Grapes of wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's lived. The novel tells of one family's migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California, and how they survive the cruelty of the landowners that took advantage of them, their poverty, and willingness to work. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck connects man and earth through three examples: the small farmer's need for earth, big corporation's need for earth, and the earth's weather accomping the migrants. The Joad family and other small farmers need the earth for nourishment. The earth provides a means of survival. Through their blood, sweat, and tears, the Joads provided their own family's wealth. They had a better understanding of the earth because all their effort was poured into it. They loved, hated, and cherished the earth. The connection was strong because the earth was part of them, one of the family. This is why it is so difficult to leave their land w
Steinbeck depicts the earth's weather in the first and last commentary chapters. The opening chapter paints a vivid picture of the situation facing the drought-stricken farmers of Oklahoma. Dust is described as covering everything, smothering the life out of anything that wants to grow. The dust is symbolic of the erosion of the lives of the people. The dust is synonymous with "deadness". The land is a ruined way of life (farming), people uprooted and forced to leave. Secondly, the dust stands for profiteering banks in the background that squeeze the life out the land by forcing the people off the land. The soil, the people (farmers) have been drained of life and are exploited. The rains that come at the end of the novel symbolize several things. Rain, in that it is excessive, in a certain way fulfills a cycle of the dust which is also excessive- in a way nature has restored a balance and has initiated a new growth cycle. This ties in with other examples of the rebirth idea in the ending, much in the way the Joad family will grow again. The rain contributes to the theme by showing the cycle of nature that gives a conclusion to the novel by showing that life is a pattern of birth and death. The rain is another example of nature against man; the rain comes and floods the living quarters of the Joads. In opposite ways rain can be helpful to give life to plants that need it to live. Depending on which extreme the rain is in; it
Some common words found in the essay are:
Oklahoma Dust, La Soul, Gate's Microsoft, Graves Muley, Wrath Steinbeck, John Steinbeck, connection earth, Grapes Wrath, land owners, joad family, earth profits, earth's weather, current society, grapes wrath,
Approximate Word count = 977
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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