The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck's award winning book based on the lives of people during the, Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath, has experienced a lot of criticism since its release in 1939. From the time it was published all the way up until present times, some people have found much at fault in this realist book, while other people recognize that their are many true parts of Steinbeck's book. Many people consider this book to be Steinbeck's greatest piece of work, while the overall response to it was good, there was some negative outlooks on a few aspects of the books. The Grapes of Wrath began in Oklahoma, starring the Joad family who were attempting to get to California where they had hope to begin their new life after leaving …show more content…
This novel holds such a significance and truth about American history that it should not be banned in general. On the one hand, parents‟ and teachers‟ concerns are understandable because they only want the best for their children, and shielding their children from vulgar language and explicit content seems suitable. On the other hand, if one were to look past the language and obscenities, I feel as though one could see that the novel explores the bitter truth behind our beloved America. This bitter truth is of the migrant workers, the deaths of their innocent family members, the starvation, and the poverty – essentially it is the struggle of those who fell as victims to the terrible circumstances of this period in time. Ultimately, high school students, who I believe are old enough to comprehend this novel, should not be restricted from reading this book. I had the opportunity to read the Grapes of Wrath and I can say that I was enlightened on many aspects of our country's history. Hopefully one day, people will be able to look past the portrayal of migrants, the profanity and obscenities involved, and focus on the truth brought to light through The Grapes of
1. The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck and is historical fiction. 2. Tom Joad who has recently been released from prison for manslaughter goes back to his family farm in Oklahoma. He becomes acquainted with a preacher named Jim Casey.
The Grapes of Wrath portrays contemporary people 's actions during the long journey from Oklahoma to California. As Joad 's family travels from Oklahoma to California, their dreams and hopes are slowly crushed. When Joads struggle while facing difficulties, Ma plays a significant role: the citadel holding family all together in this hectic migration. Regardless of gender rules, Steinbeck demonstrates Ma as the real head of the household instead of Pa, driven by the responsibility and leadership within motherhood. Ma plays both mother and father figure which consequently might make Pa Joad as a useless character.
Censorship Rough Draft “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame” (Oscar). The words remarked by renowned author Oscar Wilde oppose the numerous efforts of many current governments to censor threatening texts. Many books are banned, because they showcase offensive themes; however, this depicts America’s appreciation of literature, or rather lack thereof. Books should not be banned because they depict realistic ideals and conflicts that many people may relate to.
Steinbeck later became a well known American novelist whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, portrayed the plight of migrant workers during the Great Depression. His stories often dealt with social and economic issues. The novel focuses
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.
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.
The Grapes of Wrath, one of his most well-known works is exemplary of Steinbeck’s pursuit to bring attention to the lower class and their struggles during the Great Depression, and to hold those who caused the Depression accountable, as seen in his quote “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this [the Great Depression and its effects]. I’ve done my damnedest to rip a reader’s nerves to rags” (“The Grapes of Wrath”]. Published in 1939, the novel follows a family of tenant farmers who are forced to turn their land over to the banks and journey across the Dust Bowl to the ‘promised land’ of California (“John Ernst Steinbeck”). The Grapes of Wrath became highly debated and criticized, and many accused Steinbeck of dramatizing the conditions portrayed in the novel to prove a point; however, he had actually underplayed the conditions, feeling that “exact descriptions would have gotten in the way of his story.” Though embraced by the working class, critics condemned the novel as a ‘pack of lies’ and ‘Communist propaganda,’ and the book was banned from 1939 to 1941.
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.
The author of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, wrote his American realist novel to allow readers to understand the experiences of the migrants from the Dust Bowl era. Not many people
In The Grapes Of Wrath, By John Steinbeck, the ending is very controversial in many ways, the most obvious ways though are fundamentally wrong, morally wrong, and just how depressing it is. Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. Michael Harmon once said, “The ending can be seen two ways, as a tool for people to recognize the poverty and destruction at that time, or as a way to get more citizens to read the book”. 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. Ma and Rose of Sharon look at each other and they agree that Rose of Sharon should use her milk, that she doesn’t need because her baby was stillborn, and feed this old man.
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.
Callie Pierce Professor Wombles English 1302 19 March 2016 Grapes of wrath Film and Book Discussion “The grapes of wrath book” by John Steinbeck demonstrates the problems of one migrant family referred to as the Joads. After being forced by natural disasters, mechanization of agriculture and the thriving big business they decide to relocate from Oklahoma to California where they face hardships after leaving the camp offered by the federal government. In the book, Steinbeck took the radical approach in the narration of the Joads suffering.
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.
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 in 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 Grapes of Wrath is one of my favorite novels of all time. The first reason is due to the way it is written, it is so beautifully descriptive, Steinbeck can place you into the story itself, his eloquence in his description of the setting, in my opinion, is unmatched. The novel brought realism and passion that was unmatched in any book that I have ever read.