The Grapes of Wrath1
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
Through many struggles and multiple losses, the Joad family endured many nearly impossible situations. In the beginning we had a family that was out to get rich for themselves, and in the end we have a family trying to survive. Their dreams were crushed and the family was torn apart. The Joad family lost their farm and was forced into a society that was very unfamiliar. They had to adapt from being one individual family to a world family of many other people in their situation. In the end when the Joad family disintegrates, they actually merge into a larger, more universal family - the family of man. great longing for his homeland ultimately resulted in his death. 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, family members leave the group for various reasons leading to the slow disintegration of the Joad clan. The first to go is Noah, then Grandpa and Grandma die, Conni
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 = 731
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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