The Grapes Of Wrath Essay

Throughout John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, many concepts appear that were noted in
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. However, the three chapters of
Foster's how–to guide that most apply to Steinbeck's novel were "It's All About Sex...," "Every Trip
is a Quest (Except When It's Not)," and "It's More Than Just Rain or Snow." On more than one
occasion these concepts are hidden within the book, and two of them actually seem somewhat linked
together. After reading between the lines,The Grapes of Wrath has an extremely intricate plot and
many ulterior meanings. Foster's book helps to solve these meanings and make it so that the novel
can be completely understood. According to How to Read Literature Like a...show more content...
The scene goes on to describe the girl panting and heaving without being tired ad how they'll keep
going. Just like that of the hamburger stand, Steinbeck went into so much detail that noticing the
double meaning is unavoidable. Foster's concept is definitely true, "sex doesn't have to look like
sex." In fact, it rarely does. In Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor, it is stated that a
quest consists of five things: a quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges on the
way, and a real reason to go there. In this particular situation, there is not just one quester, but
instead and entire family: the Joads. They are headed to California in search of a steady job that
will support them. On their way, they face money problems, car troubles, deaths, and issues with the
government. The real reason to go there is always self knowledge in the eyes of Thomas Foster. The
family learns that they must stick together and help each other and others out in order to survive.
Without the help of their neighbors they would have perished of hunger and never would have made
it into California. Unfortunately, they never actually reach the point where they have steady and
happy lives. This is their Holy Grail. They were journeying toward something that they were never
going to find in
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Grapes Of Wrath Essay
John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most influential books in American
History, and is considered to be his best work by many. It tells the story of one family's hardship
during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930's. The Joads were a hard–working family with
a strong sense of togetherness and morals; they farmed their land and went about their business
without bothering anyone. When the big drought came it forced them to sell the land they had lived
on since before anyone can remember. Their oldest son, Tom, has been in jail the past four years
and returns to find his childhood home abandoned. He learns his family has moved in with his uncle
John and decides to travel a short distance to see them. He...show more content...
The bar of cold white light swung over their heads and crisscrossed the field. The hiding men could
not see any movement, but they heard a car door slam and they heard voices. "Scairt to get in the
light," Muley whispered. "Once–twice I've took a shot at the headlights. That keeps Willy careful.
He got somebody with 'im tonight." They heard footsteps on wood, and then from inside the house
they saw the glow of a flashlight. "Shall I shoot through the house?" Muley whispered. "They
couldn't see where it come from. Give 'em sompin to think about." (80)
The Grapes of Wrath is two intertwined stories. One of the Joad family and their personal
struggles, and the other of the greater effect of the Dust Bowl and depression on the massive
amounts of people like the Joads. He trades off each chapter, one chapter telling the story of the
Joads and the next talking about the migrants. He uses the Joads to bring the story home to the
reader, defeating the myth about the Okies. That myth being, as put by a service station attendant,
"They ain't human." (301) Throughout the novel Steinbeck goes to prove that the Joads are
perhaps the most humane people out there. As the story progresses the Joads progress as well,
from only being concerned with their own personal welfare and living to being aware of injustice
towards everyone like them. This is accompanied by the disintegration of the smaller family unit,
which is replaced by the larger world family

Grapes of Wrath Essay
Grapes of Wrath
1.The protagonist of this story is Tom Joad. Tom must overcome several conflicts when he is paroled
from jail and let out into an economically depressed country. Tom's physical conflict throughout the
novel is the task of surviving the horrible starving conditions of America's Great Depression. He also
has physical conflicts with people who only wish to destroy the hopes of migrant workers such as
the police and strikebreakers. Tom's emotional conflict deals with his inability to get good work and
take care of his family. Tom had feelings of worthlessness until he decided to run away and attempt
to organize the migrant workers against the wealthy California landowners with inspiration from his
close friend Jim...show more content...
3.There is one major instance of coincidence in the novel that changes Tom Joad's life and it
resolves Tom's position in the story. Tom runs into Jim Casey after Casey is out of prison. Tom
finds that Casey believes he can help the migrant workers have a stronger voice by organizing
everyone. Unfortunately Jim is killed by the police. However, because of Tom's encounter with Jim
he decides to take on Jim's work himself. This event is very improbable considering the number of
migrant workers in California.
4.In Grapes, suspense is added throughout the novel as the Joad family loses its members and they
encounter hardships in their search of work. My interest was not piqued beyond the point of
"what happens next" in this novel. The plot and the whole story is basically all linear and easy for
the reader to follow. There are no examples of mystery but there are several instances of dilemma.
The entire journey of the Joad family is based on the harsh reality of the dust bowl during the Great
Depression. This dilemma causes them to leave their home and pack their bags for California.
Along the way the family endures the loss of several members. The most notable instance of
dilemma occurs when Tom Joad meets with Jim Casey and finds that Jim is attempting to organize
migrant workers against the greedy landowners. When the police show up Jim Casey is killed and
Tom, in a fit of rage, murders a police officer. This event sends Tom into

Essay about The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a historical and fictional novel that was written by John Steinbeck in
1939. He wanted to show his point of view of life in US during the years of Great Depression.
This essay will talk about the lifestyle the public had during that time which dramatically changed
conditions that the environment in we stern part of US had. The plot of Steinbeck?s work of fiction
is rooted in the historical and social events of 1930s America, specifically the environmental disaster
in Oklahoma. Drought had been a serious problem for the Great Plains region of the United States
for many decades prior to the 1930s. Meanwhile, poor farming techniques of numerous sharecroppers
had decimated the agricultural capacity of the land, the...show more content...
Grandpa Joad, who complains that he does not want to leave his land, dies on the road after the
family?s departure. As the Joads near California, they hear warning rumors of a depleted job
market. One migrant tells Pa that more than twice more people show up than needed for work and
that his own children have starved to death. Soon after they reached their destination, they lose three
members of the family. Grandma dies, Noah, the oldest of the Joad children, and Connie, the
husband of pregnant Rose of Sharon, abandon the family. As Joads come to California, they observe
overcrowded camps that are full of starving migrants. Work is almost impossible to find or pays such
a small salary that the whole family cannot earn enough money for food. While staying in a camp
known as a ?Hooverville,? Tom and several men get into an intense argument with a deputy sheriff
over whether workers should organize into a union. After that, Tom knocks the sheriff unconscious,
but Jim Casy is arrested. Police officers announce their intention to burn the Hooverville. A
government–run camp proves much friendlier to the Joads, and the family soon finds many friends
and some work. Although the life in that camp for the family is pleasant, they cannot survive
without steady work, and they must move on. Joads starts to pick fruit, but soon find out that they
are getting a decent pay only because they have been hired to break a worker?s strike. Tom meets
Jim Casy, after being

The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath ends in a rather idiosyncratic way. Steinbeck provides an anticlimax ending
that is open to interpretation. The last scene occurs after the Joad family has to move from their
boxcar due to the flood that has been ongoing for six days. At this point the family has
encountered a series of problems that seem to be never ending. Every time there is a glimpse of
hope, something comes and tears everything down. In California for example, finding a job was
difficult for the family. On different occasion, they would get flyers or invitations to work at a
farm but get there only to be disappointed. In the peach farm for example, they arrive there only to
find an angry mob of protesters and the farmers are only paid five cents a box for picking peaches
(476). As the family is trying to hold together and continuing their quest to find a better place to
settle down, they run into a dying old man and a little boy. Despite the challenges they have been
facing, the family is kind enough to stop and help the little boy and his father. The anger and
disappointment they had about California did not stop them from helping. Their unselfish actions in
the last scene of the book are a sign of hope for the future; hope that despite the dark moments there
is light at the end of the tunnel.
Rose of Sharon plays an important role in the helping the dying man. When Rose of Sharon was
pregnant, everyone in the family was excited for the baby despite the problems they had. The

Argumentative Essay On The Grapes Of Wrath
The States of Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma was hit
by a terrible drought that was known as Dust Bowl in 1930s to 1940s. The Dust Bowl made the
farmer families in this affected States not able to pay their debts and so the government and bank
closed the family farm. The movie "The Grape of Wrath" directed by John Ford depicts the life of a
family from Oklahoma that was affected by the Dust Bowl in 1930–1940. The family left Oklahoma
and moved to California which they call the promise land but when they got to California starvation,
poverty, and injustice welcomed them. The Dust Bowl in 1930s and 1940s made the people's lives
miserable and made the whole country suffer.
The movie started when Tom Joad returned to his home in Oklahoma after being in jail for
homicide. On his way to see his family, he saw a former preacher named Casey. The former
preacher told and warned Tom Joad that the Dust Bowl came year after year that blown the
farmer's land, blown the crops away, and even blown the farmers. When Tom got to his family's
home, his family was not there but there was a farmer who was staying and hiding at their old
house. The farmer told Tom the story on how the Dust Bowl destroyed every farmer's land, house,
and life in Oklahoma. According to the farmer, a man came one day and told the farmers to get
off their house and land because a company based in Tulsa already owns their lands. However, the
farmers fought back and they stayed in their home and land because it was hard for them to leave.
Unfortunately, caterpillar tractors went to their land that is now owned by a company to tore
down the farmers' houses. There were 10 to 15 families who watched their houses being
dismantled by a tractor. Every farmers' family that had their home demolished had no place to
live so they were forced to stay on the road. The farmer who was staying at Tom's old house
informed him that his family was staying with Tom's Uncle John. After knowing that, Tom went to
his Uncle John's house right away to visit his family. The whole family was in shocked but very
happy to see Tom. While having a meal, Uncle John read the hand bill to the family that says there
are 800 workers

Essay about Grapes Of Wrath
John Steinbeck uses symbolism to enrich his writing. Several of these symbols can be found in his
book, The Grapes of Wrath. The Joad's, a family from Oklahoma, are in search of a better life. They
leave their home in journey to California because of the dust bowl. The symbols in the book are the
dust, the turtle, names of people, and the grapes. These symbols give the reader an additional
perspective of the book. Dust represents life and death. Dust makes a mess of things and leaves
possessions under a mucky film. The farming in Oklahoma becomes difficult because the heavy
winds uplift the soil and carry it great distances. Then the farmers are left with no soil to grow their
crops. The Joad's livelihood depends on the soil. If the...show more content...
An' they ain't done it, neither" (p.62). Muley's last name symbolizes death. The fact that he is to
die on his land. Everyone is tractored off the land, but him. As the Joad's are forced to move off
their land, they decide to move west, to California. After traveling all night they finally reach the
mountains on the other side of the desert. Everyone gets out of the truck to gawk at the beautiful
fields. But not everyone sees the same thing. Tom claims that Ruthie and Winfield, his younger
siblings, are the ones that see the true beauty. "Who's really seein' it is Ruthie an' Winfiel'"
(p.313). Winfield is young and his name hints to the reader that he might "win the fields" from
the rich farmers down the line. He is capable of working the land and may be the first farmer of
the Joad family. While Ruthie, she is ruthless. She is very cruel and finds it hard to share. She
was nibbling on some cracker jacks and some kids came and asked for some crackers, but Ruthie,
she wouldn't share. "So Ruthie got mad an' chased 'em, an' she fit one, an' then she fit another, an'
then one big girl got up an' licked her" (p.563). Although she appears to be strong in reality she is
weak . Grapes are the fruit of the vine; something sweet. But in actuality for the Joad's they are a
disappointment. The Joad's talk about them as being this wonderful fruit that will bring them a better
life. They will pick the grapes and earn

The Grapes Of Wrath: A Character Analysis
In the novel, there were many different people who lived through the epidemic that wiped out the
world, Ish being one of them. Although the survivors were able to live, some didn't truly live, but
rather "failed" at living. Instead of continuing on after the terrible tragedy, they chose to dwell on
the past and on the fear that the Great Disaster had brought, leading to insanity and wasting their
life. However, others, like Ish, were able to survive while keeping their sanity and continuing on
with life. In hard times such as these, I believe that those who are able to survive and overcome the
difficult circumstances are those who keep hope, and those who look to the future rather than
dwelling on the past. When people look backward their whole

Essay on Grapes Of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, a remarkable novel that greatly embodied the entire
uprisal of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in the 1930's. The usage of imagery and
symbolism help to support his many different themes running through the course of the novel. His
use of language assisted in personifying the many trials and tribulations which the Joad family, and
the rest of the United States, was feeling at the time. This was a time of great confusion and chaos
because no one really knew what the other was going through, they were all just trying to hold their
own. To display the many sides of the depression Steinbeck developed the use of intercallorie
chapters, and he...show more content...
He also used animal imagery throughout the novel. The most prominent description of these
animals was the highly symbolic land turtle. "The back legs went to work, straining like elephant
legs, and the shell tipped to an angle so that the front legs could not reach the level cement
plain"(20)."The old humorous eyes looked ahead, and the horny beak opened a little. His yellow
toe nails slipped a fraction in the dust"(21). This sort of description gives the reader an impression
of struggling effort with a lack of results, which was part of the hardship the people in the Dust Bowl
were experiencing. Steinbeck used the descriptions of the characters themselves to create images,
typically giving the people animal qualities. "Joad's lips stretched tight over his long teeth for a
moment, and he licked his lips like a dog, one in each direction from the middle"(16). Also, he used
imagery to portray the people of the time, and the weariness of their life and emotions:
Lines of weariness around the eyes, lines of discontentment down from the mouth, breasts lying
heavily in little hammocks...the mouths panting, the eyes sullen, disliking sun and wind and earth,
resenting food and weariness, hating time that rarely makes them beautiful and always makes them
old.(199)
Steinbeck's usage of

The Grapes Of Wrath: Passage Analysis
In this week's reading Acts 18:9 stood out to me. It stood out to me because the Lord actually
spoke to Paul through a vision. The Lord told him not to be afraid because He was with him and
no one would attack or harm him. The idea that Paul had a vision and the Lord spoke to him
doesn't bother me as much as the Lord's actual message. So, was the Lord not with Paul before
when he was attacked and nearly killed? I know He was, but I wonder if Paul was thinking the same
thing, "Gee, thanks God, glad you have my back now." I do think this passage goes to show how
much things were escalating after the conversion of Crispus. Maybe Paul was questioning whether
he should stay and God knew he needed the extra encouragement to do so.

Violence In The Grapes Of Wrath
We as Americans have seen our share of violence whether it is first hand, through the media, or in
history books. We have seen the pain and struggle that these people must go through in order to
survive. This novel, The Grapes of Wrath, relates to some of the many times of violence and cruelty
that this America has seen.
During the Dust Bowl, hundreds of thousands of southerners faced many hardships, which is the
basis of the novel called The Grapes of Wrath. It was written to portray the harsh conditions during
the Dust Bowl. When one considers the merit of this novel, one thinks, how can Americans treat
other Americans so horribly. After reviewing American History, the mistreatment of the
"Okies" in The Grapes of Wrath can...show more content...
In chapter 21, the workers are in California and the mild people of California find in the Okies what
they have yet to experience– fear and desperation. Sensing the extent to which the migrants are
willing to work, the locals begin to fear for their own jobs, and most importantly, for their own
property. In fearful defense, they attack the Okies as marauders who mean to destroy both
populations through their desperation. This fear transforms into hostility, which reveals itself in the
story through the deputies and managers who abuse and assault the Joads, as well as other migrant
families in the workers' camps.
Throughout the novel there are several symbols used to develop the theme; man verses a hostile
environment. Each symbol used in the novel show examples of both extremes. Some represent man
that struggles against the environment; others paint a clear picture of the feelings of the migrants.
As each symbol is presented chronologically through the novel, like the "turtle" at the beginning and
then the "dust." They all come together at the end to paint a clear picture of the conditions, treatment
and feelings the people (migrants) as they make their journey through the novel to the West.
Violence is everywhere, more today than yesterday. We still see or hear of random acts of violence
that are happening all around. Whether it be racial or not, this violence will not

Essay On The Grapes Of Wrath
From I to We The Great Depression was a time in history when almost everyone suffered. The
novel The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck depicts a family, the Joads, moving to California
because the bank had taken their home and land. Many families were moving away to try to find
work so that they could provide for their children. Families that were once one, later became two.
The Joad family wanted to stick together because they thought that was all they could do to get
through this unpleasant situation. Anybody who had anything gave help to those in need. These
times were when the Wallaces gave Tom food and helped him find a job, when the people at the
government camp gave aid to those who needed it, when Sairy and Ivy Wilson helped the...show
more content...
Mis' Joyce, you knowed that," she said sternly. "How come you let your girls git hungry?" "We
ain't never took no charity," Mrs. Joyce said. "This ain't no charity, an' you know it," Jessie raged.
"We had all that out. They ain't no charity in this here camp. We won't have no charity. Now you
waltz right over an' git you some grocteries, an' you bring the slip to me" (Steinbeck 431). This
paragraph shows how the government was so good to the people who were in need of help.
Those who had something, tried to help those who did not have anything. Once the family got to
California, they soon realized how few jobs were available. They went all around looking for
work, but never found it. They heard about a government camp in Weedpatch. They arrived there
and found out that this is the place to be. The family went to sleep, and Tom awoke earlier than
the others. He met Timothy and Wilkie Wallace eating breakfast. They offered him some food
and Tom gladly accepted. After talking for a while, the Wallace's mentioned a job. "We're laying
some pipe. 'F you want to walk over with us, maybe we can get you on" (Steinbeck 397). The
Wallace's could have easily kept the job to themselves so they would get the money, but they did
not. This shows that they did what they could do for their fellow neighbor, even when times were
bad. Many families traveling to California would stop on the side of the road, a lot of times,
wherever there was water. The Joad family meet Ivy

The Grapes Of Wrath
"At the heart of every immigrant's experience is a dream– a vision of hope that is embodied in his or
her destination" (Gladstein, p. 685). In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, it is portrayed that the
migrant's thoughts of an American Dream is/was a simple and straightforward notion: go west
(California), get employment and become rich. Little did they that know that an ideal and perfect
life was difficult to accomplish and it corrupted the minds of those pursuing it. The author, John
Steinberg, placed a lot of emphasis on the unachievable nature of the American Dream regarding
economic stability in the novel through the cross–country migration of the Joads, their continuous
and unpredictable changes in employment and eventually, their failure to find the success they so
desired in California (Aghosh, Allentown, PA).
The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, is an...show more content...
The Joads were going down "something of a tricky intense street a way of escape from misery to
an uncertain Californian deliverance" (Spangler). It can be reasoned that "when the one and only
option is putting the family on the road to a foreign place, problems arise" (Spangler) and the Joads
faced many problems. Connie, among his relatives, chose to accept reality rather than to live in a
fantasy – pursuing the American Dream. For instance, "Connie strikes out all alone... he then
forsakes the Joads' adamant quest for ranch work for the open doors in the city" (Bloom, p. 18).
Connie understood that pursuing the American Dream was an exercise in vainness and although he
ran far from the matters of money related uncertainty by leaving his significant other and child, he
was essentially doing what was reasonable and rather taken after a future that would best suit him.
While the Joads were on an endless excursion in search of the American Dream, they didn't discover
any jobs that suited their trust of a money related way of

The Grapes of Wrath Essay
The Grapes of Wrath This event occurred in the era of the Great Depression in the United States,
which was in the late 1920's and early 1930's, when the whole nation had to go through hardships
because of the scarce resources in the country. Beginning with the stock market crash of 1929,
poverty and oppression spread across the nation like a wild fire taking everyone by surprise. The
Dust Bowl helped continue this movement. Many different things caused this event. For example,
when the Great Depression occurred, many peoples land were taken away leaving them penniless
and forced into poverty. In this case, the Joads were kicked off their land by the bank, which owned
it because the drought from the Dust Bowl had made...show more content...
Hoover. The people believed that it was because of him this depression was caused, so the author
uses his name as one of the cities in the book called Hooverville. It was this same city where one
of the conflicts between Tom Joad and a deputy sheriff occur causing Tom to get arrested. The
author tries to tie in what is happening in the world around them into their lives. Such as the
conflict in Hooverville shows the kind of efforts the president was making for the people. On the
other side of a president that people thought had disappointed them, then later came the president
that was supposed to help them with his " New Deal." This president is known as Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Though he becomes president in later years at the end of the decade that the book
was written, he still is part of the era. He tried to help his people out, and doing so, you can see
the slow changes at the end of the book on how things are starting to come in to place. To get back
in the story, the main Protagonist was Tom Joad because the conflicts in the story did revolve
around his life and the people in it. He basically represented the migrant workers and had a plan to
organize people to improve living conditions. He realizes the effects of capitalism and what it had
done for the people on the earth. Even though it wasn't so much a single person, but the government
also did play an important role. The government portrayed as both good and evil in this book, a type
of

The Grapes Of Wrath Literary Analysis
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls are the stories of
two families who endure seemingly insurmountable odds to stay together. Just a few of the many
hardships they face include financial instability and homelessness. The Walls and the Joads have a
lot of qualities that help them stay together, but their saving qualities are their ambition and the
leadership skills in the women. The central conflict in The Grapes of Wrath is the Dust Bowl during
the 1930's and its effects on tenant farmers. The Joads are just one of many families affected by
this disaster. The story revolves around their move to California and their search for jobs. The
quality that helps them endure is their ambition. Their desire to be successful drives them to work
hard and support one another. Their ambition is symbolized by their move to California and search
...show more content...
Jeannette, the narrator, is a young girl whose father is an inventor who frequently loses his jobs
and her mother refuses to work. Whereas the Joads have a drive to go out and work, Jeanette's
parents do just about everything they can to not have to work. Her father fills her family's heads
with the idea that they'll become rich once he sells one of his inventions. Another one of his
inventions was going to be the Glass Castle: a massive glass mansion that was self–sufficient and
produced its own energy. In the second chapter, Jeanette talks about both inventions. She says,
"Dad was always inventing things, too. One of his most important contraptions was a
complicated contraption called the Prospector, It was going to help us find gold." And then, " All
of Dad's engineering skills and mathematical genius were coming together in one special project: a
great big house he was going to build for us in the desert. It would have a glass ceiling and thick
glass walls and even a glass staircase" (Walls, pages

The Grapes of Wrath: Connections to the Great Depression
The decaying state of the American economy and the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s
brought about the necessity for the United States to reconsider its attitudes and examine the long
term effects of its policies concerning wide–scale socioeconomic problems that were constantly
growing bigger. The Great Depression led to the creation of many new and innovative government
policies and programs, along with revisions to older economic systems. However, these cost the
government billions of dollars in a country that had consistently been stretching the gap between the
rich and poor. This continued as the Great Depression began to change everything people had grown
old knowing,...show more content...
"Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air: a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his
waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an automobile boiled a cloud
behind it. The dust was long and settling back again." (Steinbeck 4)
Crops had indeed been ruined as well, and for a long while. It took many futile attempts from
farmers at replanting their wheat to realize this; the earth–uprooting storms did not spare anymore
crops a chance. After seeing that all efforts put into this region were proving to be in vain,
farmers had decided to move out west (Mostly to California for its professed jobs and beautiful
land and climate) in a struggling effort for survival. They began migrating using any jalopies or old
cars that they could obtain and hopping on Route 66, which would take them where they needed to
go. "The people in flight streamed out on Route 66, sometimes a single car, sometimes a little
caravan. All day they rolled slowly along the road and at night they stopped near water". (Steinbeck
152) A large amount of the migrants came from the heavily dust–infested Oklahoma. Many of these
unfortunate folk were looked down upon and prejudiced against because they could only pray for
jobs that could give them the wages they needed to purchase food and endure. The migrant
Americans,

Grapes Of Wrath Character Analysis
In novels and books, characters are faced with a challenging journey throughout life filled with
obstacles and tribulations. Characters often change and develop because of these trials and are
notorious for coming out stronger in a way whether it's physically or mentally. In Steinbeck's novel
The Grapes of Wrath, Ma Joad starts out as the typical wife and mother in the 1930s, quietly in the
background with an underlying strength, but as the story goes on she develops a mental and
physical backbone through the trials she faces on the road and in California and ultimately holds the
most strength in working to keep the family together. John Steinbeck builds a compelling supporting
character, Ma, by using strong dialogue and descriptive...show more content...
Ma establishes her role as a cook, thus reinforcing her moral obligation to support her family with
comfort of food. Also, her obligation to act as the cook shows her tradition to follow the old
social American norm that women should stay home and cook for the men. Additionally, Ma
reveals her high moral conduct and dignity, she knows the family will have to sell their personal
possessions to survive the trek to California. When the men come back from selling the family's
belongings, Ma openly displays regret, but she holds in her anger and accepts the humiliation since
the family has sold everything to find more opportunities. The inevitability that Ma's moral code
has to be broken reinforces Ma as a compelling character by demonstrating inner conflicts and
emotional baggage. The road to California is a long and perilous path that brings change to the
whole Joad family–– especially to Ma who develops intense strength and character along the
journey by adapting to the new situation and keeping the family unified. Before the Joads embark
on their trip to California, the family has a meeting to devise a plan. The men in the family are the
ones with opinion and power, squatting and discussing with each other while Ma "took [her] [place]
behind the squatting men" (108–109). She does not have a voice in any decisions the men make
about what will happen to the family–– she must comply with what the men say. However, Ma

Summary: The Grapes Of Wrath
Mike felt something empty inside; he would escape his normal life and marriage by joining a
group of men who would kill an innocent man. His shadow would reveal itself, which Mike did not
want to bare to the rest of the community because he wanted to fit in. He would repress his feelings
by re–thinking his actions when it came to hurting another person. When he stood there, watched,
felt irritated next to a man who watched with him, and told him how he felt towards the man by the
tree trying to burn the body. He turned to a man who stood beside him in the near–darkness, "That
don't do no good, he said" (Steinbeck 133). Mike believed burning the body would not do any good
towards the men by the tree. Mike felt this strange feeling inside him,

The Grapes Of Wrath: A Short Story
I'm talking serious quantities of toads. This is what the great LORD says: Let my people go, so
that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with
frogs. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and
onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and
kneading troughs. The frogs will go up on you and your people and all your officials. – Exodus
8:1–4 Welp! God ordered Moses to have the above wrath fall upon the Egyptians, then I guess
centuries later he thought it would be a good idea to have them to converge onto Smithtown...and
converge they did. From little ones that approached cute, to big fat juicy ones,...show more content...
It turned into toad genocide. You'd push the gas mower in a nice straight row–slicing off the tops of
the grass blades and adding to the summer's sweet potpourri–as the roar of the engine lulled you into
a trance, then your trance gets rudely interrupted with the quick spurt of sound, when a plump
one got pureed. I think I was only involved in one intentional murder of these freakin' intruders, (I
didn't even dissect one in school.) and I was only an accomplice in the crime. I assisted as I
pitched a fat guy to my friend with a bat, who only managed a bunt. Toads don't go far.
Unbeknownst to me, less than a mile away on the other side of the school, there was a future
friend who was the Hitler of The Froggy Holocaust. He, and his Gestapo, were responsible for a
collective killing of these jumping; wart causing, Brothers Grimm's prince kissing, lick and trip
[1] amphibians. Though I wasn't involved in this story, it warrants being told. Hitler Mike, many
years later would become a good friend of mine, and he shared this story with me. He told his tale,
a tale I think I would have suppressed into my past, along with not sharing some of the weird things
I did – as a young whipper snapper – such as when I discovered the art of masturbation. I did it, but
I ain't goin tell it. (Opps! I just

The Grapes of Wrath Essays
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is set in the horrible stage of our American history, the Depression. Economic,
social, and historical surroundings separate the common man of America into basically the rich and
poor. A basic theme is that man turns against one another in a selfish pride to only protect
themselves. For example, the landowners create a system in which migrants are treated like animals
and pushed along from one roadside camp to the next. They are denied decent wages and forced to
turn against their fellow scramblers to simply survive.
The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of two types of 'families' in that the Joads are a factual one and
the body of migrant workers as the other. The Joads are actual blood...show more content...
Tom, though, is a very complicated individual who turns out to be a tremendous asset and burden
to the family. His parole causes the family an unneeded worry, but does get work that helps the
family. He is the main protagonist for his family and the main follower of Jim Casy's philosophy
on human nature. Jim is much more of a talker and idealist, and he actually puts what he preached
into action. Jim Casy is frequently compared with Jesus Christ and his lifestyle of preaching and
leading people. As well as sacrificing himself for Tom and theJoad family which upholds his
common held belief. Tom carries Jim's message after his death and aids others with it. The Joad
family, along with Jim Casy, shows the benefit of people uniting in order to accomplish goals and
this is a lesson that the reader can take away from this novel.
The setting is so important to the novel because it sets the role and background of the characters.
View of the Depression then come from a man just off of parole or a grandfather who is getting old
and to weak to be the backbone of the family. The Depression that has hit nailed thecommon man
and jobs are scarce. This is the binding factor between everyone in the novel – that most people are
'down in the dumps.'
The main theme of the book is the 'character' of people in that time. How people bonded and
rejected one another in a time of such hardship and demoralization. I think every character played a
part in the

The Grapes Of Wrath Essay

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