The Joad In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

Improved Essays
“They were despised by New Yorkers. They were filthy and illiterate. They stank of fish and garlic. They had running sores. They had no honor and worked for nothing.” This excerpt is a story about how many people (immigrants) have suffered, how unfairly they’ve been treated, and how their family fell apart. This excerpt relates to The Grapes of Wrath because the Joads went through the same cycle where they starved, had no home, no jobs, little money, judged by people etc.
In the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck, The Joads have been kicked out of their own home. So they decide to go to California because they heard it’s a nice place and there are many jobs there. “Once over the line maybe you can pick cotton in the fall. Maybe

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Grapes of Wrath Essay The Grapes of Wrath is a story of the Joad family during the Dust bowl, and about their journey to California in search of work. Throughout the book, you see how the characters treat one another in hard times, and how it effects them. Dehumanization and brutality plays a huge part throughout the story and it shapes the way the characters act, feel, and say.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    the families that ad made or broke on forty acres of shared land now felt the expanse of the West. The machine had ripped them out and forever changed them. California was in panic about the multiplying and never ceasing torrent of migrants coming across the Sierra’s looking for work. Desperate men will work for little to nothing to feed their families and the wealth landowners took advantage of that. Hostility grew toward the Okies but this only assisted in their unification against the common enemy.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grapes of Wrath and Agricultural Practices and Legislation The Grapes of Wrath is very historically accurate to what families went through during the dust bowl. With the ground blowing away, the invention of tractors, and banks foreclosing on homes, it was very hard for old fashioned farmers to keep the banks happy. The Joads are very similar to any other family in the 1930’s.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The term “alienation” describes the event where an individual is excluded from a certain group or activity but should have rights to participation; one character in The Grapes of Wrath who faced alienation is Al Joad. In the novel, Al is described as a teenage boy who loves women and cars. Al, similar to the rest of the family, becomes classified as an Okie; according to the Californian landowners, Okies lack talent and drive. Al aspires to work in a garage to repair cars; consequently, his past living experiences impact his opportunity to do so. Those familiar with California prove judgmental in regards to the Okies.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    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.…

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Grapes Of Wrath Analysis

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Liam Eichenberg 10/15/2015 Mr.Lauer MA Some can argue the mother of a family controls there family John steinbecks novel “The Grapes of wrath” portrays several unique characters that resemble strength and the drive to find a better life. . On their gruling journey across the united states the joads begin to find out who has what it takes to make it there. The weak slowly die off and strong stay along for the ride to greater lands. From the beging till the end Ma Joad has taken control of this family.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Unification, defined as: coming together for a common purpose while division as a divergence between two groups, typically producing tension or hostility. Poverty and struggle bring forth these two reactions and cause people to join together through the struggle or divide to fight against one another. Ma Joad chooses to be the glue of her family and unite through poverty and struggle, she chooses empathy and graciousness over rifts and division. Ma Joad allows Jim Casy to embark on the Joads journey to California, she graciously gives food to two boys in need, and most importantly keeps her family together because she finds joy out of small moments and finds strength through love. The return of Tom from prison accompanied with the stress of the bank forcing the Joad’s off of their land, causes a whirlwind of emotions from Ma Joad, yet she remains resilient and gracious.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Immigrant Living Conditions In the 1930’s, a massive environmental disaster called the Dust Bowl ravaged much of the Midwest; topsoil eroded and combined with massive winds to destroy homes, crops, and lives. Compounding on this, the Great Depression caused massive economic suffering, especially for the displaced farmers. It is in this context that John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, a novel that focuses on the plight of migrant farm workers who came to California seeking a better life. Steinbeck depicts the major ramifications of such a decision, delving into the poor living conditions as a result of pittances of work.…

    • 1881 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lily Zheng Mr. Bowne AP English 3 Language and Composition Period 15 12 October 2015 #MigrantLivesMatter According to US News, black men are three times more likely to be searched by a police officer at a traffic stop than white person. Also, black men are six times more likely to go to jail than a white person. Recently, the tragic deaths of Michael Brown, Freddie Grey, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner have stolen the headlines of national news. These are just a few of the thousands of names that file under victims of police brutality.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Whether blatantly stated and actively convincing, or subtly incorporated and subconsciously compelling, every author has a purpose. To entertain, to teach, to persuade the reader to take a stance or to take action – every author’s purpose is unique, rooted in his or her own values and experiences. In writing The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck had his own purpose in mind. He used his story to reveal the truth of the tragedy and hardship experienced by the migrant workers of the 1930’s, through the combined employment of a moving plot and purposeful rhetorical devices. The story elicited a surprising reaction from all its readers – both those directly affected by the migrant workers, and those disconnected from the issue.…

    • 1732 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Locust Vs Grapes Of Wrath

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages

    However, within this chapter Steinbeck alludes, through allegory, symbolism and metaphor, to the plight of migrant workers and to his protagonist Tom Joad. The structure of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is that every other chapter which follows the Joad family on their journey and hunt for a better America, while the remaining chapters, usually odd numbered, tell of the plight of the migrants as a whole people. These chapters do not focus on specific characters and often to not name them. Some of these chapters are also allegorical; within these chapters Steinbeck wants the reader to know that while the Joad’s are having a miserable time, so are the many peoples of America. Exempt from those people are the bank, which Steinbeck argues is “…a monster…” .…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ulysses S. Grant once said, “Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future.” In his novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the universality of the Bible to make the account of the migrant’s plight applicable and understandable to all readers. By using Biblical references, Steinbeck is able to put the major themes and motifs of his novel into a framework to which all can relate. Steinbeck uses allusions* to the following: biblical characters, such as Jim Casy as a Christ figure, biblical events, such as comparing the migrants’ exodus to the exodus of the Jews, and teachings found in the Bible, such as the brotherhood…

    • 1510 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The night draws down. The baby has a cold. Here, take this blanket, it’s wool. It was my mother’s blanket―take it for the baby. This is the thing to bomb.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sacrifice John Ford’s inspiring film, Grapes of Wrath, pulls at the heartstrings of viewers. The film tells the story of the Joad family and their struggle to find work during the depression. The story begins with Tom Joad, the eldest son of the Joad family, finding that his family has been evicted from their home during the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and set out for California along with thousands of others in search of jobs, land, and hopes for a brighter future. Ford uses the story of the Joad family to convey the theme that the need of the many outweighs the needs of one. Ford uses Ma Joad, Tom Joad and Jim Casey to exemplify the need for supportive rather than individualistic ideals during rough times.…

    • 1016 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Throughout the novel written by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, social injustice is illuminated. The human person is programmed at birth with certain necessities. The material programmed into the bodies of humans consist of rights and responsibilities. Catholic teachings teach us to be kind to others even when it is nearly impossible. The quote “treat others as you want to be treated” is a core value in the Catholic religion.…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays