The Grapes of Wrath 8

A detailed Summary of The Grapes of Wrath 8


At the onset of The Grapes of Wrath we see the Joad family struggling just to keep their immediate family together. They are focused on just themselves. The Joad family's journey to California results in the breakup of their family. The breakup of their immediate family, and the embrace of the migrant family lead to a major change in the Joad's point of view. These changes are represented through the loss of their land, Ma Joad's maturity as a character, and Tom Joad's turn around and understanding.

The very first cause of the breakup of the individual family was with the loss of their land. The Joad family had lived there for many generations and had very strong ties to the land. Losing their land was equivalent to losing their family history. This is expressed by "She puts them in her pocket, closes the box, stands and with resignation tosses the box on the fire". It is very evident that ma is reluctant to let her past go. On their journey they lose their first family member, Grandpa Joad. This shows that there is a strong connection between a man and his home. Grandpa's gr


The shift from individual thinking to wide spread thinking is most directly seen in the actions of Tom Joad. In the beginning of the novel Tom is mainly concerned for his own welfare. He wants to make up for all the things that he missed while in prison. He appears to be self-centered. When Tom comes in contact with Casey he changes his views drastically. He becomes concerned about the soul of man, and the fellowship of mankind, and focuses less on himself. Tom begins to realize that in order for the migrant workers to survive and succeed they must unite. He knows that if they band together as one, they can demand that their God given rights under the constitution be honored. They begin to gain respect from their fellow man. Tom realizes that man is no good alone and that every man's soul is just a piece of a larger one.

Ma Joad grows throughout the course of the novel and becomes the anchor for the family. Her main concern at the beginning of the novel is her family. She wants to keep the unit together and works diligently to achieve this goal. However, one by one, f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tom Joad, Ma Joad, Tom Joad's, Sharon Tom, Wrath Joad, Rose Sharon, Grandpa Joad, Grandpa Grandma, joad family, Ma Joad's, , immediate family, loss land, rose sharon, an' that's, beginning novel, family unit, ma joad, farm an', individual family,

Approximate Word count = 730
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

join now Save Paper



Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.