If you consider Ma Joad concrete then consider Pa limestone...
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, shows a whole family and their struggles. The grapes of Wrath is modeled after a biblical reference to the Israelites, god¹s chosen people. They also left their land, Egypt, and wandered into the desert for many years,searching in vain for a promised land, the land of milk and honey. A lot like the Israelites, many farmers in the middle of the country began migrating to California. The Joads I believe had no choice but to leave the dust bowl to find work. They also had to cross the desert and lost the life of Grandma Joad in the process.
During the depression the Joads¹ farm was foreclosed. Them and all around them were driven from their land. The depression caused all to be extremely poor. If this hadn¹t been the case the migrants would have all made it to the west coast a lot easier.
The country set itself up during the depression in a way that caused only a vicious circle. The country was in a rut and held itself there. Steinbeck was trying to capture an average depression swept family. In this search he created the Joads.
Banks began to foreclose on farms and people became homeless. The losses of everything they owned caused people to have no choice. The only way was to leave. They were driven from their land.
A difficult struggle lied ahead for the people. They left with everything they owned. There was so little, they strapped it onto, usually to a rundown old pick-up truck. With Steinbeck trying to show the real life issues intermitanly introduced all the political aspects and outlooks of the depression. He would, in odd chapters, show the aspects that lay for everyone, not just the Joads. Stein beck often showed the prejudice and hatred for the migrants. Somewhere around the middle of the book an ³okie² family stops at a roadside 66 truck stop. They are hoping to buy some bread with the mere money they have rationed. The waitress is very bitter and tries to get rid of the man. She turns down his needs for a half a loaf of bread. her boss turns and reprimands her. The man is sold a small amount of bread for his money. The man turns to see his little boys gazing at the candy case.
California in search for a brighter, economic future. The name Joad and the exodus to
Steinbeck wrote this novel because he wanted to draw attention to what was going on at the time. Steinbeck captures this by showing the end results of big business and the little people it effects. The book opens with nature dealing a swift hand to the land and the people who work the land to survive. Steinbeck tells of dust covering everything like a blanket, smothering the people. The people know that rough times are ahead but they do not know that their lives are going to be drastically changed. As the novel progresses the Joad family has to make decisions that will effect the whole family and their journey to a new land with hopes of making it there. "We got to figger close. It's a sad thing to figger close"(p. 111). When they made the decision to leave their house they had to account for everything that was to be taken with them. When they took their possessions to the scrape yard the man hustled them into taking a low price for their things because Steinbeck wanted to show how greed affected the small businessman as well as the big businesses.
The first aspect of the novel that must be looked at when screening its symbolic content, is that of the characters created by Steinbeck and how even the smallest facets of their personalities lead to a much larger implication for the reader. The first goal Steinbeck had in mind was to appeal to the common Midwesterner of that era. The best way to go about doing this was to use religion and hardship, two categories equally entrenched in the mores of that time. He creates a story about the journey of a specific family, the Joad's, and mirrors it to that of biblical events. Each family group throughout the nov...
Beatrice and Benedick are equal in wit and intelligence could be another reason why they are an ideal couple, because they are so equal in both wit and intelligence means that they will never have a boring conversation between them. Furthermore, to explain my reasoning is that having a not so boring conversation means that their lives would be a lot less dull and boring. Also them being equal in wit and intelligence means that they will always have something to say about one another’s opinions, thus making it impossible to have a boring conversation. An example of this would be when Beatrice says to Benedick in, “As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I love nothing so well as you, but believe me not, and yet I lie not, I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. I am sorry for my cousin” (Act 4, scene 1, lines 283-287). In this quote Beatrice is telling Benedick that she can easily say that there is nothing in this world that she loves more than him. She also says that not to believe her even though she is not lying and then she says that she will confess nothing, and deny nothing. Then Benedick replies to her by saying in, “By my sword, Beatrice, thou lovest me”(Act 4, scene 1, line 288). This quote means that Benedick is asking Beatrice if she loves him. And it also means that he is very
In our society of today, there are many images that are portrayed through media and through personal experience that speak to the issues of black motherhood, marriage and the black family. Wherever one turns, there is the image of the black woman in the projects and very rarely the image of successful black women. Even when these positive images are portrayed, it is almost in a manner that speaks to the supposed inferiority of black women. Women, black women in particular, are placed into a society that marginalizes and controls many of the aspects of a black woman’s life. As a result, many black women do not see a source of opportunity, a way to escape the drudgery of their everyday existence. For example, if we were to ask black mother’s if they would change their situation if it became possible for them to do so, many would change, but others would say that it is not possible; This answer would be the result of living in a society that has conditioned black women to accept their lots in lives instead of fighting against the system of white and male dominated supremacy. In Ann Petry’s The Street, we are given a view of a black mother who is struggling to escape what the street symbolizes. In the end though, she becomes captive to the very thing she wishes to escape. Petry presents black motherhood, marriage and the black family as things that are marginalized according to the society in which they take place.
In The Grapes of Wrath, Stienbeck illustrates such powerful images using his own values. When the Joad family starts deciding to move to California for a better life, the story begins. Tom comes home from prison and the family is reunited. The hopes of all are refreshed and the move seems to be a good idea. And here we have one of Steinbecks greatest value, the family or the group, and the ties that lie within it. This value is seen through many different examples in this novel.
John Steinbeck wrote in his 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath: “And then the dispossessed were drawn west- from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Carloads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless – restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do – to lift, to push, to pull, to pick, to cut – anything, any burden to bear, for food. The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land.” This, just a small excerpt from Steinbeck’s novel, depicts the hardships and struggles that farmers faced during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent source of information for this time period and includes historical facts, themes, and intricate details of living conditions of the migrant farmers.
Because of the devastating disaster of the dust bowl, the Joad family was forced to leave their long-time home and find work and a new life elsewhere. They, like many other families, moved to California. "The land of milk and honey". The people in the dust bowl imagined California as a haven of jobs where they would have a nice little white house and as much fruit as they could eat. This dream was far from the reality the migrant farmers faced once in California. The dreams, hopes, and expectations the Joads had of California were crushed by the reality of the actual situation in this land of hate and prejudice.
Steinbeck meets his standard by celebrating the migrant workers’ drive and sense of community in the face of the Great Depression. The Joad family and many others, are dedicated to conquering all odds: “[t]hus they changed their social life–changed as in the whole universe only man can change” (Steinbeck 196). There are no other options available for these tenant families than to take the trek to California in hopes of finding work. The fears they once had about droughts and floods now lingered with
Beatrice and Benedick show their apparent distaste for each other right from the first scene. Beatrice mocks Benedick to the Governor of Messina, claiming that she always beats him in a battle of wits and the last time they crossed paths Benedict’s “five wits went halting off, and now is the whole man governed by one” (1,1,50). Clearly relishing resuming their ‘merry war’, Beatrice cuts Benedick down at the first opportunity, telling him “I wonder that you still will be talking, Signor Benedick, nobody marks you” (1,1,105). Incredulously, Benedick retorts, “what my dear lady distain! Are you yet living?” (1,1,95). So, the dynamic of the two is set and it goes on from there in the same vein. Yet, the reader, even at this early stage may ponder if the lady doth protest too much.
Much Ado About Nothing is one of William Shakespeare’s best comedies and love stories. What is not to like about a play that is hilarious, romantic, and has a happy ending? In this play the foremost and most intriguing character is Benedick, a man who is a devout bachelor and who does not believe he will ever find the perfect woman; --because perfect is exactly what he must have. This may seem to be a harsh and pessimistic outlook on life, but the way Shakespeare brings this character to life portrays Benedick as a funny and caring man who really is not that certain about what he wants for the future. Benedick’s counterpart in the play is Beatrice who is an independent woman with a quick tongue. Benedick and Beatrice despise and cannot stand each other because it is seemingly impossible for them to have a conversation without arguing and angering each other. The two of them provide some of the more amusing scenes of the play with their word play and mocking of each other. In reality though, they have much in common that they have yet to realize. Both of them despise marriage, are witty, and are each their own persons. These however are not the reasons why they come together. They are brought together by their respective companions who conspire to tell each of them that the one loves the other as the two misdirected lovers listen in. In his speech directly after this, Benedick is swayed to a life that he previously would have avoided at all costs. In hearing of Beatrice’s supposed affection he immediately changes his entire outlook on perpetual bachelorhood and pronounces a love that is not real or his own, but comes secondhand from trickery.
Steinbeck’s novel demonstrates the value of members in a society to work in unison to achieve a common goal. Without each other, the Joads will have no way of coping with the loss of their land in Oklahoma and reach their destination in California. Unity as a family is the only option they have to endure this hopeless calamity. In addition, the collapse of the family results in their initial purpose and intention to fall apart. The Great Depression was an era that was detrimental to many individuals. It affected farmers drastically as it forced them to look for work elsewhere in the country. Regardless of how severe conditions were, many remained sanguine in anticipation of a brighter tomorrow.
In Much Ado About Nothing, characters Beatrice and Benedict initially insult each other, but was a way to fend off their true feelings. Although they had to be tricked to do so, when confronted, their love eventually overcame their pride. In the same light, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth faced obstacles as noted above, but eventually love conquered over all.
At the beginning, Benedick’s attitude is negative towards women in general. He swears he will never marry, as he is very critical of women and does not trust any of them not to cheat on him. He seems to oppose with Beatrice in a competition to outwit, outsmart, and out-insult each other. Obviously he has been in some sort of past relationship with Beatrice because when he meets her at the masked ball, she describes him as a selfish pig. We can infer that Benedick has some kind of deep feelings for her because after she insults him he is hurt and says, “Will your grace command me any service to the world’s end? I will go on the slightest errand now to the Antipodes that you can devise to send me on. I will fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia . . . do you any embassage to the pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference with this harpy” (II.i.229–235). This blatantly means that he does not wish to talk to her.
work during the depression. It is in this fact that one can see how Steinbeck's