In the 1930’s there was a great drought that affected the Great Plains. This includes regions such as Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. Since, the soil in this region lacked a strong root system it became prone to dust storms. Unfortunately, this event caused many Sharecroppers to lose their jobs and most importantly their homes. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath was awarded the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for it’s realistic representation of a migrate family being directly affected by the Dust Bowl. In the year 1940, John Ford was celebrated for his interpretation of Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. By using character archetypes, as well as including mise-en-scene, Ford is able to effectively communicate
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Ford utilizes character archetypes in The Grapes of Wrath, as a means to provide a positive outlook for those who are being oppressed. Throughout the film there are recurring patterns of the good people against the bad people. The good people are often times those who are disempowered, while the bad people are associated with those who have either wealth or authoritative power. The protagonist of the film are the Joad family who are openly portrayed as the good people. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck effectively presents the Joad family for their goodness, righteous beliefs, and moral certainty to stand proud in unfortunate circumstances. All through chapter eight, Steinbeck introduces the Joad family as strong, proud and all together …show more content…
Despite the fact that Casy is a preacher who lost his spiritual calling, he is also the one who offers consciousness about the injustices that are occurring to crop pickers like Tom Joad. In the film, this is seen just before Casy is killed by a police officer. Casy states,” Lookie Tom, we come here to work. They tell us it’s gonna be 5 cents, but there’s a whole lot of us. So the man says 2 ½ cents. A fella can’t even eat on that and if he’s got kids … so we say we won’t take it, so they drive us off, Now they are paying you 5 cents. But if they bust this strike do you think they will pay 5 cents (The Grapes of Wrath). Casy is one of the many people who are associated with the Joad family. Like the Joads, Casy is an honest man who wants to fight against those who are taking advantage of the desperation of the poor. Casy offers a new perspective that courageously threatens the systematic approach of farm owners who cold-heartedly abuse their workers. To add on, the bad people are the police officers and farm owners, who are inclined to mistreat those who are neglected by
Ford utilizes character archetypes in The Grapes of Wrath, as a means to provide a positive outlook for those who are being oppressed. Throughout the film there are recurring patterns of the good people against the bad people. The good people are often times those who are disempowered, while the bad people are associated with those who have either wealth or authoritative power. The protagonist of the film are the Joad family who are openly portrayed as the good people. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck effectively presents the Joad family for their goodness, righteous beliefs, and moral certainty to stand proud in unfortunate circumstances. All through chapter eight, Steinbeck introduces the Joad family as strong, proud and all together …show more content…
Despite the fact that Casy is a preacher who lost his spiritual calling, he is also the one who offers consciousness about the injustices that are occurring to crop pickers like Tom Joad. In the film, this is seen just before Casy is killed by a police officer. Casy states,” Lookie Tom, we come here to work. They tell us it’s gonna be 5 cents, but there’s a whole lot of us. So the man says 2 ½ cents. A fella can’t even eat on that and if he’s got kids … so we say we won’t take it, so they drive us off, Now they are paying you 5 cents. But if they bust this strike do you think they will pay 5 cents (The Grapes of Wrath). Casy is one of the many people who are associated with the Joad family. Like the Joads, Casy is an honest man who wants to fight against those who are taking advantage of the desperation of the poor. Casy offers a new perspective that courageously threatens the systematic approach of farm owners who cold-heartedly abuse their workers. To add on, the bad people are the police officers and farm owners, who are inclined to mistreat those who are neglected by