Portrait of Fear in The Grapes of Wrath
Steinbeck shows throughout The Grapes of Wrath that mankind is afraid of failure. Although that fear is present in both the desperate migrant workers and the big, ruthless land owners, Steinbeck uses Al Joad's character to his full advantage t model this characteristic of man. Al's personal fear of failure motivates him to do well in life in comparison to his male role models, as well as to help support the family. This is conveyed through Al's sense of responsibility to his family, his careful nature, and his moody and defensive behavior.
Al's sense of responsibility to his family is a major element in his determination not to fail. His knowledge and operation of automobiles are Al's major contribution to the family: "He might be a musking goat sometimes, but this was his responsibility, this truck, its running, and its maintenance...And everyone respected him and his responsibility" (Steinbeck, pages 131 and 132). Al not only helps the family succeed in getting to California by taking on this responsibility, he also makes up for other areas of his character in which he feels he is failing or lacking. Such an area of character might be his apathy towards letting his family know his whereabouts when he disappears for days at a time in Oklahoma.
Al's careful nature is another obvious sign that he does not want to fail. He feels that precaution is the only way to prevent something from going wrong and ultimately failing. This is visible in his meticulous care of the truck: "Al grew tense over the wheel. A little rattle had developed in the engine. He speeded up and the rattle increased...Al blew his horn and pulled the car to the side of the road" (page 225). Al's care, though obvious only in that of the truck, definitely suggests that should he fail to properly maintain the truck, he would fail himself and his family as well. To offset such an event, Al constantly watches for and prevents any possible problems with the truck.
Al's moody and defensive behavior is also a strong example of his resolution not to fail. Although his attitude could be attributed to adolescent arrogance, one who examines Al's character can see that he has more pressure placed upon him than most of the other members of the family.
When times get tough, many people turn away from everyone and everything. It must be part of human nature to adopt an independent attitude when faced with troubles. It is understandable because most people do not want to trouble their loved ones when they are going through problems, so it is easier to turn away than stick together. Maybe their family is going through a rough patch and they reason they would be better off on their own. This path of independence and solitude may not always be the best option for them or their family, though. Often times it is more beneficial for everyone to work through the problem together. It is not always the easiest or most desirable option, but most times it is the most efficient and it will get results in the long run. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck makes this point very clear through several characters. Many characters throughout
I was able to relate to when Jessie said that borders are symbols of the divisions we make of each other. These borders are made up by people to keep each other apart from one another. Whether it is for social, economic, or cultural reasons, the division remains. As Brooke pointed out, these borders prevent freedoms and deny opportunities.
Steinbeck's relationship to the transcendentalists [Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman] was pointed out soon after The Grapes of Wrath appeared by Frederick I. Carpenter, and as the thirties fade into history, Jim Casy with his idea of the holiness of all men and the unreality of sin seems less a product of his own narrowly doctrinaire age than a latter-day wanderer from the green village of Concord to the dry plains of the West.
Individuals are prone to fear regardless of whether it relates to something as minute as choosing between clothes, or it can be something life altering, such as making a bold decision to leave home in search of a better life. In the memoir, “The Iron Road”, Al Purdy describes his fear as it relates to his future in his younger days. Al Purdy describes his life when he was just a seventeen year old boy wanting to leave home in search of a Job. He was quick in his decision to leave his parents, rather judicially so in terms of his confidence to climb aboard a train without the consent of his parents. The reader can feel sympathetic for a teen who is unaware of the potential hardships of life, when
The Airplane was first invented in 1903; it amazed everyone but never really took off because of how dangerous it still was. They used planes in WWI but they threw them aside. After WWI (around mid 1920’s) the Federal Government had the idea of airmail. This was readily accepted; instead of receiving mail in two weeks it would only take a couple of days. Soon after this, transporting people quickly caught on although only the upper-class people could afford it, it soon became accessible to almost everyone. (Inventions: Airplane)
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is considered a classic novel by many in the literary field. The trials and tribulations of the Joad family and other migrants is told throughout this novel. In order to gain a perspective into the lives of "Oakies", Steinbeck uses themes and language of the troubling times of the Great Depression. Some of these aspects are critiqued because of their vulgarity and adult nature. In some places, The Grapes of Wrath has been edited or banned. These challenges undermine Steinbeck's attempts to add reality to the novel and are unjustified.
In addition, fearing the experience of failure enables us to feel vulnerable but vulnerability is the birth place of innovation, creativity, and change. Failure takes a hold of most people but regularly do they see it as a chance to learn and react. They step aside from the lessons that they play and give up. But in The Alchemist “The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.” (Coelho 11)In the end he felt fully elated and feeling alive brings birth to his adventure and a path to succeeding his personal legend. In an interview with my uncle, German, he talks about the fear of failure but most of all what comes from the acceptance of fear. Born in Mexico, the expectations from his parents where diminished to what
...al is the fact that Johnny always carries a knife when he is out. The reason being is that once, he got jumped by a group of socs. That day, Johnny swore to always have a pocket knife on him. This is his way to survive. Greasers and Socs have a huge rivalry between each other. Thus putting the greasers in danger because the Socs are always picking fights with them.If you need another example of survival, you can just look on page 71. After Johnny kills a Soc at a park, he and Ponyboy had to run away in order to not get caught by the cops or the fuzz as they call it. The boys find a church to sleep in for the night. They would figure out what to do in the morning. They cut and dye their hair in order not to be identified. As you already probably know, they dyed their hair because of survival. If they wanted to survive, they knew they would have to disguise themselves.
With flu and cold season just around the corner, school age kids are at higher risk for contracting this all too common viral infection. One of the main reasons, children visits their doctors or stay home from school is related to Rhinovirus, Influenza virus and Group B streptococcal infections (Johns Hopkins Medicine).
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
He first discussed the incident at Woolworth’s with his mother. She was disappointed with Al and scolded him for trying to steal the hammer. Al’s mother’s poor language skills prevented her from expressing her feelings and helping Al resolve his problem. Instead, she offered Al money to buy the hammer. Frustrated and dissatisfied by his mother’s response, Al told her he didn’t need the hammer and walked away.
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To understand the effects of the breakdown of the family structure, we must first observe the consequences in economic terms. In an article titled “Family Breakdown and Poverty”, the authors highlighted the consequences of family breakdown by