Unity And Community In The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinback

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinback is the story which take place in a time where opportunity is nil and desperation has overtaken American en masse. In the world of the Grapes of Wrath, the story is littered with instances of abuse, hunger, and placing profits and ownership of above fellow man. In the vacuum of opportunity and empathy on the part of captains of industry, common man becomes united in their misery and endeavors in struggling to survive. The Grapes of Wrath is a narrative from the perspective of those who had been deprived of their basic needs for the sake of profits and avarice. Much of the story details instances of callousness, greed, and is essentially a criticism of America’s Industrial revolution

The atmosphere of the Grapes of Wrath is rife with tragedy and much gloom, where many american are not really free but the disposal of businesses and the wealthy. The themes and arguments I will be explaining and discussing themes of unity or community, the callousness or lack of empathy in the conduct of wealthy and businesses, and the severe lack of security in the face of the industrial revolution’s supposed progress in Americans’ day to day life.

The themes of unity and community is very apparent in many scenes throughout the Grapes of Wrath. Within the beginning scenes of the book the character of Tom Joad comes hitchhike with a truck driver and approaches him in friendly demeanor while from the start of their interaction the truck driver is reluctant but acquiesces to Joad’s amiable exchange with him. The truck driver is himself predisposed to help Tom since he himself experienced the same desperate climate the Industrial Revolution has ushered in. What actually allowed Joad to tag along with the truck driver was fact they both at an instant, acknowledged their disdain for the rich where Joad remarked on the riches’ unpopular practice

This style of language and vivid imagery described in numerous chapters permits and cements this downtrodden depiction from America’s era of Industrial Revolution. The conduct of wealthy is examined more in depth in chapter three, where a turtle struggling in his journey across the road is solely focused on. The turtle, much in the same manner as the Joads, steadily approaches the other side with it averting death two vehicles, one driven by a caring woman, while the other by a cruel driver to actually attempts to hit and succeeds in clipping it(Steinbeck 11-12). This occurrence hints at the treatment the Joad family would endure where in attempting to reach their goals for opportunity, others would in their journey endanger and actually inflict considerable suffering on them. As the story continues, another chapter is dedicated to this sort of abuse, specifically chapter seven.Taking the perspective of a car salesman, who coordinates tactics with his sales associates prey off the west bound farmers’ lack of knowledge in automobiles and desperate circumstances. In some tactics