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In a crisis, a person's true colors emerge. The weak are separated
from the strong and the leaders are separated from the followers. In John
Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family, forced from their
home in Oklahoma, head to California in search of work and prosperity only
to find poverty and despair. As a result of a crisis, Ma Joad emerges as a
controlled, forceful, and selfless authority figure for the family.
Ma Joad exhibits exelent self-control during the sufferings and
frustrations of the Joad's journey. Ma knows that she is the backbone of
the family, and that they will survive only if she remains calm. Ma keeps
her self-control when Ruthie tells some children about Tom's secret. The
family becomes nervous and enraged over the situation, but Ma restores
order by handling the situation in a calm and collected manner. If Ma were
to ever show fear, the family would most likely collapse. For, "Old Tom
and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt
or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the family
will assume everything is all right. Most members of the family openly
express their doubts or fears. Ma may be just as frightened as the rest of
the family, but she always maintains a front for the rest of the family.
When Ma had fears, "She had practiced denying them in herself." This
extraordinary self-control helps to keep the Joad unit together and alive.
Ma, like all leaders, must be forceful for things to work in her
favor. Numerous situations occur in which Ma must be forceful or
relinquish her role as the head of the family. Her forceful leadership
occurs once when the family, without Ma's consent, agrees to leave Tom and
Casey behind to fix the Wilson's car. Ma feels this will break up the
family and uses a jack handle to prove her point. It is at this point Ma
replaces Pa as the official head of the family. Ma's forceful leadership
also surfaces when she threatens a police officer with a frying pan and
when she decides for the family to leave the government camp. In both
situations Ma must use force to achieve her objectives; in both situations,
she emerges victorious. Eventually, Pa becomes angered because of his loss
of power to a woman and says in frustration, "Seems like times is changed.
lied to an inspector telling him, "We got a sick ol' lady. We got to get her to
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.
“’Let ‘em come,’ she said. ‘We got a-plenty.’” (Steinbeck 73). Although short, this quote is a strong statement of Ma Joad’s attitude and strength as a leader to accept people and keep them together because they really did not have plenty, but she was willing to take new people in regardless.
There are numerous symbols in The Grapes of Wrath that through analysis provide additional levels of insight and understanding into the novel. These symbols enhance the reader’s overall experience and provide a deeper meaning to the novel. They encourage readers to look beyond the surface to identify parallels in the text that foreshadow future events or represent certain ideas that the author is trying to stress. One of the major symbols of the entire book, is Tom himself. He represents the mental attitude experienced by the migrant families throughout the book. Tom accurately represents the hope burning inside of every migrant. As we learn about Tom throughout the novel, we come to know of the murder that he committed. Although it may not have been completely intentional, he is still forced to abandon his family. When he reunites with his family, he is immediately accepted back into their family, and he joins them as they begin to embark on their journey to California. He is with them every step of the way to California on Route 66 and constantly encourages them to persevere even through the difficult times. While in California, history is repeated, and Tom kills yet another man out of anger. He is forced to hide away and is of no use to the family anymore as he can no longer work. Later, he is forced to abandon his family yet again. This all directly correlates to the hope found in every migrant. It all began in Oklahoma, where hope hurt farmers during the Dust Bowl. After the hope had hurt them, it abandoned them. A quote in Chapter 1 of The Grapes of Wrath represents this, “The children stood near by, drawing figures in the dust with bare toes, and the children sent exploring sense out to see whether men and women would break...
Women are known for as holding families together. When times get rough women are the foundation to the family and help keep things together. A woman poses different qualities that can help keep the family strong. These qualities can be categorized in the four archetypes of a woman. The idea of the woman Archetype is presented by Carl Jung. The first being Mother Nature, the very physical aspect and the second is the virgin, which represents the spiritual aspect of the archetype. The third is the young which who is the physical state while the fourth is the old witch possessing the spiritual side of the woman archetype. The four women in John Steinbecks, The Grapes of Wrath represent these four archetypes and take on responsibilities that in the end help the family succeeds in achieving their dreams.
time. The best way to go about doing this was to focus on one of the two things
The Strength of Unity A sense of community was a necessity for many Americans during the era of the Great Depression. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other catastrophes, many were forced to relocate elsewhere in attempt to survive. The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the importance of unity during privation through the idea that members of society must work in unison to achieve a common goal. Steinbeck demonstrates this theme through multiple aspects in the book.
It is highly believed by individuals that discrimination in the U.S. has dramatically changed since the 1900s. Blacks were once discriminated against via Jim Crow laws. Today, black Americans have gained the right to eat at public lunch counters, vote, ride public buses, and attend public schools. While the...
Even as a child, Thelma Lucille Sayles, or Lucille Clifton, realized how notable African Americans were. However, throughout her lifetime, Clifton has encountered discrimination against her race on multiple occasions, but her poetry, for both adults and children, show resilience against any racist remarks made. With a heavy influence from growing up in an African-American household and experiencing the Civil Rights Movement, Lucille Clifton’s writings focus on the importance of African Americans, especially women, in communities (Hine 1-3).
As the Joad family faces the same trials that the turtle faces, and as the desperate farmers have to deal with car dealerships, the intercalary chapters help to set the tone of, as well as integrate the various themes of The
Wuthering Heights is a classic in which Emily Bronte presents two opposite settings using the country setting. Country settings are often used as a place of virtue and peace or of ignorance and one of primitivism as believed by many city dwellers. But, in the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte has used Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights to depict isolation and separation. Wuthering Heights setting is wild, passionate, and strong and Thrushcross Grange and its inhabitants are calm, harshly strict, and refined and these two opposite forces struggle throughout the novel.
The setting used throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, helps to set the mood to describe the characters. We find two households separated by the cold, muddy, and barren moors, one by the name of Wuthering Heights, and the other Thrushcross Grange. Each house stands alone, in the mist of the dreary land, and the atmosphere creates a mood of isolation. These two places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange differ greatly in appearance and mood. These differences reflect the universal conflict between storm and calm that Emily Bronte develops as the theme.
Wuthering Heights is a symbol of the distinctive commotion, which is the overriding force in Bronte’s novel. A force that will damage, twist and harm anyone that comes across it. The actual meaning of the word ‘wuthering’ is a wind blowing strongly with a roaring sound. This picture serves as a metaphor that people, money, emotions, love etc… will be in jeopardy if not hold tight. Above all, this novel is obviously about love, a different and odd love. Emotions and love in this novel turn out to be very violent, brutal and ruthless just like wuthering.
Varghese, Dr. Lata Marina. "Stylistic Analysis of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights." IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science 2.5 (2012): 46-50. Print.
This novel is set in the open moors of England, where Bronte grew up. Nelly Dean, the narrator, describes the setting when she and young Cathy go for a walk, ""Climb to that hillock, pass that bank, and by the time you reach the other side, I shall have raised the birds." But there were so many hillocks and banks to climb and pass, that, at length, I began to be weary...she dived into a hollow; and before I came in sight of her again, she was two miles nearer Wuthering Heights than her own home" (WH 163). Nelly Dean is a young middle-aged woman who is accustomed to physical labor, and her description of the moors help the reader realize the vastness of the scenery.