John Steinbeck's Existentialism

Steinbeck uses corresponding descriptions, literal sentence structure, and the literal meaning of select nouns to convey the strong contrast between the ideals of farmers who work the land they live upon and the “machine man” who shares no connection to the same land they work upon. Steinbeck first establishes notable parallels between the farmer, or the “man”, and the land. The biological makeup of both man and land are what they’re made of, however, this does not define what they are. Just as how the land is made up of nitrates and phosphates, the land to the farmer is much more than that, similar as how the man is much more than their chemistry. The parallelism between the description of the land and the description of the man personify …show more content…
Alcohol is a cheap source of comfort for workers who’ve been unsuccessful throughout their journey to seek opportunities in California. Steinbeck’s description of the effects of intoxication shows the amount of control they’re capable of in their mind, solving their personal troubles in an instant. Alcohol is described as a quick, cheap and simple solution for migrant workers to be relieved from the stress and troubles of reality with the embracing warmth of a world of their own. This delusional world allows for these workers to do as they please. In this case, accompanying themselves with friends or loved ones, and simply destroying their enemies. Steinbeck uses specific word choices to further emphasize the luxury of the world detached from reality. The earth grew “soft”, a direct contrast to the “hard” edges of the real world that began to dissipate. Failures themselves reach the same result as they “dulled”, making the future no longer a threat, and no longer carrying along any worries for such. Hunger no longer did “skulk” about, thus depicting this as no longer a threat or concern to the worker who faces with such obstacles that could lead to their very demise; This is not an issue in this distorted world. The distorted world was “soft” and “easy”, once again another …show more content…
Steinbeck’s use of nouns depicting emotions such as fear and anger each demonstrate a greater meaning than what’s merely on the surface. The women watched to see if the break has truly come at last, however, the shift from fear to anger results in a sense of relief among the women. With fear comes a sense of uncertainty, a despairing sense of feeling that consumed the men in their difficult times, consistently losing hope. The fear on the faces of the men portray a strong weakness within them, leaving them vulnerable to their own selves and to the world. But as a number of men gathered together, anger soon took place, and with anger, comes a sense of assurance that the break will not occur in this particular moment. In contrast of fear, anger brings out a sense of unity among the men. Anger provides a reason, a will to continue to thrive against reality united together with anger. In addition to this, Steinbeck uses color imagery to further convey a sense of hope growing from wrath. The land is beginning to turn a vibrant green across, with signs of new life that’s growing, demonstrating the coming of the beginning year. The commonality between the emotions of wrath and anger of the men and the pale green land is that a sense of hope, or