The Grapes Of Wrath Essay

Coping With the Challenges of The Great Depression The Great Depression was the aftermath of the roaring twenties. “The Depression transformed American life. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the road in search of work. Hungry men and women lined the streets of major cities” (Foner, 751). Even “thousands of families [were] evicted from their homes, moved into ramshackle shanty towns, [and] dubbed Hoovervilles that sprang up in parks and abandoned land” (Foner, 751). In the “Great…

Many people have a life without meaning and full of tragedy. In Pearl S. Buck’s novel, The Good Earth, Wang Lung, the main character, was a poor farmer who had good fortune for a few years after his marriage, until a drought occurred, which made Wang Lung and his family to the south while a revolution began. The revolution gave a chance for Wang Lung and his family to go back to the north and live as one of the wealthy, but in the end Wang Lung’s sons decided to sell his lands which would end…

“ 'No,' Ma said. 'I ain't tar'd.' “ Being tired is an aspect of life that no one can impede. In this novel Ma Joad is one of the main characters that bonds the family, no matter what the costs. She took the hardest hits when Grandma and Grandpa Joad passed, when her future son in law ran away, and when her oldest son ditched the family at a rest stop. She really wanted the family to be as one. All throughout the book she told Tom Joad, her “favorite” boy, that “The fambly is breakin' up”. Even…

In the world, empathy serves as an important factor in people doing right by others and sticking to a strong moral code. However, with the acceptance that empathy’s influence causes more than just an an enthusiastic attitude amongst the population, the common practice of holding empathy in such high regard no longer serves as the main focal point of the novel. The only flaw seen in Rick's character was his lack of empathy. By presenting empathy as a fine and vicious quality, Dick imposes that…

Two authors, two different people, do not always share the same views on everything; especially government. This is demonstrated through John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath and Henry David Thoreau’s essay Civil Disobedience. Both touch on the topic of government, and what rights human beings are entitled to. Politics is a very controversial topic in itself, but it is incredibly important that everyone creates their own opinions and convictions about said topic. One thing numerous people…

for their family. People, like the Joad family, realize they need to stick together with others in order to make it through these tough and dark times. Therefore, the social shift of “I” to “we” becomes necessary for people to survive in The Grapes of Wrath. As people are traveling to California, to find jobs and make a decent…

Technology and Material Culture in The Grapes of Wrath There are two irrevocable aspects to modern life from which we cannot separate: the use of technology, which can be good, bad, or somewhere between simultaneously, and the goods, items, objects, and products that we attach emotional value to, consume, and hoard. We are constantly finding new methods and innovations to speed up the processes of creating objects to consume, and then building our lives, measuring our very happiness up to what…

In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck says that poor people struggle.Throughout the Joad family's journey Steinbeck shows us that poor people struggle because they don't have anything or they lose something that is important and worth something. One way that Steinbeck shows that poor people struggle is through the actions of the Joad family after they lost their home. Steinbeck says, “Now the owner man grew angry, you'll have to go.” (Steinbeck 34) This shows the Joads struggling because they…

The Grapes of Wrath - an Honest Review The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Published by The Viking Press-James Lloyd on April 14, 1939 is truly a literary masterpiece. This book undoubtedly amazes me. The plot and characters make this novel action-packed and breathtaking. The story is about a farmer and sharecropper named Tom Joad and his family’s struggle during the Dust Bowl. Life is difficult during this time, and sharecroppers in the Midwest have trouble keeping food “at the table”.…

While reading Grapes of Wrath, I wondered about the changes that occurred in the movie. The intercalary chapters are some of the most fascinating parts of the novel, in my opinion, and I am interested how Ford integrated these chapters into the movie and how this integration transformed the movie adaption. The intercalary chapters focus on a community voice instead of the Joads. In these chapters, the readers get a wider view of what’s happening during this time, making these chapters more…