Family, Integrity, and Family in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
(Themes Found in the Ending of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath) In John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath the Joad family’s world is torn apart once the Great Depression begins and the Dust Bowl takes away their livelihood. The family goes on a journey to “the promised land” to find a better life. “It is biblical narrative with California as the promise land, or an Eden whose promise is lost” (The). The Joads believed that California would solve all their problems, but so did all the other suffering families in America that set out on the same journey. Throughout the novel, it becomes obvious that the family’s life is not at all easy and they have to overcome many obstacles …show more content…
Bloom touches on the subject of the Joad’s survival when he writes, “The overt content is the essentially undamaged survival of their sense of fun and beauty” (Bloom). What Bloom states relates to how the family, mostly Ma Joad, tries to keep a positive outlook on all the situations put in front of them. As I previously wrote, Ma won’t push aside or ignore the bad things that happen, but she won’t take them to heart either. Ma only tries to learn as much as she can from a situation, even if it’s bad, because that is how she keeps her family alive, that is her survival. Near the conclusion of the novel, Tom has to run away in order to stay out of prison, running away is his survival. It is not a cowardly act for him to run because he tells his mother that he will always be there, but hiding in the shadows is the way he’ll have to live, but it’s also how he’ll help others survive. The most obvious example of survival would be the very concluding event of the novel, Rose of Sharon nursing a starving man to save him. Although such an act is unusual and quite odd to many readers, this act perfectly depicts the measures that were taken to save your own kind. By “own kind,” I do not mean human, I mean those you are just like you, those you are in the same trouble you are or worse. As Ditsky states, “…the scene accomplishes an emergence from the shadow of death…” …show more content…
Their journey tests the Joads as a whole, but they stick together because their family is what matters the most to them. Even when the people around them are breaking form the pressure of the economy and changing society, the Joads maintain their integrity and help those who need it the most. Survival during such tough times is the most prominent theme in Steinbeck’s novel because it is the family’s journey begins so that they can survive. The novel also ends with survival, Tom running away and Rose of Sharon saving a starving man. Steinbeck depicts life during the Great Depression through the Joad family, and themes that follow them are family, integrity, and
(Themes Found in the Ending of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath) In John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath the Joad family’s world is torn apart once the Great Depression begins and the Dust Bowl takes away their livelihood. The family goes on a journey to “the promised land” to find a better life. “It is biblical narrative with California as the promise land, or an Eden whose promise is lost” (The). The Joads believed that California would solve all their problems, but so did all the other suffering families in America that set out on the same journey. Throughout the novel, it becomes obvious that the family’s life is not at all easy and they have to overcome many obstacles …show more content…
Bloom touches on the subject of the Joad’s survival when he writes, “The overt content is the essentially undamaged survival of their sense of fun and beauty” (Bloom). What Bloom states relates to how the family, mostly Ma Joad, tries to keep a positive outlook on all the situations put in front of them. As I previously wrote, Ma won’t push aside or ignore the bad things that happen, but she won’t take them to heart either. Ma only tries to learn as much as she can from a situation, even if it’s bad, because that is how she keeps her family alive, that is her survival. Near the conclusion of the novel, Tom has to run away in order to stay out of prison, running away is his survival. It is not a cowardly act for him to run because he tells his mother that he will always be there, but hiding in the shadows is the way he’ll have to live, but it’s also how he’ll help others survive. The most obvious example of survival would be the very concluding event of the novel, Rose of Sharon nursing a starving man to save him. Although such an act is unusual and quite odd to many readers, this act perfectly depicts the measures that were taken to save your own kind. By “own kind,” I do not mean human, I mean those you are just like you, those you are in the same trouble you are or worse. As Ditsky states, “…the scene accomplishes an emergence from the shadow of death…” …show more content…
Their journey tests the Joads as a whole, but they stick together because their family is what matters the most to them. Even when the people around them are breaking form the pressure of the economy and changing society, the Joads maintain their integrity and help those who need it the most. Survival during such tough times is the most prominent theme in Steinbeck’s novel because it is the family’s journey begins so that they can survive. The novel also ends with survival, Tom running away and Rose of Sharon saving a starving man. Steinbeck depicts life during the Great Depression through the Joad family, and themes that follow them are family, integrity, and