The Grapes of Wrath

A detailed Summary of The Grapes of Wrath

Religion has had the most important role in the development of our nation. It has shaped the economic and social growth of the U.S. From the time of its "discovery" by Columbus, straight through the Great Awakening our country has been firmly planted on a rock of religion that is practically immovable. Religion has been the main determining factor in decisions made on topics such as, race, economy, human rights, government, and land distribution. Although religion has been with our country for many years, it is not until in recent centuries that it has been "in" our people. From the very beginning people have used religion for them, living with illusion that God gave it to them to utilize for their own needs. It is only recently that they have come to realize that it is indeed a gift from God for them to manifest within themselves and make the best out of.

Race is an idea of separation that has been created within the society. Segregation has always been around, but not on the scale of separation because of ethnicity or nationality. Separation before race was one of white European vs. the rest of the world. Religion is tied into the whole idea of separation, by them using having Christianity, as

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new human rights, in which freedom held the top position. Religion, something that was once used to subjugate and separate people, was now being used to set them free.

Many people came to North America to start their own religion. After being subjugated by the Catholic Church for so long, they sought some other place where they could practice their own religion. North America seemed like the ideal place to come because there was no one there. So, they set off to go to a place where their religion would be the first and only one. These peoples settled mainly to the north, and they were called the Puritans. Their economy was one of mercantilism. The people that settled more to the south, were the English men. They came there for the sole purpose of getting money. They started a cash crop business, where they used the land to plant only profit crops, such as, tobacco and cotton. As the years went by the land became larger and they eventually needed labor. They used the Indians for a little while, but then they died out. Then they sent back home for indentured servants. But as time passed England began to prosper and no one longed to come to th!

Unlike in England, North America had an abundance of land. When they went to North America there was a lot land, but the land was not theirs. Their worldview clashed greatly with that of the Indians. The Indians had a partnership with nature whereas the colonists believed that God put the land there for them. The idea of ownership over the land had not occurred to the Indians yet. Once they grasped that concept, they began to sell their land to the colonists. Eventually they sold themselves out of home, and then became dependent on the colonists for everything. The colonists tried to set up a system of nobility in North America, but it didn't work because they couldn't contain the people in a small piece of land when the access to land was so vast. The other factor that hindered the development of a system of nobility, was the fact that other p

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Approximate Word count = 1399
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels