Themes of Unity in the Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is a moving account of the social plight of Dustbowl farmers and is widely considered an American classic. The novel takes place during the depression of the 1930s in Oklahoma and all points west to California. Steinbeck uses the Joad family as a specific example of the general plight of the poor farmers. The Joads are forced off of their farm in Oklahoma by the banks and drought, and they, like many other families of the time, head out for the promised land of California. They endure much hardship along the way, and they finally make it to California only to find that work is scarce and human labor and life are cheap. Tom Joad, the eldest son in the family, starts the book freshly out of jail and slowly evolves from selfish goals to a sense of an ideal worldly purpose in uniting people against injustice. Jim Casy, an errant preacher who is accepted into the Joad family early into the story, changes his beliefs to include all people in a sort of oversoul, as he helps to organize the workers to battle the extreme injustice done onto them by the farm owners and discriminating locals. Whereas the Joads start out as one family, by the end of the story their family becomes one wi
The theme of the group's power to fight poverty is developed through many chapters of figurative and philosophical language. Many critics have criticized Steinbeck for making political and philosophical commentary, but although this is debatable, Steinbeck still develops his theme during his general chapters about the plight of the people. Steinbeck is clearly upset by the fact that the farms and land of California or controlled by too few people. He comments, "And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, know this one fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away" (Steinbeck 324). He also speculates that "when a majority of people are hungry and cold they will take what they need by force" (324). As the Joads experience more poverty and hunger as the story progresses they begin to understand a common goal. One critic analyzes "In the midst of a blighting depression the concern for the individual begins to give way for the concern of the people" (Bowden 196). And most critics agree that "the sense of communal unit grows steadily through [Steinbeck's] narrative" (Lisca 97). In the chapters that explain the general situation of life in California, Steinbeck figuratively and philosophically explains the evolution of unity and equality. The Grapes of Wrath clearly demonstrates the theme that when overcoming hardship the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. At the end of the story Ma Joad has come to understand that her family is just part of another larger family of the migrant poor. Tom Joad comes full circle from individualistic aims to embracing the group and organization of the masses. The main events in the Joads' life at the government camp and the strike at the peach orchards also emphasize unity. At times in his narrative Steinbeck even blatantly explains his philosophies of group power and shared burden. As one critic puts it "The family of man is even more than a necessity for the Joads: it is an ideal of the novel" (Bowden 199). Steinbeck truly succeeds in giving the reader the message that when united people stand, but divided they fall. The power of unity is emphasized through the main events of the novel when the Joads leave the government camp and in the strike at the peach fields.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1561
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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