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Dust Bowl In The Grapes Of Wrath

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The Grapes of Wrath remains perceptibly an angry book .... And it gives a final powerful impression of a growing … anger among those people themselves" (Steinbeck, Introduction xi). The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck. The book won the National book award II and Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In Many ways, the novel is considered a tragic story of defeat and loss due to the depression caused at that time when the United States was just getting on its feet economically. Actually, the events of the novel are affected by the Dust bowl and the great depression during this period. In a narrow sense, The Dust Bowl is the storm that hit America in 1939s and had a cruel impact and fatal consequences on the …show more content…

Adding to the oppression of the farmers, the inhumane treatment of the laborers planted the seed of anger in their hearts, which sooner or later would grow and revolt against this obvious injustice that had already spread in the whole society. Shedding light upon Capitalism, Steinbeck clarifies to the reader the sickness of Capitalism, which divided the society, rather than preserving the structure of it in order to fight the obstacles and get rid of it all together, yet it divided the society. Furthermore, Steinbeck reveals the hatred that resulted from this awful system and he insults the upper class society and landowners who support this unjustified system. Indeed, the author himself was a social reformer who wanted to balance between the classes of society and get rid of the unfair systems that overpower the American society and always abuses the defeated …show more content…

Although they were in harsh circumstances and they bear obstructions, they refused to live in a place that injustice and corruption existed everywhere. Besides, the upper class society looks upon the poor farmers as servant who must obey all orders and never dismiss any of them. Consequently, the farmer's sense of wrath highly rose up because they were not inferior and their sense of dignity forced them to relinquish their homeland and leave all what they own behind them, seeking for a place where they could enjoy peace of mind and find people that might respect and treat them as humans not

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The Dust Bowl was a terrible experience during a horrible time. In the 1930s post World War I America had a total collapse of the stock market causing the Great Depression affecting the economy on a global scale, but hitting hardest at home in the United States. However, the economy wasn’t the only thing that was hit hard during this time; seemingly unstoppable dust storms ravaged farming land from the west to east coast hitting hardest in the great plains in the middle section the the US became known as the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was not entirely a causation of bad luck on nature, it was caused by an increasing demand for crops, advancements in farming technology, while the final nail in the coffin was a lack of rain. During World War

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Throughout history, authors utilize the written word to either expose grievous faults within society or celebrate the feats of society. John Steinbeck is certainly no exception as he has constructed many pieces which serve to enlighten the audience on the accomplishments and faults of society. The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck attempts to expose faults within society which include prejudice and the overwhelming desire for greed. He does so through his use of allusions, diction, and characterization. John Steinbeck in the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, attempts to expose one of society’s most detrimental flaws--prejudice through the use of repetition and characterization.

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For farming families of the Southern Plains, the plight of the Great Depression was made all the more harrowing by the onset of the Dust Bowl, as readers of The Grapes of Wrath will remember well. But, for environmental historian Donald Worster, the twin calamities of the Depression and the Dust Bowl were no unlucky coincidence. " My argument," Worster declares, "is that there was a in fact a close link between the Dust Bowl and the Depression -- that the same society produced them both, and for similar reasons. Both events revealed fundamental weaknesses in the traditional culture of America, the one in ecological terms, the other in economic.

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John Steinbeck has a style of writing unparalleled in history and in the modern world. In the same way, his philosophies are also unparalleled, with his focus in socialism not extending to communism or abnegation of spiritualism. His ideal world is utopian, holding the dust bowl migrant at the same level as the yeoman farmer was held in Jeffersonian times. In The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck Steinbeck, who posses impregnable technique, conveys his message of a group working tirelessly for the betterment of the community.

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Through this, the characters eventually seek help and companionship from family and friends. In The Grapes of Wrath migrants are forced out of their homes and move West in hopes of attaining a better life. When “a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the screaming fact that sounds through history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed. The great owners ignored the three cries of history.

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In the well-written novel, The Grapes of Wrath, author, John Steinbeck, uses detailed descriptions to describe the land of Oklahoma during the 1930’s Dust Bowl migration. The Dust Bowl migration was a period of time when farmers from Oklahoma and other states in the midwest began moving to California due to the many severe dust storms that ruined the land and agriculture. Steinbeck demonstrates the effects of the major dust storms early-on in the novel. “All day the dust sifted down from the sky, and the next day it sifted down. An even blanket covered the earth.

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In the 1930s few Americans faced harder times than those in the Southern Great Plains. The Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s was one of the worst environmental disasters of the Twentieth Century. The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the lives of many people. It came in a yellowish-brown haze from the South and in rolling walls of black from the North. Simple acts of life were no longer simple.

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Within a decade, the farmer have been through the hopeful moments of prosperity and the hopeless times of hunger. Other migrating families kept traveling to find jobs. The leading historian of the Dust Bowl, Donald Worster, described it in the following way: “In no other instance was there greater or more sustained damage to the American land, and there have been few times when so much tragedy was visited on its inhabitants. Not even the Depression was more devastating, economically” [2].

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The Historical Significance of the Dust Bowl In one of the most fertile places in the United States, one of the nation's worst disasters occurred, the Dust Bowl. It began when an area in the Midwest was severely affected by an intense drought throughout the 1930s or what proceeded to be called the Dirty Thirties. The drought killed crops that had kept the rich soil in place, and when the strong root system was not there the soil was not kept grounded. Due to the soil left with no crops, the high and strong winds blew the topsoil away.

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Grapes of Wrath clearly illustrate the class struggle between workers and the upper class. Steinbeck displays the discrimination between the migrant people and landowners. Migrant workers are handled worse than animals, family’s or “Okies” are starving as food is wasted by the wealthy and the landowners maintain control through violence. “What do you want us to do? We can't take less share of the crop – we're half starved now.

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In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck follows the Joad family as they suffer the hardships caused by the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. The most important lesson people can learn from the novel is the value of a human life. Although the 1930’s was a low point in American society, the ill-treatment of human beings is still relevant today. Just like Jim Casy’s philosophy, it is important to fight for the rights of the people and their dignity. There are several examples of oppression in The Grapes of wrath.

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The dust bowl was a frightening time for most people during the 1930s. severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion. The Dust Bowl negatively affected people who lived there in a personal way. During the Dust Bowl a lot families and people had to migrate to a different state.

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In Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, human suffering is portrayed throughout the whole novel. The novel takes place during the devastation of the Dust Bowl which occurred in the 1930's. People from various Dust Bowl states all migrated towards California; the land of hope. Steinbeck utilizes the Joads' journey to demonstrate and highlight the life of an average migrant. During this harsh time, people managed their lives under the notion: every man for themselves.

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Grapes of Wrath Critical Analysis An individual is never alone when we all share a commonality of being human. The saving value of family and fellowship is prominently displayed by John Steinbeck in his novel “The Grapes of Wrath.” Each character worked together striving for a comfortable future for their family. Through their acts of kindness and selflessness, the people around them feel a sense of belonging and security being among other people. Their journey has taken them through different parts of the vagrant community scattered around California.

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The dust bowl and the Great Depression devastated the American people, although the pain and suffering endured by the affected is far beyond that of which words can describe, John Steinbeck provided us with the closest thing we can get. The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was written in an attempt to provide a realistic description of the people in the time period following the roaring twenties. Realism played a huge role in The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck studied these people in hoovervilles and he just wanted to tell their stories. In The Grapes of Wrath realism is used consistently and effectively especially throughout the chapters one through fifteen.

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