A farmer named Bill Bryson once said, “ There are only three things that can kill a farmer: lighting, rolling over in a tractor, and of old age.” Farmers during the Dust Bowl were evicted from their land, leading them to head West, to California, in hopes of finding work, maybe even acquiring their own farms that could not be taken away. In chapter 11 of the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the author’s purpose are to show the contrast between small farmers and “great” agribusiness owners and also to display how a land and farmer are nothing without each other. Throughout chapter 11 Steinbeck implies the differences of a small farmer’s devotion, respect, and connection to the land in contrast with the great owners, who view their land …show more content…
Steinbeck creates the idea that the “chemical elements” of a soil analysis does not completely make up the land. There needs to be the element of humanity to keep the land alive and filled with “warmth and vitality.” Steinbeck draws a sharp contrast between the tractor and horse using an analogy to say that the tractor is only dead after being used while the horse returns back to the barn to prepare for the next day. The author is implying that the tractor is dead, the earth with humanity and life will nourish it for the better. The addition of this analogy demonstrates how the land and owner needs each to prosper and grow into something exquisite. So, the diction of the word “knife” without the “blade” creates a deeper meaning that the farmers are practically dead without their land. The knife without a blade wouldn’t be able to continue being viable. With the usage of the diction, “knife” it creates a darker interpretation that it’s murderous if the bigger corporations take away the lands of the farmers. The ranchers don’t have much, they only have the land in which is their source of profit and ultimately happiness. Taking away happiness, a freedom, is unbearable so the word “knife” cuts a deeper wound, allowing the readers to feel sympathy. Losing something that brought contentment and prosperity would be heart clenching enough to make the farmers feel hopeless and end their life with the
Grapes of Wrath is similar to Roger and Me with a couple significant differences. Both groups of workers were losing their jobs, but the land workers in Grapes of Wrath were losing more than their jobs. The tenant men would no longer work in the fields but they were also losing their homes at the same time. In Flint, when the factory workers were laid off, they still had a home to live in for at least a short period of time and would have had food in their cabinets. They had been paid well and possibly had a little money in the bank.
Steinbeck also evokes feelings of compassion through his description of a young boy who “went into convulsions and died” due to a weak diet of “fruit, beans, and little else,” for the boy suffered a premature death, and there was little he could do to change his fate
Without crops, farmers lost valuable money, leaving them with two choices, to move away in order to make a living, or continue to lose money. “60 percent of the population moved from the western area... due to the drought that was killing cattle and ruining crops”(History.com). They had “set up the region for ecological disaster” (History.com) and could no longer live in the area. John Steinbeck wrote in his 1939 novel
Grapes of Wrath Synthesis Essay Coretta Scott King, prominent civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King Jr., once stated, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members”. King argues that the real value of a community lies in how people are treated within the group rather than the communities effect on the outer world. During the Great Depression, the common experience of poverty throughout the nation brought people together to form communities that assisted each other in their aim of survival. The struggle prevalent across the working class created a culture and community that was reliant on this compassion for each other.
The tractor driver responds with “can 't think of that, got to think of my own kids” (Steinbeck 37). Due to the possession of a job with a tractor, the farmer can 't sympathize easily with the farmer with nothing. He knows he can feed his family and so refuses to consider the hardships of the poor farmer or share his earnings due to the small amount it is. This selfishness separates the employed and the poor socially. Another aspect of the employed interactions with the poor includes
Intercalary Chapter Literary Analysis During the Great Depression, the nation as a whole was stripped of financial security and forced into a survivalist way of living. This changed the ways that people interacted with one another and the overall mentality of society. In the Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family is torn from their land and find themselves with nothing, a common story for migrant farmers of that time, derogatorily called “Okies” by Californians. But this is not the only group that is struggling, the entire county was in a state of panic and bruteness, no matter how “well off” they seemed to be.
Cruelty of the World The cruelty of life remains in an endless cycle. Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the harsh life of migrant workers during the Great Depression. Through his use of tone, foreshadowing, and imagery, Steinbeck shows an honest and cruel world that is never changing. Steinbeck’s tone throughout Of Mice and Men is very honest and to the point, much like life.
In the context, what the Joads suffer the most not is not from physical environment and the dustbowl, but from the businessmen, who are not concerned at all about the livelihood of the farmers but their self-earnings. They banish the farmers off their land, their root, where they have been dwelling for generations. Furthermore, the California landowners, who are fully aware that the farmers need to survive, continue to lower the wages and to spread falsehood that California was a thriving place, leading more people to migrate to California. The modern men of industry manipulate the society as they intend, while living detached from the farmers and dehumanize them.
John Steinbeck, in the novel, Grapes of Wrath, identifies the hardships and struggle to portray the positive aspects of the human spirit amongst the struggle of the migrant farmers and the devastation of the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck supports his defense by providing the reader with imagery, symbolism and intense biblical allusions. The author’s purpose is to illustrate the migrant farmers in order to fully exploit their positive aspects in the midst of hardships. Steinbeck writes in a passionate tone for an audience that requires further understanding of the situation.
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.
John Steinbeck has a style of writing unparalleled in history and in the modern world. In the same way, his philosophies are also unparalleled, with his focus in socialism not extending to communism or abnegation of spiritualism. His ideal world is utopian, holding the dust bowl migrant at the same level as the yeoman farmer was held in Jeffersonian times. In The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck Steinbeck, who posses impregnable technique, conveys his message of a group working tirelessly for the betterment of the community.
The term “American dream” was coined in 1931 by James Adams. It is defined as the dream of a land where life is fuller and richer for everyone. This dream has been shared by millions of people all over the world since America was discovered. People such as European immigrants, and even people born in the Americas who wanted to expand west. The Joad family’s journey is a prime example of the determinism families had to try to live the American dream.
Grapes of Wrath clearly illustrate the class struggle between workers and the upper class. Steinbeck displays the discrimination between the migrant people and landowners. Migrant workers are handled worse than animals, family’s or “Okies” are starving as food is wasted by the wealthy and the landowners maintain control through violence. “What do you want us to do? We can't take less share of the crop – we're half starved now.
Chapter 5 is about the unfair hand the farmers get because property owners that took their land and essentially told them to get out. The farmers are left with no choice because they can’t fight the bank. Since there are no actual characters, unlike the other chapters, Steinbeck organizes the chapter to be told third-person omniscient. Rather than focus on the characters, Steinbeck directs the reader’s attention to the situation and the events that take place. It’s his excellent use of exposition that adds to the true story of the Grapes of Wrath: the Joad
In John Steinbeck’s movie and novel “The Grapes of Wrath,” he presented the ecological, sociological, and economic disaster that the United States suffered during the 1930s. The movie is set during the Great Depression, “Dust Bowl,” and it focuses on the Joad’s family. It is a poor family of farmers who resides in Oklahoma, a home fulfilled by scarcity, economic hardship, agricultural changes, and job losses. Unexpectedly, affected by their hopeless situation, as well as they are trapped in an ecological madness, the Joad’s decided to move out to California; Beside with other people whom were affected by the same conditions, those seeking for jobs, land, a better life, and dignity.