The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck illustrates an Oklahoma family that is driven off of their farm and joins the migration to California in the hopes of finding a new home and jobs. The main character, Tom Joad, is the eldest brother of the family who has spent the last four years in jail for committing murder and has just been released on parole. Tom’s journey to California sparks his progress of character development, and this process is very similar to a bildungsroman or a coming-of-age novel. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary a bildungsroman is “a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character,” and by this definition The Grapes of Wrath is a bildungsroman because one of the many aspects of the novel is …show more content…
A few characteristics of a bildungsroman are there being a specific event that puts the character on the path of maturation, the character faces many obstacles on the journey, and there is a moment where everything seems to snap into place for the character; and one can easily find all of these characteristics in The Grapes of Wrath. Furthermore, the Joads’ decision to travel to California was the inciting incident that put Tom on the path of maturation because the events that occur on this journey morph the way Tom thinks. Just as a bildungsroman, Tom also has to face many obstacles on this journey to maturation, which include the deaths of his grandfather and grandmother, the parting of his brother Noah, and the death of his mentor Casy. In addition, arguably the most important out of the three characteristics is also included in the novel, which is the moment where everything clicks for the character. This occurs for Tom when he is hiding in the wilderness and finally understands what Casy has been talking about all along, which changes his outlook on the world. All of these characteristics are the building steps for Tom’s moral development throughout the novel and they make the story similar to a
In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family and the changing world in which they live is portrayed from a naturalistic point of view. Steinbeck characterizes the Joads and their fellow migrants as simple, instinct-bound creatures who are on an endless search for paradise (Owens 129). The migrants and the powers which force them to make their journey--nature and society--are frequently represented by animals. The Joads, when they initially leave home, are a group of simplistic, animal-like people who barely understand or even realize their plight, but as the story progresses, they begin to grow and adapt to their new circumstances. They evolve from a small, insignificant group of creatures with no societal consciousness into a single member of a much larger family--society.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck had many comparisons from the movie and the book. In 1939, this story was to have some of the readers against the ones that kept the American people in poverty held responsible for their actions. This unique story was about the Joad’s family, who were migrant workers looking for a good decent job. They were also farmers from Oklahoma that are now striving to find some good work and success for their family in California. This novel was one of Steinbeck’s best work he has ever done. It was in fact an Academy Award movie in 1940. Both the movie and the novel are one of Steinbeck’s greatest masterpieces on both the filmmaking and the novel writing. Both the novel and film are mainly the same in the beginning of the story and towards the end. There were some few main points that Steinbeck took out from the book and didn’t mention them in the movie. “The Grapes of Wrath is a
Character arcs, a primary method of keeping the reader’s emotions tied to the novel and its characters in order to maintain their interest. This method of character development is often implored by writers such as John Steinbeck; this can be observed in his novel The Grapes Of Wrath. An example of such a character arc is Tom Joad’s spiritual and emotional development, as he gradually becomes Jim Casy’s spiritual heir and student. Fully understanding this dramatic development is started by one analyzing three different stages that Tom undergoes throughout his life; starting with his philosophy and actions as a young child, when he finally meets Jim Casy and the acceptance of the new way of thinking, concluded by when he decides to act on the
We live in a time where gender equality is almost a reality. Women can do many of the same jobs men can do and in single families or in times of need take a patriarchal role in their family or the workplace. This is exactly what happened in The Grapes of Wrath, when Ma had to slowly take control over her family and progressively lead the Joads out of their own familial depression. The role of women and their status within the book is elastic throughout the novel and breaks the common convention at the time. As a reader, we see Ma Joad often assume a male role, and we see Tom Joad display a more traditionally feminine role as time progresses in the story. The novel complicates its own understanding of women and men in 1930’s America and changes definitions of gender roles and female character in the novel and in life.
Grapes of Wrath. In the beginning of the novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads are faced with the challenge of traveling Route 66 all the way to California. This is their solution to being tractored off their land and having no way to support the large family. This challenge is similar to the depression of 1929, when many people lost their jobs, homes, and their whole lives.
Tom Joad from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath is a prime example of a person whose morals and spiritual growth cannot be restricted by the law or any other limiting factor for long. Throughout the novel he develops from a man only interested in his own independent personal desires and needs to one who is devoted to his family and sacrifices his own personal comfort for the benefit of the family. At the novel's end Tom is continuing Jim Casy's generous work of uniting the poor hand laborers against the rich oppressive landowners who are starving the poor with low wages. Tom's concept of family grows with his work uniting the poor to encompass all of humanity.
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck the author uses excessive profanity, religion, and migrants to show the hard times family’s had to go through in the 1930’s. Most people believe that Steinbeck novel is too inappropriate for high school students because of its content. This novel should be banned from the high school curriculum.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel written by John Steinbeck, which focuses on an Oklahoman family that is evicted from their farm during an era of depression caused by the Dust Bowl. The Joad family alongside thousands of other refugees (also affected by the dirty thirties) migrates west towards California seeking employment and a new home. John Steinbeck’s purpose for writing this novel was to inform his audience of how many of their fellow Americans were being mistreated and of the tribulations they faced in order to attain regain what they once had. As a result, The Grapes of Wrath triggered its audience’s sympathy for the plight of the Dust Bowl farmers and their families.
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.
The Grapes of Wrath displays one of America’s greatest stumbles during the establishment of our country. The story follows a family hit with the struggles of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Drought, economic hardship, agricultural changes, and bank foreclosures rip the Joads from the quaint town of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, forcing them to take the dreadful journey across the country. Nevertheless, the Joads drag their feet along the trodden path, dragged on by an unassured perseverance. The Joads were driven by a burning fire of desperation, grounded by the hope promised by orange handbills laden with the deceitful lies of the rapacious. For the hopeless seek hope, an elusive destiny sated by lying promises. Steinbeck’s unique style of writing inculcates an abortive hope in the minds of the readers, instilling a lust for the untouched and unloved land which in turn reveals the impossibility of the “American Dream”; through complex symbols and innovative themes, Steinbeck also educates the ignorant, blinded by the vague history books that blot out the full intensity of the calamities and suffering endured by hopeful Okies on their treacherous journey into the unknown.
John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most influential books in American History, and is considered to be his best work by many. It tells the story of one family’s hardship during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The Joads were a hard-working family with a strong sense of togetherness and morals; they farmed their land and went about their business without bothering anyone. When the big drought came it forced them to sell the land they had lived on since before anyone can remember. Their oldest son, Tom, has been in jail the past four years and returns to find his childhood home abandoned. He learns his family has moved in with his uncle John and decides to travel a short distance to see them. He arrives only to learn they are packing up their belongings and moving to California, someplace where there is a promise of work and food. This sets the Joad family off on a long and arduous journey with one goal: to survive.
The Grapes of Wrath was a book written by John Steinbeck and portrayed life during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. It followed a family of Oklahoma tenant farmers as they traveled westward to California while undergoing dark and gruesome circumstances. One theme in this story is altruism and another is the greed of the banks. Though these two themes heavily contrast, the migrants in this story understood in order to survive they would need to help each other out. Steinbeck really puts these two themes against each other, but he also shows how altruism can keep you going in a time of need.
Tom is good natured and deals with what life throws at him, during the long trip towards work the family has realized the can count on Tom to help protect them. His past isn't going to define his future or change the way he feels about his family. As they arrive to California they get the devastating news that work is sparse and many people are dying of starvation, including Grampa who dies of a stroke. When the major change of losing a family member Tom realizes that life can be gone faster than you think and you see him changing into a more considerate person and a more sentimental person towards others. After they have buried Grampa, Tom comes across a “one eyed mechanic” who he helps fix his touring car. An act that he would probably never do in his past. Steinbeck shows Toms development into a more considerate person as the book
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.
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty of the land owners that take advantage of them, their poverty and willingness to work.