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The grapes of wrath the struggles
The grapes of wrath the struggles
The grapes of wrath the struggles
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In the Grapes Of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, Tom Joad is faced with endless hardships that plague him his family and all the people from the Great Plains. Tom is faced with endless adversity whether it’s that he can’t find his family or the lack of work in California he refuses to give in. Tom is strong through out because he realizes that things are bad, but you have to keep fighting and giving up is not a option. The main way to fight back against the adversity is presence of family and friends. Tom says that “But I now know a fella aint no good alone”(418). By the end of the novel Tom realizes that you couldn’t go through this experience alone. You needed each other weather it be Ma, or Rose of Sharon they had get through this storm to together and refuse to give in to the lack of work. Tom connects with everybody when he tells his mom “Even getting hungry even bein sick; some die, but the …show more content…
He refuses to stay together because he cannot take the hardships that the group has been facing. When he gives in he seals his fate to be alone and work alone in these hard times. When the family first starts to face hard time Connie says “If I’d of knowed it would be like this I wouldn’ of came. I’d a studied nights ’bout tractors back home an’ got me a three-dollar job. Fella can live awful nice on three dollars a day, an’ go to the pitcher show ever’ night, too.’”(252) Connie had give up on the family and was only thinking of him self now. This parallels Joad unbreakable loyalty and strength of adversity with Connie cowardly selfishness because he couldn’t take the hard times anymore. That is the reason Joad is such good person is defends the ones he loves and put unbreakable inspiration to the people around him. By keeping his family close to him he was able to achieve these success over adversity and survive the horrible position they were stuck
John Steinbeck once stated: “If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that nothin' he can do 'll make him feel rich.” The classic text Grapes of Wrath contains several characters with a considerable amount of depth. Characters like Tom and Ma Joad are usually celebrated for their symbolism and dialogue. I feel as though Grandpa Joad is a highly underrated character in Steinbeck’s text Grapes of Wrath.
almost resents his brother coming home so soon. As the Joad family is forced to
One of the ironies of Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath was that, as Ma Joad said, "If your in trouble or hurt or need -- go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help -- the only ones."(pg 335) The irony is that if you need something you have to go to the people who have nothing.
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
People just don’t seem to give up, they continue fighting till the very end rather than lay down and succumb to the challenge faced. In “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck uses symbolism and religious allusions as unifying devices to illustrate the indomitable nature of the human spirit.
Not in decency, anyways ... Sometimes a fella got to sift the law" (Steinbeck 179). As the seeds of change and defiance began to set in, both Huck and Tom decided to help free people from their bondage. After talking to Casy for the last time, Tom reached a realization that he can be a catalyst to change by bringing all the migrants together. He vows to free the migrants from their unjust treatment and use the festering "grapes of wrath" inside them all to produce their change. "I been thinkin' a hell of a lot, thinkin' about out people livin' like pigs, and the good rich lan' layin' fallow. An' I been wonderin' if all our folks got together an' yelled, like them fellas yelled –" (Steinbeck 536). Tom wants to save the starving kids and migrant workers from the hardships pushed onto them by the unspoken laws that are established to target them. He wants to overcome the legality of the situation by doing what he believes to be morally
or fear." Thus, if Ma acts as if everything is all right, then the family
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
Steinbeck strikes at the fear in every man’s soul, with his portrayal of the poverty stricken life of the Joads as they travel from one stage of abandonment and what would seem like a helpless state to a journey of enduring perseverance. The Joads, Steinbeck’s creation in the Novel Grapes of Wrath is a large close-knit family living in Oklahoma during the “Dust Bowl” era. Steinbeck documents their journey beginning with their homelessness due to the crop failures to them surviving in a box car at the end of their journey. I think Steinbeck’ intention is to illustrate to the reader that being poor doesn’t always equate with being helpless. The Joads demonstrate this by their resilience to overcome homelessness, death, and prejudice.
The tale of The Grapes of Wrath has many levels of profound themes and meanings to allow us as the reader to discover the true nature of human existence. The author's main theme and doctrine of this story is that of survival through unity. While seeming hopeful at times, this book is more severe, blunt, and cold in its portrayl of the human spirit. Steinbeck's unique style of writing forms timeless and classic themes that can be experienced on different fronts by unique peoples and cultures of all generations.
Successful heroes in literature must overcome plenty of obstacles in order to finish their journey. In fact, the journey of a hero in literature is characterized by 12 specific stages: ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting with the mentor, crossing the first threshold, tests and allies, approach, ordeal, reward, the road back, resurrection hero, and return with elixir.1 The Grapes of Wrath is an allegory for the hero’s journey because the Joads experience each of these stages on their trek from Oklahoma to California.
In literature as in life, people often find that they must make difficult choices in order to survive. The reasons behind their decisions and the results of their subsequent actions affect our opinion of them. In the Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, the author portrayed situations where two main characters became involved. The nature of their choices, the reasons behind their decisions, and the results that followed affected them greatly. However, the choices that they made were surmounted successfully. Ma Joad and Tom Joad are two strong characters who overcame laborious predicaments. Their powerful characteristics helped to encourage those that were struggling.
Tom Joad experiences many struggles in The Grapes of Wrath. Due to his struggles, he undergoes an immense change that causes him from being unconcerned and impassive to being contemplative and expressive. The journey with Casy and his family affects how he achieves success to become a true, strong character. With his responsibility of taking care of the family, he carries great burden and doubtful decisions of leading them to California. Throughout the journey, he faces trials and sufferings that lead him to have an inner conflict with himself in order for his family to have the golden opportunity to live prosperously in the scarce but hopeful land. His moments of feeling helplessness and vulnerability in the position of a deterred migrant,
Yet, a relationship is not always fifty percent effort on both parts, sometime one has to put seventy even ninety percent effort. Throughout The Grapes of Wrath Ma Joad was the strong leader when Pa Joad faulted changing the family structure. Pa Joad redeems himself by showing valiant effort to protect his family when making a dam during a flood. Both showing best interest to keep the family together in their own way.
Steinbeck created many characters for the Joads to come in contact with for different reasons. These three characters mentioned above were created to contrast the Joads and to recognize the weaker individuals in a society. By giving up, or refusing to try, these characters display a fear of new challenges and a resistance to change.