The Value of Unity in Spirit

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John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is a classic American novel based on the Dust Bowl migration that took place in the 1930’s. Serving as an example of all migrant families in the 30’s, his book follows a family—the Joads—through their treacherous journey from Oklahoma to California. It depicts the struggles they face trying to survive in a land where oranges were supposed to be plentiful for the taking. However, The Grapes of Wrath is much more than a restatement of American history. It is a penetratingly tragic reality that awakens the human heart. Through foreshadowing and the harsh realities of California, Steinbeck develops Tom Joad as a tragic hero illustrating the value of unity in spirit; the holiness that is found within men when they share in common purpose to create harmony.
Traveling home with the expectation of seeing his family as he left them, Tom comes across a turtle. Introduced in earlier chapters, the turtle seems out of place and random; however, the story of the turtle is a symbol for the entire book and was strategically placed in an early chapter to provide foreshadowing for the Joad’s journey. “His hard legs and yellow-nailed feet threshed slowly through the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along,” (Steinbeck 14) the land turtle seems to be struggling in this sentence and rather than advancing towards a goal, he seems to be moving just to survive. As the turtle continued his trek further challenges appeared. “As the embankment grew steeper and steeper, the more frantic were the efforts of the land turtle,” portraying the future of the Joads (Steinbeck 15).
After the embankment the turtle’s travels appear to take a turn for the better; in reality it’s merely a slight break be...

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Buckner, Sally. "The Grapes Of Wrath." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Carlson, Eric W. "Rebuttal: Symbolism In The Grapes Of Wrath." Critical Insights: The Grapes of Wrath. 131-138. n.p.: Salem Press, 2010. Literary Reference Center. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.
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