People wonder how a human would change when his/her surroundings change. Will they change for the better or worse? Will they still be willing to go out of their way to help those how are around them? John Steinbeck shows us in The Grapes of Wrath how a person can change when they have nothing. He shows us how when people are desperate, they would do anything to further themselves and only themselves. Most of all, he shows us how greed overpowers anything and everything when times are desperate. This motif assists in developing a major theme in the book. It shows that people would be greedy to other human beings, that people would damage nature in order to advance themselves and that people wouldn't help their own family to help further themselves. …show more content…
Prior to the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath, people were living in a prosperous time, living care-free. To take advantage of all of the grain that was grown at the time, they would plow it all down until “the dust was evenly mixed with the air” (5). Their intentions of selling and selling all of this wheat was the reason that everything was plowed down and eventually leaving the people of Oklahoma with virtually nothing but each other. Their greed was the sole reason why the dust bowl has even occurred in the first place. In addition to the dust bowl, another occasion when nature was being harmed by human beings is when the inhumane driver “saw the turtle and swerved to hit it” (21). This driver was willing to crush anything in his way to get to his destination. The turtle could be perceived as a feeder of the land and the driver was willing to kill it in order to conserve more for himself. During the time of the Great Depression, people were not only willing to offer up other people and nature to progress themselves, but they were also willing to sacrifice their own …show more content…
Clearly, it is shown that even family, if need be, would sacrifice each other even though that is their only shoulder to lean on. Uncle John is a great example of this when he “want[ed] a whole pig” (38) and refused to give Pa some food to eat. Uncle John spared some food for the children, but when the time came to share food with his brother, he decided to be a 'hog'. Uncle John would devour the pig until he vomited, so he certainly didn't need to consume the entire thing but he wanted
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.
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.
In conclusion the Grapes of Wrath is a literary masterpiece that portrays the struggles of man as he overcomes the adversity of homelessness, death, and the wrath of prejudice. Steinbeck fully explores each faucet coherently within the boundaries of the Joad family’s trials and
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 differences between selfishness and selflessness are strong throughout The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Everywhere the Joad family goes there is always someone to either push them into the dirt or give them a hand out of the dirt. This happened far and wide, people can be greedy, selfish, and rapacious. It’s in our nature, but even in desperate times when people have a right to be selfish, some will find the will in their heart to aid those who can’t help themselves.
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.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a novel that does not end with any sort of hope, but does end with the reader learning about how real this novel really was. You do not put this book down after you read it and smile and wish that you could have been living in this era. This is why he ended the novel the way that he does and not 40 pages earlier where he could have made it a happy ending. Steinbeck is just like his novel and he wants you to know what happened, and why it happened. All of this happened because people were forced out of their homes and the only place they had to go was west and almost all of the families ended up like the Jones; with no money, nowhere to go and nothing to look forward to. Even though this is not the way that you wanted the ending of this novel to go, there was no other way that it could have ended.
The stories, novels, films and photographs surrounding the Dust Bowl crisis and the Vietnam War have been marred with various issues about historical reconstructions. Whereas historical critics have raised questions about the real cause of migration of south westerners during the Dust Bowl crisis, their representatives have given conflicting accounts on the events surrounding the Odyssey. Steinbeck, in his book, The Grapes of Wrath, explains that the migration of farmers from Oklahoma was caused by the harsh drought that followed the Dust Bowl Odyssey (Davidson & Lytle, 2009a). On the other hand, critics argue that the findings are not based on statistics. According to historians, novelists like Steinbeck normally base their historical stories on exaggeration and should rely on facts and statistics. For example, the number of farmers who migrated into California is exaggerated. When James Gregory, a current historian, went through the Census Bureau statistics, he found out that only 43% of people living in Oklahoma were farmers during the Dust Bowl crisis. According to historical critics, other causes for the migration might have been the agricultural reorganization and mechanization, as portrayed by a tractor in The Grapes of Wrath.
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.
In the great depression many people suffered from hunger and poverty can you imagine not being able to eat for days and days and not only that but imagine having to suffer from sands blowing away all your crops and destroying your home. That’s how it was back then, people suffered from hunger and sandstorms destroyed everything in their paths. John Steinbeck a very well know writer and the creator of “The Grapes of Wrath” is very well known for writing books during the great depression in which he liked to write about the poor, homeless and misfit people. Humility is very well described in the book “The Grapes of Wrath” because it tells about a man trying to take care of his children with the little money he has while also trying to get to California. In the story the man’s humility changes the waitress’s behavior because she feels sympathy towards the man even though she was being a stereotype at the beginning.
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, has many social class conflicts presented in the book. The main thing that Steinbeck concentrates on is the fact that if a man had land he had a name, he had a purpose. Though some men in the 1930’s were living in poverty and having to struggle to provide for their family, they still had a place, their land kept them grounded, they didn’t feel like they were ultimately losing everything. Steinbeck tells a story about a family that got their land taken away from them and their struggle to continue on with their lives.
In The Grapes of Wrath, the chapters go from vignettes to regular chapters. The vignettes describe how the dust bowl and the workers migrating to California affect other people and their surroundings. They also foreshadow the events of the Joads and migrant workers on their journey. In chapter 3, Steinbeck describes a turtle crossing a road and getting hit by a car. “And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled.at last he started to climb the embankment.the driver saw the turtle and swerved to hit it,” (Steinbeck, 20-22).
The Modernist movement took place in a time of happiness, a time of sadness, a time of objects, a time of saving, a time of prosperity, a time of poverty and in a time of greed. Two novels, written by Steinbeck and Fitzgerald, portray this underlying greed and envy better than most novels of that period. These novels, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, show that despite the difference between the 1920s and the 1930s, greed remained a part of human life, whether superficially or necessarily, and that many people used their greed to damage themselves and others.
The novel focuses on the negative aspects of capitalism and sheds a positive light on communism. Steinbeck proves that there are many problems in capitalism with the way the migrants suffered during the era of the Great Depression. The economic slump, which many people assume affected the urban populations, was even harsher on the migrants. Steinbeck, throughout his novel, reveals the plight of the migrant workers during the Depression and how capitalism has crushed them. He reaches out to his readers and plants the idea that the glorified capitalism in America is not what it seems, and that any path, even communism, is preferable.
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.