Criticism Of John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

There are many messages, motifs, and ideas that a reader walks away with after reading John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath. He wrote the novel to show the american people what was wrong with the capitalistic society and the classism going on at the time and even possible still going on. However, a reader could say that this novel is also for those who were the victim of the twisted system. When you look at the novel from this point of view there is a clear message, it is to never stop fighting. The Joads never once give up, there are weak links, but as a whole they never stop fighting.
The Joads don't fight with pitchforks and fire but they work and drive forward, they push themselves on and on. Rose of Sharon spends most of the book wallowing in self pity. She complains and cries and clings to things that are impractical. But she never stop. Rose of Sharon has a baby who she is determined to bring into this world healthy and safe. A critic of this book could say that she is naive to think that milk will make her child healthy, that Connie will come back, and that she will someday have herself a white house with orange trees. When approached from another direction a critic could say that her beliefs were so strong to stop her from …show more content…
There is always someone who is worth fighting for. But what is really incredible about Steinbeck's writing is how well he shows it through Rose of Sharon. She is fighting mostly for herself at first but she learns that the battle is about her others too. She realizes that it is much bigger than her that this is about everyone else who is in the same situation. Grapes of wrath is about Ma, the Wilsons, and the man in the barn. Steinbeck decided to make the character with faults and struggles most like everyone else, the fighter who learns how to fight and what to fight for and he did so that we someday will learn to fight the same way she