Literary Analysis: The Grapes Of Wrath

In the history of America, Americans have had to drastically change their livelihood several times. In the 1930s, John Steinbeck became a writer of the struggles Americans faced at the time. Steinbeck’s writing style was quite particular, detailing many aspects of the times and what people were going through. He focused on the lives of average American families and their struggle to make it through the times. The Grapes of Wrath is one of several novels he wrote to express this. The 1930s and the beginning of the Great Depression was a time of major change from the happiness and well-being found in the 1920s.

The Great Depression was a time of economic crisis around the world from the time period 1929 to World War II. To help capture the feeling in this period, John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath. The main plot of of the story is about the Joads, a farming family forced from their home sent to search for work in California. Steinbeck includes a series of intercalary chapters to help paint a picture of migrant workers and the challenges they faced. In chapter 9, Steinbeck explores the emotional trials the tenants forced to endure when they are required to leave their homes and their lives, this chapter is an appeal to pathos. To convey pathos Steinbeck employs syntax and dreary diction to obtain an emotional response from the reader.

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.

She begins by talking about her college experience of how her own professors and fellow students believed and “always portrayed the poor as shiftless, mindless, lazy, dishonest, and unworthy” (Paragraph 5). This experience shocked her because she never grew up materialistic. She brings up the fact that she is the person with the strong and good values that she has today because she grew up in a poor family. In culture, the poor are always being stereotyped.

From its first publication in 1939, John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath has become a classic in American history and literature. Yet Steinbeck’s use of intercalary chapters has always faced criticism. Because they depict stories separate from the main plot, many readers think that they detract from the story of the Joad family. Steinbeck defends his choice, arguing that they only add to the story. He also argues that the intercalary chapters provide insight into the society for which the narrative chapters do not allow. Steinbeck uses intercalary chapters to allow readers to make connections between the Joads' journey and their society.

The setting mainly took place in south of Soledad, California, near the Salinas Valley, during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. Salinas Valley had many substantial farms during the Depression. This was essential because colossal farms employed a massive number of workers, often up to hundreds. Since farm workers with no steady employment, would often head to these communities, it was logical that Salinas Valley was George and Lennie’s destination. Migrant farm workers were perfect examples, to highlight the solitude and loneliness engendered by the Depression. These men had no place to call home, and had only a few belongings to call their own.

In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the chapters alternate between two perspectives of a story. One chapter focuses on the tenants as a whole, while the other chapter focuses specifically of a family of tenants, the Joads, and their journey to California. Chapter 5 is the former and Steinbeck does an excellent job of omniscient third person point of view to describe the situation. Chapter 5’s main idea is to set the conflict and let the readers make connections between Steinbeck’s alternating chapters with foreshadowing. Steinbeck is effectual in letting readers make connections both to the world and the text itself with the use of exposition, and symbolism.

In the speech given by Cesar Chavez, “The Wrath of Grapes” he’s fighting for the people of America making everyone open their eyes and realize what’s being used by agricultural industries to grow crops. Chavez explains the pesticides used to grow grapes are causing harm to our farmer workers that can persist of long-term effects. He wants people to step up to the legislature to stop using these harmful chemicals not just here in California but all over the United States. Since, these chemicals are used world wide even if they aren't for crops. This speech is valued for its historical leader Cesar Chavez whom fighting for the farmworkers rights. However, it’s still an issue for the horrible working condition people are being exposed and risking their own lives from getting an illness of all the dangerous pesticides.

1)The American Dream, the idea that lures in thousands of foreigners into the United States yearly. The hopes of second chances, profound prosperity, success by hard work and new beginnings. In the Grapes of Wrath by John Stainflied and The Jungle by Uptown Sinclair, both families in this book are not exception. Soon, these inspired immigrants learn the disastrous effects of being the “lower class” under the control of the rich, the government and the landowners. Both of the book’s themes___ the idea that the most damage both families in these two novels endured was not a direct *result* by those of authority, but in reality *( direct result by their own inclination,,,,)

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. 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 an open form of dialogue emphasizes a connection and openness of situation it also lacks a specific aspect that can make it hard to understand. This lack of information is balanced with the Joad family whose interactions give more depth to Steinbeck’s representation of the Great Depression. The balance between a broader and specific description and portrayal of experiences create a more complete story that has a better chance of connecting with the

The image that Dorothea Lange captured of a fearful and desperate weather-beaten woman, with her three children, has become the ideal representation of the desperation and hardships that many families have gone through during the Great Depression in America. In the article “ The Harvest Gypsies”, John Steinbeck portrays the desperation when he declares “ The father and mother now feel that paralyzed with numbness with which the mind protects itself against too much sorrow and too much pain” (Steinbeck n. pag.).When no food could be grown and no money could be made, entire families packed up everything they had and began the journey to California. Without even looking back at the past, many families left their hometown farms , only to end

The rich are running away at this point of the novel because their city gate has been broken by the enemies, and the only way for them to be safe is to run. However, on the other side the poor have been waiting for this moment, including O-lan so they are able to invade the houses of the rich and steal everything and anything they can find. The rich are scared for their safety as the poor have even decide to kill if necessary, so they are giving up everything they have. They also gave up their money to god, for their protection like the man in the temple who fed the two boys with delicious cake.

“The Grapes of Wrath” is still of the classics of American literature. This work remains banned in many school libraries across the nation because some critics said it contains full of lies of American life in that period and highly pro-communist. It is because Steinbeck created the work because of showing difficulties of many Americans who had The Great Depression and The Dust Owl. Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” can be discussed by many critical theories but Marxist criticism which I will be discussing here is the one of the most common lenses through which to read the novel. This is because Steinbeck’s narrative shows the exact problems that a capitalist society describes working class people. We will read/discuss the work to see how the

Chapters 1-3: The author uses the call to arms and cry of death, on page 11, as her narrative hook. When Reva requests Zerah’s help with the laboring women, an internal conflict takes place inside of Shira—deciding whether to help or not. The indirect characterization of Shira’s strength amazed me. How strong Shira must have been to hold up herself and a woman in labor!