Analysis Of The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck

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 clouds appeared, and went away, and in a while they did not try

Through his use of imagery, phrases like “did not try anymore” and words like hard, crust, and pale paints a picture of an open dry unpromising field filled with dying crops. This mental image created by Steinbeck’s words evokes unpleasant emotion: before the audience is even introduced to the main characters John Steinbeck has already made his audience empathize with the character’s situation. “Men stood by their fences and looked at the ruined corn, drying fast now, only a little green showing through the film of dust. The men were silent and they did not move often, And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men -- to feel whether this time the men would break.” This drought left the farmers with nothing to do but stare at their dying crops, thinking of how their families will make it. Meanwhile, the wives and children were worried about the men in their lives and their lack of resources. “After a while the faces of the

Steinbeck dedicates the entire third chapter to illustrate the journey of a turtle crossing a road.A woman drives down the highway swerves around the turtle so she does not hit it. However, unlike the woman a man in a truck heads straight for the turtle as if it had a target on its back. The man does slightly hit the turtle, but only enough to knock the turtle over onto his shell, he struggles to get up, but eventually does and finishes his journey across the highway. The turtle symbolizes the Joad family and the other migrant worker families. Just like the turtle, they overcome someone who has more power than them that tries to ruin their lives. ( Turtle almost gets run over by a truck, farmer families getting kicked off their farms.) Just like the turtle, these people accept the cards they are given in life and use what they have to improve their situation, Even when Tom took the turtle and wrapped it up, the turtle consistently worked towards getting out of that coat to continue in the direction in which it was headed. Similarly, the turtle the migrant families never forgot where they were headed in spite of all their troubles. This use of symbolism causes the reader to root for and become an advocate for the migrant workers not only in the book but in real life. Through the