English Essay
A recurring theme in the plot of The Grapes of Wrath is a consistent pattern of the buildup and eventual loss of hope in some of the characters of the story. Events will seem promising in the beginning, but as the story progresses those events will usually become very bleak, or something tragic will happen. The effect this sequence had on the characters way of thinking was apparent in how they treated each other and each situation. Over time people become skeptical of there being any sanctuary out there, and many give up trying after feeling like there's no way out.
One example of an affected character in the novel was Ma. Her being the basic head of the family, she tried her hardest to keep the family together. Usually she's somewhat optimistic regarding the chances the family has, but after interacting with countless affected people and going through much turmoil herself, she begins to lose faith in life in the West. When speaking about California, Ma confessed her suspicions about the promise that it entailed.
"Seems too nice, kinda. I seen the han'bills fellas pass out, an' how much work they is, an' high wages an' all; an' I seen in the paper how they want folks to come an' pick grapes an' oranges an' peaches. That'd be nice work, Tom, pickin' peaches... I'm scared of stuff so nice. I ain't got faith. I'm scared sompin ain't so nice about it." (122)
She was speaking to Tom about how she felt about the trip west when she told him that she doesn't entirely believe it's all that everyone is hoping for. The trip starts to seem pointless to her. The change in her attitude towards the migration is a significant example of just how much the family is being impacted. With all that they have been through, it's easy to un...
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...is chest. And then her leaned over and set the box in the stream and steadied it with his hand. He said fiercely, ‘Go down an’ tell ‘em. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell ‘em that way. That’s the way you can talk.’” (609)
Pa’s actions were the final nail in the coffin; it symbolized their just complete resignation from that point forward. The worst possible thing that could’ve happened actually happened.
Steinbeck’s underlying purpose in the novel The Grapes of Wrath was to exemplify the absolute despair, anger, and hopelessness the people of the time period endured. Many people’s lives were utterly destroyed and were somehow treated as evil people while they were the sole victims. The book did well in exposing the cold cruelty of others and made use of strong symbolism to get its point across, and showed just how dark the Dust Bowl really was for those people.
For instance, the external force of April’s mother affected the character April in many important ways. To specify, one main change in April is when she is forced to move to the Casa Rosada with her grandmother while Dorothea, her mom, was on tour. This changed her in many ways, first being her new home made her adapt to the different lifestyle outside of Hollywood. One example of this is when she meets Melanie and starts the new school, April loved to wear the fake eyelashes she bought, but the culture was different so Melanie had to trick her to not wear
The Grapes of Wrath explicates on the Dust Bowl era as the reader follows the story of the Joads in the narrative chapters, and the migrants in expository chapters. Steinbeck creates an urgent tone by using repetition many times throughout the book. He also tries to focus readers on how the Dust Bowl threatened migrant dreams using powerful imagery. As well as that, he creates symbols to teach the upper class how the Dust Bowl crushed the people’s goals. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck utilizes imagery, symbolism, and repetition to demonstrate how the Dust Bowl threatened the “American Dream.”
The aspect that affected her the most often would be the conflicts that occurred to her family throughout the story, which she would realize that freedom
Throughout the novel, The Grapes of Wrath there are intercalary chapters. The purpose of these chapters are to give the readers insight and background on the setting, time, place and even history of the novel. They help blend the themes, symbols, motifs of the novel, such as the saving power of family and fellowship, man’s inhumanity to man, and even the multiplying effects of selfishness. These chapters show the social and economic crisis flooding the nation at the time, and the plight of the American farmer becoming difficult. The contrast between these chapters helps readers look at not just the storyline of the Joad family, but farmers during the time and also the condition of America during the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck uses these chapters to show that the story is not only limited to the Joad family,
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.
A., Mercedes. "The Importance of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck to American Culture." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
“Everybody wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all the time talkin' about it, but its jus' in their head.” (Steinbeck) The Grapes of Wrath is most often categorized as an American Realist novel. It was written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. As a result of this novel, Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and prominently cited the novel when he won the Nobel Prize a little over twenty years after the text’s publication. This text follows the Joad family through the Great Depression. It begins in Oklahoma, watching as the family is driven from their home by drought and economic changes. Within the introduction of the novel the living conditions is described, “Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: The walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops and an automobile boiled a cloud behind it.” (Grapes, 1) This novel is and will remain one of the most significant novels of the Great Depression. Despite its controversial nature it is timeless. In fact, the ending of this text is one of the most controversial pieces of literature written during the time period, and has never accurately made its way into film. The ending to John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath is the most significant portion of the novel due to its historical accuracy as well as its message about the American spirit.
In literature as well as in life always find themselves making difficult choices. However, their decisions and actions can greatly affect the outcome. In The Grapes of Wrath, we learned that the characters also found themselves in tough predicaments. Nevertheless, the nature of their choices helped to make a triumphant result. Ma and Tom made hard decisions and survived.
Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic novel that mimics life and offers social commentary too. It offers many windows on real life in midwest America in the 1930s. But it also offers a powerful social commentary, directly in the intercalary chapters and indirectly in the places and people it portrays. Typical of very many, the Joads are driven off the land by far away banks and set out on a journey to California to find a better life. However the journey breaks up the family, their dreams are not realized and their fortunes disappear. What promised to be the land of milk and honey turns to sour grapes. The hopes and dreams of a generation turned to wrath. Steinbeck opens up this catastrophe for public scrutiny.
Top-down budgeting is the preferred method of budgeting for government agencies and many organizations (Ljungham). The methodology of top-down budgeting is described as “dominated by top members of the executive branch and the legislative branch” (Williams & Calabrese, 2011, 178). The methodology entrusts top members to make annual budgeting decisions for their organizations. In many instances, top members also use this time to set annual program or department goals and targets. Top members make these decisions without solicitation of input from bottom levels of an organization. This can result in operational and logistical constraints in the lower levels of an organization when plans are implemented (Williams & Calabrese, 2011). Additionally, it can serve as a source of frustration for staff when uninformed budgeting decisions create consequences. This is particularly true when staff is tasked with making things work in the aftermath of budgeting decisions, despite having clear or attainable goals and budgets. Like all budgeting methodologies, there are benefits and difficulties.
The novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck has many themes, but one theme the story is centralized around is the role of Christianity. The role of Christianity in The Grapes of Wrath is what allows the people to keep going during the times of the Great Depression. Without religion, the families in the novel would have simply given up all faith and hope.
John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath in response to the Great Depression. Steinbeck's intentions were to publicize the movements of a fictional family affected by the Dust Bowl that was forced to move from their homestead. Also a purpose of Steinbeck's was to criticize the hard realities of a dichotomized American society.
John Steinbeck sets his novel The Grapes of Wrath during the Depression of the 1930's. Universal archetypes play a significant role in Steinbeck’s story. Steinbeck creates a cast of characters whose archetypes can be easily related to. The Earthmother, haven versus hell, and the evil figure with the ultimately good heart are archetypes described in The Grapes of Wrath to show the bad and good times during a time of hardships.
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.