John Steinbeck's The Turtle, Or The Struggle?
“The Turtle,” or The Struggle?
In the short story “The Turtle,” the author John Steinbeck claims that life always throws different obstacles in the reader's way. Steinbeck supports his claim by using the turtle’s journey as a metaphor for life. The author’s purpose is to show that even though life can be difficult, the reader must persevere. The author writes in a reflective tone for readers to reminisce on their struggles through life.
First, Steinbeck begins to explain how the turtle looks to show the first clue to his hidden message. An excerpt from the story states: “His hard legs and yellow-nailed feet threshed slowly through the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along” (Steinbeck 759.) Steinbeck is painting the reader a picture of not a turtle, but a hard working man/woman. The
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Another quote from the story states: “And as the turtle crawled on down the embankment, its shell dragged dirt over the seeds” (Steinbeck 761). Here Steinbeck is using the shell as a metaphor to bringing all of one’s life problems and experiences with oneself. By saying the dirt is being dragged over the seeds, he is setting up anticipation. The reader knows that in order to grow a plant, a seed needs dirt. One might grasp onto the concept that all of the readers’ life experiences, although tough to deal with at the time, can grow into better things and bring new opportunities. This is an example of Steinbeck suggesting that the reader must persevere through life and rough times.
In conclusion, John Steinbeck, the author of “The Turtle,” has used multiple uses of metaphors through the story to show the reader that they must work through life's rough patches, and grow and learn from their mistakes and experiences. One can take this story and use the message as a new perspective on life. Steinbeck certainly knows how to catch a feeling and put it on
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