ipl-logo

Immigrants In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

555 Words3 Pages

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. …show more content…

That is the start of their journey, where, along the way, the family meets multiple families going through the strange struggle. That is one significant difference with the symbol of the turtle crossing the road, whereas the turtle makes the journey alone and has to rely on itself to cross the road, the Joads have each other to lean on. In chapter 8, Jim Casy states, “When they’re all workin’ together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang—that’s right, that’s holy.” (pg. 110, Steinbeck), which outlines how important it is for these immigrant families to stick together and take these hardships with one

Show More
Related

  • Land Workers In John Steinbeck's Grapes Of Wrath

    310 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Juxtaposition In The Grapes Of Wrath

    651 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath follows the difficult journey of the Joad family as the attempt to move to California. Interwoven into this story is small paragraphs that deliver smaller, individual messages. One such paragraph is paragraph 11. In this paragraph Steinbeck speaks of how the farms have changed over time. This juxtaposition of times seems insignificant and unrelatable to those who don’t look deeply into this short, quick story.

    Read More

  • Foreshadowing In The Grapes Of Wrath

    859 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Steinbeck’s classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath, explains the story of the Joad family while simultaneously dealing with eternal human issues. We open on Tom Joad, fresh out of prison, hitchhiking his way back home after killing a man with a shovel. From there we travel through ideas of religion, capitalism, xenophobia, and determination. As Tom begins walking home from where he was dropped off, he runs across his childhood preacher, alone and barefoot, and discusses ideas of human desire and sin within the church after learning that Casy is no longer a member. Continuing on his way home, Tom finds his family’s barn abandoned and his neighbors gone.

    Read More

  • Outsiders In Steinbeck's 'The Grapes Of Wrath'

    948 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The Grapes of Wrath” takes place during the great depression: which was a substantial economic downside in United States history. At the same time, racism continues in the United States. The Okies are very talented farmers and most of them travel along route 66 to hope for a better life, but something was waiting for them that was unexpected to these people. They did not receive any governmental supports they were ignorant, and this makes native people easier to realize Okies as an outsider also they found menial and low paying jobs. Steinbeck implies that man turns against another human for the survival of the fittest; therefore, they do not mind to put another human in a situation that is challenging to survive.

    Read More

  • The Power Of The Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

    2799 Words  | 12 Pages

    In addition to this, the contrast of the individual to that of the larger institutions of the time is also given emphasis, shedding light on how these two groups compare in the context of these struggles. With heavy religious overtones, the journey reveals much of the characters’ relation to their religion, and how these values have an impact on their individual self and their community as they journey westward. This journey and the novel as a whole tells a story of injustice and desperation, but also one of dreams and hope for a new life. In Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes Of Wrath, Steinbeck explores the ideas of the cultural and economic migrant oppression through the destructive forces and injustices of society. Through his rejection of the typical reliance on the institution of religion, Steinbeck demonstrates how the only true way to overcome such societal injustice is through the individual based spirit and in turn the human unity of these

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: The Grapes Of Wrath

    1880 Words  | 8 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Obstacles In The Dust Bowl

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    The large amount of obstacles and struggles throughout the Dust Bowl caused many people to look for something to take them out of the harsh reality. John Steinbeck compares a turtle to the victims of the Dust Bowl in The Grapes of Wrath when he described how “a front wheel struck the edge of the shell, flipped the turtle like a tiddy-wink, spun it like a coin, and rolled it off the highway” (Steinbeck 761). The vehicle that struck the turtle represents many obstacles in the farmers’ lives, such as the dust storms and the black blizzards (“Dust Bowl”). The victims of the Dust Bowl become personified into the shape of a turtle making its way across a busy highway. John Steinbeck also describes that “for a long moment the turtle lay still, and then the neck crept out and the old humorous frowning eyes looked about and then legs and tail came out” (Steinbeck 761).

    Read More

  • The Role Of Oppression In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

    168 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck follows the Joad family as they suffer the hardships caused by the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. The most important lesson people can learn from the novel is the value of a human life. Although the 1930’s was a low point in American society, the ill-treatment of human beings is still relevant today. Just like Jim Casy’s philosophy, it is important to fight for the rights of the people and their dignity. There are several examples of oppression in The Grapes of wrath.

    Read More

  • The Second Westward Migration In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

    319 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Second Westward Migration The monsters came; they came to reclaim the land. The monsters are how the banks are referred to in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. The novel is a great example of how the industrialization impacted society, following the Joad family’s hardships on their move west. The industrialization of agricultures biggest impact on American society was the forced migration of marginalized populations from the dust bowl.

    Read More

  • Grapes Of Wrath Book Review

    2198 Words  | 9 Pages

    This story reveals all the difficulties and all of the suffering proceeding of many of the migrant laborers during the Great Depression and also the Dust Bowl. The novel by Steinbeck has been written to criticize many of the careless and self-interested people and overly important corporate and banking elites for trying to increase their profit policies that would ultimately force many of the farmers to suffer and go through major tribulations. Through these careless actions many of these farmers had to go through things such as starving. It is a very well written political piece, it describes the actions by the lower classes in a great way. As the Grape of Wrath begins, the Joad family is a very traditional family and the structure of the family is in which where the men make the decisions and the women do as they are told.

    Read More

  • Allusions In The Grapes Of Wrath

    961 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ending In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

    953 Words  | 4 Pages

    Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It has a very controversial ending, that Steinbeck thought would name the last nail into the coffin, so to speak, on how bad the dust bowl and moving west really was. The ending starts when the Joad family is threatened with a flood, so they make their way to a old barn where they find a boy and his old father. The boy says his father is starving, and that he can’t keep anything solid down. He needs something like soup or milk.

    Read More

  • The Grapes Of Wrath Chapter 11 Analysis

    294 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Grapes Of Wrath American Dream Analysis

    487 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Upper Class In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

    451 Words  | 2 Pages

    Grapes of Wrath show the unfair working situations that migrants face when they arrive in California. Land Owners are the most wealthy and powerful having the ability to pay their workers a poor wage. In the Grapes of Wrath, many Americans lose their homes, jobs and life savings, forcing them to move and leave behind their land in hopes of finding a prosperous place to live. The Great Depression (1929-1939) was the worst, deepest and longest lasting economic collapses in the industrialized western world. The Joad family is planning to move to California, but some of them have doubts and attachments that make them contemplate whether or not it is the right choice.

    Read More

More about Immigrants In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Open Document