Life In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

The Joad family took a trip out of their way and

There were huge dump makeshift towns abundant with lost families; called “squatter camps” or “Hoovervilles of California”. There were countless wanderers, starving destitute families, desperate for any job to feed their own. These nomadic people were living in extreme property because their lands were destroyed and they lost everything , many small farm owners or business owners themselves, lost all that they owned and had no other choice, but to travel from place to place and try to find some source of income. Farm work wasn’t the easiest job to do, but for most it was all they knew. In addition, large industrialized farm corporations targeted such areas such as the Hoovervilles primarily because of how inexpensive their labor would cost them and how many desperate migrant farm laborers they could choose from.

In between each narrative chapter of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote intercalary chapters to add to the narrative. These sixteen chapters were a very effective way for Steinbeck to make his points, and progress the theme of the novel. The intercalary chapters were a wise way to summarize the entire struggle of the suffering people during the dust bowl. They showed how Joad family was one example of the millions of families who migrated to California during the dust bowl, and the general rage and resistance felt in the innocent farmers, brought on by rich privileged men who gain their power from the unstoppable big banks. These chapters strengthen my knowledge of the struggles of the time, and give me more information of what is not seen from the Joad’s struggles alone.

Every novel contains a distinct feature within its pages that distinguishes it from other books. Whether it be a variation in tone, writing style, format or theme, this component impacts the audience and the novel itself in a special way. One of the stand out features in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath are the descriptive, sometimes political, interchapters where the reader is given a snapshot of life in the Great Depression. Due to the context and realism the interchapters bring to the novel, they are crucial for the reader’s understanding of the time setting and storyline of the novel. Chapter five brings the most heartbreak of all interchapters, because it illustrates the poignant moment when farmers are told to leave their land.

The Grapes of Wrath, which was published in 1939, reflected on hardships many people had recently faced throughout the country. The novel was a great representation of an important period in American history and in the forming of the American West. The connection it served with many migrant families across the country was felt and many people felt impacted by the book as they realized the struggles that many of these families endeavored. Throughout the novel, the privileged are constantly being divided by from the poor.

This book was based on newspaper articles he had written in San Francisco about migrant agricultural workers. (Burkhead) The book follows the Joad family out to California from Oklahoma where they are kicked off of their land and forced to head west to look for work. Promised a better life and working wages, the Joad family is surprised to find that the ranches of California are not what they had hoped for. In The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck uses the Californian landscape as the backdrop for his need to inspire readers to take action against the great injustices created out of America’s depression era droughts.

Immigrants in the 1930s all across America struggled with their journeys to hope and redemption. The main purpose for chapter three, which depicted a turtle struggling to cross a highway, was to outline the struggle that the immigrants faced as they took their journey to a new destination where they would spend the rest of their lives, as well as sticking with those who could help them through this long, enduring excursion. Hopefully, when they reached those endpoints, they would have a new job and a life worth living. The Joad family, a family of farmers and the family depicted in The Grapes of Wrath, repeatedly have to go through events that could potentially throw them off course far enough to have no hope for returning to their former glory.

(Steinbeck 144) Ma Joad displays the similarity between her and Virgin Mary through her strength and selflessness. At the time the Joads were crossing into California, she keeps quiet about Grandmas death and rides along with her dead body the whole night. This actions suggests that Ma thinks of the family as an unit that must always stick together, her sense of honesty since she tells Grandma directly that she can’t be helped, and her own appreciation of beauty, especially seen in her remarks about burying

The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.

In John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath the theme of comparing the rich and poor occurs consistently throughout the book. On page 266 when Casy spoke about the rich man with a million acres, he made a statement about even though he owns so much land and has so much money, he may feel poor inside. Steinbeck uses repetition by restating the word “poor” many times allowing the reader to comprehend how the word ‘poor” means more than just the lack of money. He also compares the rich man and Mrs. Wilson. The man being who everyone desired, rich and owning a lot of land.

In the 1930’s the dust bowl with its dry and unforgiving conditions had a drastic impact on the U.S. as a whole as we struggled against an unhappy environment. The Grapes of Wrath follows a family as the dust bowl changes their lives forever. The Joad family, like many others at the time, finds

Near the end of the excerpt in The Grapes of Wrath, it is seen that the family is going to have to face a catastrophic event. The family is told that they “have to get off the land.” or, “The plows go through the dooryard” (33). At this point, the family is left to question what they are going to have to do. They will no longer have a home to protect them from the elements, they will not have a place to sleep, and they will not have any job. They are facing the worst part of their lives, and they do not know what is to come next.

Through John Steinbeck's plot in The Grapes of Wrath,  the struggle of the typical American dreamer is depicted in the Joad’s attempt to move to California for a better life. While attempting this dream, the Joad family had to make multiple sacrifices. The first sacrifice occurs early on in their journey, the abandoning of their property (Steinbeck 59). This was extremely difficult for the Joads because they had lived on this land for a long time and they had many memories that had been created there.

Throughout history there have been many people and families that have been alienated from their cultures and lifestyles because of components such as age, race, social class, creed, etc. These behaviors are mostly exhibited by those who want to feel superior to others by suppressing them and making them suffer. In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, it is shown how the Joads were forced out of their property, because the wealthier people wanted to take control over it, this action shows how society believes that poor people are inferior and that they should be treated as such. One way in which John Steinbeck shows this assumption about society is by demonstrating how the landowners treat the tenants, or better said how the owners pay people to treat the tenants. For example, “One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve or fourteen families” (22).

Financial struggle is one of the world’s biggest problems today. The present isn’t the only time period the world has had this issue. Financial struggle has been a huge problem since the beginning of time, although the worst time would probably be during the time “Grapes of Wrath” is set in. During the late 1930’s was the “Depression Era” this was when many, many families had been in debt and couldn’t afford many things, including food. In the book “Grapes of Wrath”, the family who the book is focusing on is the Joads.