Comparing The Glass Castle And The Grapes Of Wrath

The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls and The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck both features a distinct family in times of hardships facing numerous struggles and challenges. Having to always be on the move, these families constantly face a new dilemma. Behind each family is a story and in the end, the families came together and strive through the extreme difficulties. These two families having to face different obstacles, survived through their hardships in two similar concepts: persistency and optimistic. These attributes helped assist the families in different ways throughout their journey through life. The Glass Castle is a memoir that details the joys and struggles of Walls’ childhood and her family. Having an alcoholic father who cannot keep a job and mother who does not want to work, Jeannette’s family is constantly short on money and food. The Walls’ family is always on the move all around the country, hoping that their new settlement brings new opportunities and more money to the family. Rex’s alcohol problems and Rose’s insecurities towards her children, however, keeps the family from doing so. Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath details the struggles and hardships of the Joad family after being driven off their homestead by greedy landowners. In seek of a new future and better farming conditions, the family set out to the promising lands of California. Unfortunately, more conflicts arose and …show more content…
The use of their optimistic and persistent attributes in different situations helped them do the impossible during their times of hardships. Their motivation to achieve their goals proved how similar these two families are. One of the biggest message these families showed to the readers is that the strong bonds between families and friends can help us overcome anything if we stick together and have faith in each