John Steinbeck wrote a book, The Grapes of Wrath, which would change forever the way Americans, thought about their social classes and even their own families. The novel was completed in 1938 and then published in 1939. When this novel was released the critics saw it as being very controversial. Some critics called it a master piece, while others called it pornography. Steinbeck's attack of the upper-class and the readers' inability to distinguish the fictitiousness of the book often left his readers disgruntled. The time period in which this book was written was the 1930's while there was a horrible drought going on in the Oklahoma pan handle and during the Great Depression. Thousands of Oklahoma families were forced off their land because of their failure to farm and as a result they were unable to pay their bills so the banks were foreclosing on their houses. This resulted in a huge population of people all migrating west to California, because they were promised work by big fruit plantations. Unfortunately, when this mass of people showed up the jobs with high wages advertised on the pamphlets were not there. This left them homeless and in deep poverty with no where to go. The families would stay in California though either in hoovervilles or government camps. Steinbeck brings you along with the Joads on their journey to California. Although Steinbeck shows some comparisons between the Joads and the greater migrant community, the Joads do not serve as a microcosm of that culture because they differ in regards to leadership of the family and also the Joads' willingness to give to anyone.
As soon as the Joads leave their farm, it is evident who is the leader of the family. Once Pa is taken off his land his leadership is gone, he becomes lost without having to deal with the strict regimen of farming. With out waiting around for Pa to get over his loss Ma steps up to lead the family and make crucial decisions. Ma foresees the way the family will deteriorate without proper leadership and thus she takes what little strength they all have left and pushes the family west together. This shift in power is obvious from the beginning; when the family is leaving Tom asks if Casey could come along with them and is it Ma who steps in to respond, "It aint kin we?
The faces of the Joad family revealed the years they have endured and what they have persevered through. Ma and Pa are weathered, as are the grandparents, from the sun and dust and wind over time. Not just on the outside, Ma showed her strength and worth as the leader of the family. Pa took a lesser role than Ma and typically was lost and dazed without her guidance. Additionally, the grandparents instilled in the younger family members the importance of hierarchy and
In the 1930s, America’s Great Plains experienced a disastrous drought causing thousands of people to migrate west. As their land was devastated by the Dust Bowl, deprived farmers were left with few options but to leave. The Grapes of Wrath depicts the journey of the Joads, an Oklahoma based family which decides to move to California in search of better conditions. Coming together as thirteen people at the start, the Joads will undertake what represents both a challenge and their only hope. Among them are only four women embodying every ages: the Grandma, the Mother and her two daughters, the pregnant Rose of Sharon and the young Ruthie. Appearing in Chapter Eight the mother, who is referred to as “Ma”, holds a decisive role in Steinbeck’s novel. She is, along with her son Tom (the main character of the book), present from the early stage of the story until its very end. We will attempt to trace back her emotional journey (I) as well as to analyze its universal aspects and to deliver an overall impression on the book (II).
Steinbeck's intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters of the novel, but help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different viewpoints of the migration, and clarifying parts of the story that the reader might not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of migrant Okies and the residents of California reveals the changing nature of land ownership among the changing population of California and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the Joads meet in California.
The Joad’s were facing many conflicts and in the process of losing their house. They heard there was going to be work in California and wanted to take the risk and move out there to find a job to provide. The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression were pretty huge topics in history and the novel about The Grapes of Wrath had some pretty raw details about their journey and similar to both histories. The Joad family pushed each other to have a better life in California and did everything they could to have a job to provide and eat, and mainly survive to live another day. In the novel, the beginning, the Joad family faced and struggled with nature, dust nature, just like the people that experienced this during the Dust Bowl. The people in the Southern plains dealt with a huge dust storm and the Joad family were also faced with this storm but struggled from these dust storms because of no work. No work means you can’t eat and
Ma takes on two roles in the course of the book. Pa begins despairing because of his lack of work, so Ma takes over his role as leader. This shows the masculinity in Ma's character coming out.
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 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.
Ma Joad is a woman of strength and hope who is the backbone of the family. She represents the Mother Nature archetype while she posses the physical aspect of guiding the family and staying strong when the family needs her most. Steinbecks shows the importance of ma's character by the syntax usage to describe ma. " Ma was heavy, but not fat; thick with child-bearing and work...her ankles, and her strong, broad, bare feet moved quickly and deftly over the floor", Ma is described with these features to show her strength as a mother who has control and survives through hard situations (95). Her 'bare feet' being close to the earth shows how she takes on a 'Mother Nature' archetype to her character. She is one with the earth just as Mother Nature is. Mother Nature is one that gives birth, produces, sustains life and nurtures her family. All of these archetypes are expressed in ma's character.
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is a novel depicting the Okies migration to California during the period in history known as The Dustbowl. In this novel Steinbeck attempts to display the tensions between the Okies and the Californians. This display can be closely compared to today’s tensions between citizens born in the US and the Immigrants. Great pieces of literature are timeless in the lessons they teach and the controversy they portray.
... of the trials and hardship endured along the road to get to the Promised Land (California), the Joad’s survive as a family. It may not have been the perfect expedition and migration which was intended but when all hope was lost Ma was there to lead and comfort. The need to push on and reassurance that things would be ok was prevalent after the deaths. When one life ended another was started, and when situations were at their worst, there came a helping hand and were saved. These women are the foundation to the Joad family and help them successfully live their dream to make it to California. Without these four women possessing these archetypes they may have never made it as a family, with such hope and dreams as they did.
From an article released shortly after The Grapes of Wrath was published, Frank J. Taylor writes that “the experiences of the Joad family… are not typical of those of the real migrants” (Hollister). Taylor also writes that “no migrant family hungers in California unless it is too proud to accept relief” (Hollister). This is a very different perspective from Steinbeck who writes that “groups of sodden men [go] out… to the towns, to the country stores, to the relief offices, to beg for food, to cringe and beg for food, to beg for relief, to try to steal, to lie” (Steinbeck 433). These two contradicting views raise the question of which side is telling the truth, most likely neither are exactly true so the reader must compromise and settle for the middle
Cultural and economical pressures often lead people to behave corruptly. In John Steinbeck?s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, set in the dustbowl era, people act out of greed rather than out of consideration or kindness. Tom Joad and his family have been run off their land by inconsiderate, money hungry businessmen who do not care about the impact homelessness will have on the evictees. The story revolves around the Joad Family?s trip (joined by former preacher Casey) from Oklahoma to California, along route 66, where they expect to find work. Though Casey and the Joads are goodhearted and honest people, they are the victims of dishonesty and dupery when they realize that the jobs they have come so far to acquire pay them much less than they were originally promised. The book focuses
With this strength, she earns the unofficial title as “head” of household. In the beginning, Steinbeck shows that Ma is already a tough woman. She beat a tin peddler with a chicken because she forgot which hand held the ax. Ma contains her feelings from the beginning of the story to the end. She does not show her family the pain she felt losing all her possessions, which she had to burn, the land, and the house. Her biggest show of strength was when she rode in the back of the truck with Granma, nurturing her, until she passed away in her arms. Ma waits to tell her family of her passing until they see the valley. The Joads look to her to see if they should feel any sort of emotion. So she remains calm throughout all of these tragedies, so they will never be able to know pain and fear. This gives her power to her title as “head” of household. The Joads do not look to Pa to see whether they should be afraid. Additionally, Ma does the same work she did before she left Oklahoma. She feed the family, cleaned their area, and took care of the household. On the road to California and when they arrived there, these duties became the top priority. This also helped give her the title as “head” of household. On their journey Pa decides to leave Tom with the broken tour car. Ma will not allow this to happen. Her main priority and dream is to arrive to California with the family still together. Pa obeys Ma and
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.