The Grapes of Wrath Essays

The Grapes of Wrath was a depiction of life in the Great Depression, specifically in the areas the Dust Bowl affected. The Joad family represents the “Okies”, which were people who went west looking for jobs. They also showcase the unfortunate events that happened to millions of people during the Great Depression. The Joad’s land was taken away/plowed over by superintendent and the land agents. After the destruction of their home and land they head west, to California, in search of jobs. With the Californians only using the Okies for cheap labor and giving them poor living conditions, they didn’t receive the best reputation. The Californians were rude to the Okies and treating them how they did is because the Okies were taking their jobs and

The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, has many parallel or recurring events throughout the novel, five of the major repeated themes would include the references to the Bible and Jesus Christ, the continuous praising of socialism, the changes that Ma goes through on the trip, and the changing definition of 'family' on the trip to and in California.

The cold, soaked earth, which was a source of life not too long ago, abducts a young child while the mother can only watch hopelessly as the husband shovels mounds of dirt. This event is not too different than most that citizens living during the Dust Bowl had to deal with. The self-destructive nature caused the American people to keep expanding and shaping the land as they saw fit. Because of this they overworked the land which, combined with drought, caused the Dust Bowl. The big corporations soon bought out most of the land in the Mid-West and many families were soon forced to make their living by other means. The shift of these families out west to a limited number of jobs

Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, many concepts appear that were noted in How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. However, the three chapters of Foster’s how-to guide that most apply to Steinbeck’s novel were “It’s All About Sex…,” “Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not),” and “It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow.” On more than one occasion these concepts are hidden within the book, and two of them actually seem somewhat linked together. After reading between the lines, The Grapes of Wrath has an extremely intricate plot and many ulterior meanings. Foster’s book helps to solve these meanings and make it so that the novel can be completely understood.

One would say that on a literal level The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is about the Joad family's journey to California during The Dust Bowl. However, it is also about the unity of a family and the concept of birth and death, both literal and abstract. Along with this, the idea of a family unit is explored through these births and deaths.

The Grapes of Wrath portrays life at its darkest.  It is the story of migrant workers and the hardships and heartbreaks that they experience as they are driven from their land - the land that  they have lived on for generations - so the banks can make a profit.

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, takes place during the Great Depression, a time when troubled and distressed American men and women lived; a time of poverty and an economic crisis. When change is thought upon, it is to be thought of new life and new experiences. The Great Depression is the kind of change that replaces a part of American living with “ Somepin’s happening. I went up an’ I looked, an’ the houses is all empty, an’ the lan’ is empty, an’ this whole country is empty” ( Steinbeck 94). In his work, Steinbeck presents the hardships that Americans had to go through by being mindful of particular aspects which makes the reader understand the characters’ distress. For example, the landscape of the farm lands. Even though the land has its brutality, it grows to be the scenery for humans to be able to recognize and consider their troubles about work and life in general. With these concerns, there are differences between the people who are accustomed to the landscape and admire it, and those who do not agree with it. In the novel, Steinbeck uses attributes of class conflict and injustice as a way of presenting and socially commenting that the Great Depression brought attention to more problems beyond the idea of poverty.

     The book, Grapes of Wrath, follows the life of the Joad family, who live in Oklahoma during the Depression. The story begins with the return of Tom Joad from prison, where he has spent the last few years. He killed a boy in a bar fight and is now on parole. He is taken by surprise when he returns to Oklahoma only to find that his house is in ruins and his family is not there. He doesn’t know that, while he was gone, the banks forced his family and thousands of others off their land. Tom is accompanied by a former priest, Casey, who searches with Tom for his family. Tom and Casey find the Joad family at Tom’s uncle’s house. The family is preparing to move west to California in hopes that they

The Wrath of the Great Depression The Great Depression had cause the nation to change, and the theme behind the story of the “Grapes of Wrath”. John Steinbeck, an American author, wrote a story about the families during the Great Depression. The theme of the story behind it contains: family, wrath, community, and etc. The families of the “Grapes of Wrath” had suffered and went through a lot of troubles just to survive another day.

Next comes the historical aspect of “The Grapes of Wrath fits right in for the time period it was written in. the 1930`s, right in the middle of the dust bowl and the great depression. The drought ruined the crops in Oklahoma. This worsened the economic situation in the United States causing them to migrate to find new sources of income. The depression and the dust bowl both lead the Joads to moving to California. They moved to California because there wasn’t such a big drought there, so that more people could have more jobs in

Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the United States of America is known as a capitalist society. This is a society in which capitalism behavior results in the sole objective of manufacturing capital. Though this is advantageous to the ones making the money, the most destruction is recognized in the lower class where each week’s pay is how the families sustain. The novel, The Grapes of Wrath reveals the story of the Joad family traveling to California during the Dust Bowl searching for labor. The concept of how they are able to overcome the challenges presented, as well as the effect that the capitalist ideals comprised on society’s people are presented within the novel. This contrast shows that the upper-class is not able to put the blame for events that occur throughout the story in the lower class on any sole event or person. This results in the frustration of many “Okies” who have their farms taken away from them as well as any decent paying job. For the duration of the novel, the wealth of individuals is valued more greatly than the expense of human decency or lives.

In John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, the hardships of the Great Depression lead the Californians and the Okies to treat each other kindly or harshly, based on their own concerns of the future. Social criticism and class conflict are primary themes in this novel because of the unjust treatment the Californians give to the Okies throughout the story, but this is not the only relationship Steinbeck focuses on. He also writes and explains the relationship among the Okies. Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, where a part of this novel takes place, and Steinbeck uses his experience of working as a hired ranch hand during the Great Depression in the novel. The foundation of The Grapes of Wrath are the problems and tragedies that the Great Depression brings to the Okies.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck uses numerous literary techniques to advocate for change in the social and political attitudes of the Dust Bowl era. Simile, personification, and imagery are among the many devices that add to the novel’s ability to influence the audience’s views. Moreover, through his use of detail, Steinbeck is able to develop a strong bond between the reader and the Joad clan. This bond that is created evokes empathy from the audience towards the Joads as they face numerous challenges along their journey. The chapters go between the Joad’s story and a broad perspective of the Dust Bowl’s effect on the lives of Mid-western farmers in which Steinbeck illustrates dust storms devastating the land, banks evicting tenant

“At the heart of every immigrant’s experience is a dream- a vision of hope that is embodied in his or her destination” (Gladstein 685). In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath the migrants imagined the absolute aspects of living care free to the west. However, everything changed once they traveled to the west, realizing the simple concept turned into hazardous problems. John Steinback emphasized the American dream of economic stability and truculent situations towards the Joads family's point of view. Throughout the immigration, the Joads family goes through constant and unpredictable changes in employment, and their eventual failure to find success in California. The novel has been called by critics "a celebration of the human spirit", in several ways it is true due to the aspects of human nature. Despite the hazardous actions people can do, it is important to realize everything around us.

Throughout the book, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the physical transition of the Joad family from a small close-knit group of people living a quiet life on a farm in Oklahoma, corresponds with the internal transition of the concept of family. As the Joads leave their farm and journey westward, they no longer live just within their own isolated unit. Becoming involved with other families as they migrate, changes their focus and by the end of the book, the family members each reach out in their own way to embrace all of mankind as a family.