

Publication of the work of Steinbeck, it had been famous because of the issues about the Oakies and banned by the citizens because of the representation of the fortunate people. The author described the treatment for the Oakies in a rough manner though but it had been praised by many critics which made the novel inspiration for others and show the real scenarios that happened in the great depression (Windschuttle, 2002). However, political issues also have been prevalent in this novel because of the critics who said that the novel is an offense for the people who mistreated the Joad family in the story depicting the character of the authorities.

Discussion

Through the context, it has been highlighted that how the “Oakies” were treated that basically reflects a great depression. The novel showed the movement of a number of men and women and the revolution of an entire nation, and in addition, it centers on the Dust Bowl migration in the 1930s. John Steinbeck portrayed the okies in the novel by characterizing a great depression that remains even today. The scenarios being described in the story have been the imagery for a great depression during the 1930s through the characters of the Joad Family. The family had gone through hardships and disasters like the dust storms and financial crisis as well. The treatment for the Oakies in the story is seen through many scenes like when the Joad family crosses the river and stops over to gas up at needles. In this particular sense, the stopover made the family feel discriminated against because of how the attendants treated them. The Oakies were treated as if they are dumb and makes no sense at all because of living their life the way where they look miserable. Another instance is when the Joad family is being confronted by the angry citizens wherein they formed a mobilization (Windschuttle, 2002). The family is discriminated against by the angry citizens because of staying neat at a camp in a decaying wreck. A minority is how the family was treated before and a major reason for this is because of lack of money. In the very beginning, when the migrant farmers have gone to California, they were not offered any jobs. They were not treated accordingly and in fact, they tell convincingly to them that there are no opportunities in California.

The conversation between the Joad family and Ward Bond in California also depicts discrimination most especially warning the Joads of locking up if they will be caught after dim in the town. This is such as big discrimination for ordinary people and abuse of the authority of Ward Bond. Just because of being poor, it is not a valid reason to restrict them to be on the street though. Also, the story of the labor contractor that offers work in the first migrant camp prevails against discrimination for the Oakies. Comparing the two, they actually have the same color of skin and hence the discrimination does not point out this issue. But the thing is, the labor contractor is seen to be rich because of being dressed and possesses a car. In this matter, the policemen favored the labor contractor and filed charges against the Oakie just because of the status (Windschuttle, 2002). It is explicitly conveyed through the description of Steinbeck in the novel on how the Oakies are treated and defined a great depression among the minorities. Another scenario is when the policeman fired a gun at the people instead of the wild pigs. A woman had been injured and wounded but still, the policeman did nothing. Minorities are explicitly treated in an unfair manner in the story. The treatment showed to the Oakies is unfair because they only want a decent wage and freedom from poverty and in reality (Windschuttle, 2002), California was not the Promised Land that they had hoped for even from the start. The migrants also experienced trading in some of their belonging just to make up for a car that they will use in order to reach California. The farmers appeared to be pathetic because they have to give up their belongings just to buy a car unaware of what their future in California will be (Gregory, 1989).

As a writer, John Steinbeck effectively made a portrayal of an era of great depression where the Joad family was discriminated in different senses. Generally, Oakies are used in the story to show the ecological disasters and great depression that the farmers have gone through in reality. The author used a real picture of what was happening in reality during that time. The migrants from the Great Plains were mostly Oakies or the people from Oklahoma have suffered a great depression because of discrimination from the people and the natural disaster during the dust bowl era. Oakies are used as a term for describing the migrant farmers not necessarily from Oklahoma and this has been what the Californians called all the migrants since then. In this sense, the disparity is shown because of segregating people from different levels of status. This is also used to belittle the poor people, the migrant workers and their families (Phillips and Hopson, 2006).

During the great depression, realities of discrimination for the Oakies prevailed and continued to be an issue. In 1937, California have had a law about “Anti-Oakie” which suggests that if a person will bring somebody who is not a citizen of the state will be guilty for an offense. In fact, Edwards California has been convicted because of bringing his brother-in-law to California. However, this did not stop the migrants to go to California and some of them are proud on doing well in California as Oakies. But unfortunately, this does not apply to every Oakies who fled to California (Gregory, 1989). In the latter half of the 20^th century, the term is used to refer to an attitude of being a survivor.

Thus, discrimination and disparity prevail to be the major treatment for the Oakies in the novel and is present in reality. The novel just pictured out the real scenarios that happened during the great depression era in the year 1930s where the characters in real life are portrayed by the Joad family and other significant characters in the story. The novel leaves a mark of poverty in reality and socialism has been the main theme of Steinbeck in applying the negative things that happen in the world not just in one place but also in every part of the world. The great depression of the migrants is just an example of how these kinds of people experience such inhumane and cruel treatment from rich people.

Conclusion

The novel depicted a social significance throughout the story and represent reality through describing the natural scenes that happen in the world. The author put a highlight on the time where the country experienced a serious kind of crisis and presented the hardships that the people have gone through. Accordingly, the author used the Joad family to reflect the social problems at the time of the great depression which disrupts the rights and freedom of the poor. This also served as a way of realizing that the people being discriminated needs help in order to survive (Zirakzadeh, 2004).

However, in spite of the trials and hardships that the family experienced, the author significantly backed up the strengths of the characters in the story through the illustration of human determination and the willingness to survive. Primarily, the story reveals human perseverance and socialism which runs all throughout the story. When the failure of the economic system is shown, the ideas conveyed in the novel made their way to become popular. This economic system is said to be capitalism and it needs a transformation. The fortunate people or those who are in the high-level status in the society abused the depression of the poor people through providing jobs that have low wages while they earn a high profit. The rich people benefits from the poor ones and they take advantage for the sake of getting richer.

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is a good novel that pushes hope for the people to see what was happening to our nation’s people in reality. The author wanted to open the eyes of the audience in order to see the hardships that Oakies faced in everyday life through the Joad family story. Initiating with the ex-convict son of one of the main characters in the story suggested a normal life for the family but the external factors have impacted essentially the way the family took their journey. After the eviction from their property by the bank, the family started to feel the great depression together with other migrants (Saxton, 2004).

But, the good thing is, the family did not give up and just go on with taking the path to the future. Nurturing the past though may paralyze the present and indeed disrupt the future. Life is unpredictable where in twists and surprises are present. Black may turn into white all of a sudden and white may turn into black as well. Living life to the fullest is the best way to enjoy life with the lessons that every day’s trials leave for each other in spite of the struggles that a person may face. Faith should devour the trials and hardships of life’s journey. The Joad family presented an inspiring story of being strong in the midst of poverty and starvation of the economy together with other people that they meet in the road. In order for them to survive, sacrifices should be done and a consideration of a great effort has to be made. There is always sunshine after the rain indeed. But sometimes sunshine still lead to rain even how bright the sun shines and smiles for each life. At the end of the day, surviving in this world requires understanding of the dark side of living before enjoying the blessings of God and seeing the light. Acceptance should be noted and faith should be strengthened in order to completely see the light and survive from the dark. The novel left a historical identity for the scenarios of the great depression that happened during the era and how the people are mistreated which made the people now realize of the flaws of the past.

References

1. Gregory, J. N. “Dust Bowl Legacies: the Okie Impact on California, 1939-1989.” California History. 1989. 68(3): 74-85.
2. Phillips, B. and Hopson, D.SparkNote on The Grapes of Wrath. Web.
3. Saxton, A. “In Dubious Battle: Looking Backward.” Pacific Historical Review 2004 73(2): 249-262.
4. Windschuttle, K. “Steinbeck’s Myth of the Okies”. The New Criterion, Vol. 20, No. 10, 2002.
5. Zirakzadeh, C.E. “John Steinbeck on the Political Capacities of Everyday Folk: Moms, Reds, and Ma Joad’s Revolt.” Polity 2004 36(4): 595-618.

Overview

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 Babb’s 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 bowl’s 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 California’s 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.

Introduction

John Steinbeck’s 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 Joad’s 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 Joad’s family, they were compelled to take refuge in Tom’s 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. Rosasharn’s 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 Joad’s 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 Casy’s murder. The Joad’s 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 Joad’s relatives to whom the sympathy of the people will eventually move or change. Like the poor turtle, the Joad’s family will not surrender and both Joad’s 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 dealer’s 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. Pen—keep 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? I’m dry. How about a little snort a good stuff? Come on, while your wife’s lookin’ at that La Salle. You don’t want no La Salle. Bearings shot. Uses too much oil. Got a Lincoln ’24. There’s a car. Run forever. Make her into a truck.” (Steinbeck 30). Both the car dealer’s 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 signs—Used 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 dealer’s 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? Here’s jus’ what you need. Looks shot, but they’s thousan’s of miles in her. Lined up side by side. Good Used Cars. Bargains. Clean, runs good” (Steinbeck 57).

Steinbeck’s 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 adult’s 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 child’s 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 behind—strange 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 reader’s attentions through his writing skills and the way he used sympathy phrases and examples, such as Joad’s 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 Tom’s 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 Tom’s 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 Reverend’s death helps change at least one person, Tom Joad, who becomes an activist.

Ma and Pa Joad

These two characters represent complete opposites, as Tom’s 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 Ma’s 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 Steinbeck’s 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

1. Study guide for John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning; 2015.
2. Steinbeck J. The grapes of wrath. Brantford: W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services Library; 2016.
3. Kaushik M, Atri N. The plight of migrant labor in ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck. GNOSIS. 2016 Oct;3(1): 81-87.
4. Kuelzer L, Houser N. Addressing the living history of oppression and emancipation in American education. J Thought. 2019;38-54.

It is hard to ignore the fact that up until the beginning of the XX century, most of the deeds that the history ended up caring about were men.

For quite long, the role of women was restricted to household and child upbringing; however, in the first decades of the twentieth century, the stereotypical image of a humble housewife seemed to have started wearing out, which a number of the writers like Steinbeck expressed at the time.

Though the emphasis on the social, political and economical changes that gripped the South of the USA in 1930ies, John Ford in his adaptation of Steinbeck’s novel offered the audience completely new images of women and made it clear that women started gaining new social roles. The above-mentioned meant that female characters in literature were no longer the bland housewives or damsels in distress, but original characters with unique personalities.

Ma Joad

First and foremost, Ma Joad must be mentioned. Allowing a character like this on a screen truly heralded the beginning of the feminist era. Even though Ma Joad is portrayed as a typical housewife, she does as much as any male protagonists in the movie. On the one hand, she is a perfect supportive mother who takes care of her family:

Sometimes they do somethin’ to you, Tommy. They hurt you – and you get mad–and then you get mean – and they hurt you again – and you get meaner, and meaner – till you ain’t no boy or no man any more, but just a walkin’ chunk a mean-mad. Did they hurt you like that, Tommy? (The Grapes of Wrath)

On the other hand, she is into the social and political changes that happen to the state. As a matter of fact, at certain point, she summarizes the entire movie, if not the entire era, quite in a nutshell:

Rich fellas come up an’ they die, an’ their kids ain’t no good an’ they die out. But we keep a’comin’. We’re the people that live. They can’t wipe us out; they can’t lick us. We’ll go on forever, Pa, ’cause we’re the people. (The Grapes of Wrath).

Rosasharn

Compared to the previous character, Rose of Sharon, or, as her friends and family call her, Rosasharn, is quite a downgrade. She does have a personality, too, but she comes nowhere near energetic Ma Joad. Instead of being protective like Ma Joad, she whimpers and moans: “Ma… all this, will it hurt the baby?”, while her mother reasons with her: “Now don’t you go gettin’ nimsy-mimsy” (The Grapes of Wrath).

Grandma Joad

Grandma Joad is not given much screen time, unlike Ma or Rosasharn. However, it would be wrong to leave Grandma Joad out of account. According to what the characters who used to know her as she was younger say, she deserves to be mentioned as a female character whose personality was groundbreaking for the American cinematography of the time: “Your granma was a great one, too. The third time she got religion she go it so powerful she knocked down a full-growed deacon with her fist” (The Grapes of Wrath).

It is worth mentioning that, despite a new portrayal of women and establishing their new role in society, the movie still contains the clichés of the time. Even the leading female character, Ma Joad, is pretty much a staple of a typical housewife and the mother of the family. From the given perspective, she can be considered the typical caring mother of the family whose main concerns are her children and her household chores.

However, Ma Joad’s character is much more complex than that. She does possess certain features that were characteristic of female characters of the time, yet she takes actions, makes choices and decisions, which, in turn, makes her a complex and compelling female lead. The features that make Ma Joad somewhat stereotypical serve only to make her real; otherwise, Ma Joad would have lost half of the credibility and likeability that she has.

Finally, Mae, who is given a rather peculiar role in the movie, does not look as strong as Ma Joad or Mrs. Wainwright. Though she has a scene in which she makes a decision, giving children candies “two for a penny” (The Grapes of Wrath), she still does not have that much of personality, since her decision, as well as the rest of her actions are based on what Bert tells her: “Go ahead – Bert says take it” (The Grapes of Wrath).

Another female character in the movie who quite honestly should be considered a solid step back in the development of women perception in literature, is Granma Joad. Apart from the fact that she does or attempts to do little to nothing, she becomes so grief-stricken with the death of her husband that she loses her will to live, which results in her untimely death in the middle of a desert.

At one point, the audience can see her taking responsibilities and acting like a mature person would; however, her religiousness and the tendency only to supply color commentaries brings the significance of her character a few notches down: “Praise the Lord!” (The Grapes of Wrath). Therefore, out of all female characters, Ma Joad seems the most complex, challenging and well-rounded one.

It is essential that she is not portrayed as a completely out-of-epoch feminist and the person who always does the right thing and knows what to say; she has her sad moments, and the moments when she would rather have someone help her: “I dunno what to do. I got to feed the fambly.

What’m I gonna do with these here?” (The Grapes of Wrath). She gets angry, happy, and even irritated, like an everyday person does: “You can’t make us wait!” (The Grapes of Wrath), which altogether makes her a very believable and compelling new character.

Though it would be wrong to say that Ma Joad pulls the role of a self-sufficient woman alone, since there are a couple of other female characters who display similar qualities, Ma Joad definitely leaves the greatest impression. She truly represents a new female character in the American literature, a self-sufficient woman who, while caring about her family, also is socially active and engages into the activities that are typically considered the realm of men.

Apparently, Ford’s, as well as Steinbeck’s, intent was to focus on the social issues that affected the lives of the American farmers on the large scale, i.e., the events that occurred at the time of the Great depression, as well as personal dramas that evolved in this environment. However, together with the aforementioned issues, Steinbeck also touched upon a very peculiar feminist issue. To be more exact, whether he did it intentionally or not, Steinbeck offered the readers a completely new portrayal of women.

It would be a mistake to say that the women that the author depicted did not exist before; nevertheless, Steinbeck was one of the first to notice the tendency for women to try new social roles, and Ford in his adaptation was the first to display, which The Grapes of Wrath should be given credit for.

Works Cited

The Grapes of Wrath. Dir. John Ford. Perf. Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell and John Carradine. 20^th Century Fox, 1940. Film.

The film revolves around Tom Joad, characterized by Henry Fonda. Joad comes back home after serving a jail term. The plot of the story is set up in the great depression. It occurs on the farm known as a dust bowl found in Oklahoma. Joad gets back home to discover the astonishing effects of the depression on every person in the area. He gets to meet the aged preacher known as Casy, a character which was played by John Carradine. The preacher informs him of all that had occurred. The Preacher also goes with him to his left alone homestead. At home, they get one of the neighbors who have for long stayed at the neglected home. It is this neighbor that goes ahead to give more information concerning what has affected the town and all that was initially there. Because the dust winds spoilt the farms, individuals are unable to till the lands in a conservative way.

A new kind of technology is utilized to till the lands. The organization charged with these tasks appears to have put the lands on the mortgage for financing on the required modern farming styles. People have hence lost the land that belonged to them. Joad’s family has not been spared, either forcing them to go to their uncle’s land a short distance away. Her mother is happy about his return. Seemingly, the uncle’s land has suffered the same fate as their land, and they have to move out sooner or later.

The family chooses to head to California. Their grandfather is unwilling, and he even dies of a stroke during the journey. In California, they realize it is also noted the best place to be either according to the words of those living there. The great depression has had a bad effect even on those in California, and it is hard for the family to fend for themselves. The situation forces them to move to camp where Casey is killed after joining a workers union. Tom revenges his death and is forced to run away. Things become so difficult, but he manages to live with them in the camp without being discovered. Difficult situations later force the family to leave the camp in search of better prospects.

The Grapes of Wrath film was produced in 1940 after the publication of a novel with a similar name. The movie talks about one family in Oklahoma that lost its belongings in 1930 due to the Great Depression. The family migrated to California and depended on wages from landowners for survival. In the movie, the family is depicted as one of the struggling families in the United States after the economic crisis of 1930.

The first part of the movie is similar to the novel, but the second part of the film differs greatly with the book. In the book, the author observes that the family could not stick together in the end due to unexplained reasons (Steinbeck 37). The book shows that the chances of Joad’s family living together were minimal because the economic conditions were expected to worsen.

In the movie, the family ended up living peacefully because the government provided necessary help and support. It shows that the ending of the movie and the novel are different. While the author of the novel is pessimistic, the producer of the movie is optimistic about the family. The producer noted that it would be controversial to end the movie in a pessimistic mood.

In the movie, some ugly events, such as the birth of the stillborn baby, are not included. The author noted that Rosasharn gave birth to a stillborn baby, but the baby died after some time.

When the Joad family arrived at the department of agriculture camp, the film shows that the family was received well. There was some optimism that life would be better when the family landed at the camp. In the book, the author does not show any optimism.

In the novel, Joad family is displayed as a greedy family that wishes to land a well paying job whenever it arrives at its destination. The landowners were always in conflicts with workers in the novel because they were unwilling to pay extra wages to workers. Workers were described as reds who wanted to be paid extra wages. Workers wanted to be paid thirty-cents per hour yet landowners were paying them twenty-five.

In other words, workers are displayed in the novel as people who do not consider the hard economic conditions. In the movie, workers are presented as considerate people who were always willing to sacrifice everything to save the economy. In fact, workers resorted to spiritual intervention whenever things were not working as expected (Sobchack 596).

In the movie, some characters are not included. For instance, Ivy and Sairy were never included in the movie yet they attended Grandpa’s burial in the novel. Moreover, the departure of Noah is not shown in the movie. In the book, Floyd explained how workers were taken through torture.

He explained to Tom how workers were suffering in the hands of landowners. In the Movie, Floyd does not feature until the appearance of the deputy in Hooverville. Moreover, the religious extremist (Rose of Sharon) is not shown in the movie. This shows that quit a number of characters are left out in the movie.

The movie and the novel differ in style. While the film uses visual imagery to show the solidness of the Joad’s family, the novel presents the family as a family of man meaning that a different style is employed. The film shows that the family was united and power was distributed equally between a man and a woman. However, the novel shows that man was always the head of the family.

Works Cited

Sobchack, Vivian. “The Grapes of Wrath (1940): Thematic Emphasis through Visual Style”. American Quarterly 31.5 (1979): 596–615. Print.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, 1939. New York: Penguin Classics, 1992. Print.