Observations on The Grapes of Wrath

867 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Grapes of wrath poverty essay

Observations on The Grapes of Wrath

As you approach your home, you realize the empty barn and the crooked house sagging close to the barren ground. A closer view unveils an empty, dried up well, an emaciated cat limping past the caved in porch, a tree with "leaves tattered and scraggly as a molting chicken" (23), a stack of rotting untouched lumber and cracked, jagged window panes reflecting the desolate land abroad. This description portrays the Joad family's home suffering from abandonment when they leave their country home life for better opportunities in the west. Steinbeck portrays the plight of the migrant Joad family from Oklahoma to California in search of a better life during the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath.

As the strong-headed, independent and protagonistic Tom Joad heads toward the country to finally reunite with his family after serving four years in prison, he meets the preaching character, Jim Casy (ironically having the same initials as Jesus Christ). They both unfortunately observe how the horrific effects of a dust bowl during the depression impact the average hard working family. The Joad family prepares for the difficult journey across the country to the "promised" land where ignorance leads the Joad family to search for the American dream in the long lost land of California. Problems transpire contiguously as Grama and Grampa Joad die, their vehicle breaks down, money becomes a non-existant necessity, Tom gets into trouble after killing Casy's murderer, and the sickly, whiny daughter, Rose of Sharon, gives birth to a dead baby because of malnutrition. Grama and Grampa Joad cannot endure the difficult journey in the beginning, hence, at their old age, rot away ...

... middle of paper ...

...s "disciple" by representing Jim when he killed his murderer. His belief in transcendentalism (holiness and divinity of every man) is expressed through Jim Casy because Casy represents all good that Steinbeck wishes will exist in mankind, preaching and trying to solve problems. If Steinbeck could change society, he would make people more like Jim Casy.

The main antagonist in the novel is the government; obviously, the Joad family doesn't overcome this obstacle, but somehow learn to live with the difficulties transposed upon them. As a result, Steinbeck does not see an immediate answer to the problems that the government and rich people put upon the ordinary man, or the ending to his novel would present somewhat of a solution rather than a settlement. He hopes to educate and persuade the reader about the evils of "some rich bastard" (48) and the "damn govamen" (63).

Show More
Related

  • By What Means Does Calderón Structure His Play in Terms of Action, Text and Spectacle?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fundamental to our understanding of El Médico de su Honra, and of any other play is the notion that it was for performance and not intended for reading. Therefore, the action, text and spectacle all work together in producing an overall effect upon the audience. Calderón is described as a `craftsman' of drama and is famous for the dramatic devices which appeal to the various senses in order to convey the play's message with greater profundity. However, the seventeenth century playwright was limited by the facilities available to him. The rudimentary nature of their theatres affected the way in which a play was staged and therefore its interpretation. Public theatres were situated in courtyards, or `corrales', surrounded on three sides by private dwellings. A basic, but nevertheless important point is that theatres were generally exposed to the elements. By necessity, plays were performed during daylight hours and inevitably this would affect the presentation of the play. Atmosphere and mood were of paramount importance in a play, and this is of particular significance in El Médico de su Honra, where darkness is crucial both to the plot and the underlying themes.

    Read More

  • Lafaye's Summary: The Syncretic History Of New Spain

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lafaye sets the stage of his story by putting New Spain into context Lafaye emphasizes the peculiar nature of New Spain and its intricacies with in that society. Lafaye presents New Spain not as an intermediate between Indian Mexico and modern Mexico, but rather as transitional period that changed the composition of that society. The author cites the myths of Quetzalcoatl and Guadalupe as one of the most complex and original creations to come out of that period. The development of syncretic myth making according Lafaye to offered an answer to the question of the origins of an orphaned people. These new myths also are telling of a search for legitimacy in Mexican

    Read More

  • Jim Casey as a Christ Figure in The Grapes of Wrath

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters' individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the Great Depression era. One such character is that of Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend of the Joads. In this story, Casey represents a latter-day Christ figure who longs to bring religious stability to the burgeon of migrant families facing West.

    Read More

  • Blance Varela's Writing Style

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    Blanca Varela receives several prestigious awards as a result of her work being considered as surrealistic and radical, a recurring hem with many poets from Peru at the time. It is this unique form of expression that earns her the exposure making her one of the leading voices of Lain America. The style in which she writers offers both a literal message to be read and comprehended easily, as well as, a figurative message which can imply a number of different things. Moreover, she paints specific pictures to help the reader truly conceptualize what she is trying to say. “Secreto de Familia” or “Family Secret” by Blanca Varela demonstrates her use of several meaningful and insightful poetic elements in order to voice an opinion or convey a message she has.

    Read More

  • Don Quixote Essay

    1306 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first part of Don Quixote was published in 1605 to wild success. In 2005, Don Quixote was declared, after a diligent and meticulous review by literary scholars (or so I’ve been assured), to be the novel of the second millennium—the quintessential novel, that is. In the intervening 400 years, critical and mass reception to Cervantes’s work has taken a journey nearly as wild as Quixote’s. What began as a humble work of slapstick humor has become, in most eyes, a complex social and psychological exposé. The critical progression hasn’t, however, been an entirely smooth one: readers struggle to reconcile the loony, farcical Quixote of yore with the virtuous, audacious, and Romantic Quixote of today. Cervantes forces readers to grapple with his multifarious character. He poses the question, “Is Don Quixote mad or simply at odds with society?” Are we meant to take things at face value and commit Quixote to an asylum or ought we—with Dickenson’s counsel that “Much madness is divinest sense / To a discerning eye” in mind—reconsider? Ultimately, the work’s greatness is to found in these questions. Is Don Quixote sporting a helmet or shaving basin on his head? Perhaps, as Sancho suggests, Quixote is wearing a “basihelm”. The “basihelm” approach is a poetic reconciliation between appearance and reality; it’s a syncretic compromise that perfectly captures the interplay between what is perceived and what is. In light of Sancho’s “basihelm”, it may be sensible to see Don Quixote as a “foolhero”. The rich social and psychological topics at the core of the work are an integral part of Don Quixote’s legacy. That legacy has rightfully earned the work its acclaim and its position as the novel of the millennium.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Diles Que No Me Maten By Juan Rulfo

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    it is unmistakable that life situations inspired Juan Rulfo to write this story. He like no other person had a greater understanding of how to portray the theme of family especially missing a father as a role model, death, survival and revenge. Moreover, through the use of local Mexican language it furthermore developed the society in which peasants had to live during the post-revolution. Additionally Juan Rulfo tries to add all five senses in the story forming magical realism and a vivid picture that the readers can understand. Overall, the readers learn a lot about peasant’s approach to life after revolution that the main drive was

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Ultima

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author connects Antonio’s anxieties about change in his life to the culture in which he lives. Ultima’s intrusion into Antonio’s life marks a crazy time of change for Antonio. Anaya reiterates Antonio’s position on the threshold of change by showing his nerves about beginning school, moving away from his mother, and facing his unusual future. The vaquero lifestyle preferred by his father renews the values of freedom, independence and mobility, all of which are rules in the vaqueros’ love of the llano. The Luna family lifestyle preferred by Antonio’s mother, but emphasizes family and productivity,

    Read More

  • Dom Casmurro Character Analysis

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machado De assis begins the novel by introducing the main character, Dom Casmurro, a solitary man who enjoys his own company.He paints a back story as to how the character came to merit his Nickname and shows how others his community view him. The author illustrates the seemingly solitary life of the main character through, the dull structure, the awkward language and the one sided description of the protagonist.

    Read More

  • Transformations In John Steinbeck's Grapes Of Wrath

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tom Joad is an ex-convict that was only into his own self-interest and lived by a mantra of live your life day by day and not concerned with the future, to becoming a man who thinks about the future and someone with morals and an obligation to help others. Ma Joad is a typical woman of the early 1900’s whose main role was a mother only with a role of caring and nurturing. Later in the novel, she becomes an important figure for the family and is responsible for making decisions in keeping the family together and emphasizes the importance of unity. Another important transition in the book is the family starting off as a single close knit unit to depending on other families to survive. This common interest and struggle bonded the community of individual families to a single one. Steinbeck wrote this novel very well, by having great character dynamics and development that displays the characters strengths and also their

    Read More

  • Modern Frost

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...n himself (13-14, 16). Perhaps, as this is the earlier of the two poems, Frost had not yet worked out the conditions and paths one must meet in order to find an inner peace.

    Read More

  • Soto's Black Hair

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    Soto’s “Black Hair” is a perfect example of a poem that is effective through close analysis of certain concrete images which hold the key to the foundation of the poem and its underlying themes. In this poem, the universal themes of family and culture are hidden under the figure of Hector Moreno, the image of the narrator’s hair, as well as the extended baseball metaphor about culture. Although the title may seem ordinary at first glance, the challenge that the poem presents through its connection of concrete images and themes is very intriguing, and the themes are made clear through the effective use of certain poetic elements.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Minor Characters in The Grapes of Wrath

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, a fictitious migrant family, the Joads, travel west in search of a new life away from the tragedies of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma.  Along the way, Steinbeck adds a variety of minor characters with whom the Joads interact.  Steinbeck created these minor characters to contrast with the Joad’s strong will power and to reflect man’s fear of new challenges, and to identify man’s resistance to change.  Three minor characters who fulfill this role are Muley Graves, Connie Rivers, and the tractor driver.

    Read More

  • Analizando El Poema Desde el Puente Martin Peña de Julia de Burgos

    2595 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...contrastes. A pesar de que presentan una diferencia de casi sesenta años respecto de sus fechas de publicación, los temas centrales que abordan son prácticamente los mismos: la representación de la pobreza y marginación de los sectores urbanos capitalinos, las luchas por la preservación de las comunidades del Caño, la división de clases y espacios, el anhelo por tener una mejor calidad de vida, la resistencia al sistema capitalista, entre otros. El poema de Julia de Burgos muestra un espacio olvidado por la Historia y la literatura, con el propósito de indagar sobre el mundo social y realizar una crítica a los sistemas que lo oprimen. Más aún, se adentra a una problemática que hoy todavía existe, por tanto, su poema mantiene la misma vigencia y pertinencia que tenía cuando fue escrito. Y aquí radica la importancia, no solo de dicho poema, sino de su obra en general.

    Read More

  • Is Fate In The Aeneid

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through all the peril that Aeneas and the Trojans face on their journey to Italy, they still make it because it is fate. In Book 3, after

    Read More

  • Análisis de El Ángel Exterminador

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Su cine surrealista, original y simbólico abordó varios géneros y subgéneros como son las farsas, sátiras, comedias negras, dramas de corte neorrealista o melodramas. Otra de sus características es que enfocaba sus flechas mas críticas en el catolicismo y la burguesía lo que se ve constantemente reflejado en la obra “El angel exterminador”.

    Read More

More about Observations on The Grapes of Wrath

Open Document