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Essay on symbolism in literature
Use of Symbolism
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James McBride is the son of Ruth McBride,and he tells the story of how he struggled to find out his racial identity through his Mom who wouldn’t tell him. James is a 15 year old boy and I’d say that his health is going pretty bad since he smokes and drinks. James was born in Brooklyn, New York to Dennis and Ruth McBride, his father deceased before he was born. His mother later married a man names Hunter Jordan and they added 4 for kids to the 8 she already had.
During the great depression, the midwest underwent a long drought. Exposed dry earth swept away with the wind and caused huge dust storms that prolonged the dry weather. With the lowered selling prices and the lack of crops the farmers had some major economic trouble. In Black Blizzard and John Steinbeck 's Grapes of Wrath, the literature develops the ideas of the poor distribution of wealth within the populations and the social aspects of people of different economic class. Social differences arise in the wealthy, the employed, and the unemployed throughout this period of hardship.
After talking to Aubrey Rubenstein James Mcbride learns that all jews had moved out of the area says Mcbride. Also he learns that his family has taken over the slaughterhouse that james mother’s family owned as a child ( Mcbride 224). James also learns that not all white people treated blacks like if they weren’t the same. He says “ I found it odd and amazing when white people treated me that way, like if there was no barriers between us” (Mcbride 224). When James learned that all the jewish people had moved out he asked a lot of questions.
In this chapter, you are introduced to Floyd Knowles, a man the Joads meet while setting up tents for shelter, a Hooverville, as they are on the move along with many other families. Knowles warns them of how the police are treating certain groups with harassment. Casy decides to leave the Joads’ group because he insists that he is a burden to them, but decides to stay an extra day. Later, two men, one is a deputy, show up in a car to the tent settlement to offer fruit-picking jobs, but Knowles refuses which provokes the men. They try to falsely accuse him of breaking into a car lot so they can arrest him.
James was struggling to understand who he even was, at one point he even said, “All of my siblings, myself included, had some sort of color confusion at one time or another. ”(52). This shows how not only James, but also his siblings struggle with their identity. James began to question his racial background and how to accept himself. Because James was living in “two worlds”, it made it difficult for him to be accepted in either world, and while James’ siblings also felt the same pressure of living in “two worlds” they chose to embrace the “black power” they held.
In between each narrative chapter of The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck wrote intercalary chapters to add to the narrative. These sixteen chapters were a very effective way for Steinbeck to make his points, and progress the theme of the novel. The intercalary chapters were a wise way to summarize the entire struggle of the suffering people during the dust bowl. They showed how Joad family was one example of the millions of families who migrated to California during the dust bowl, and the general rage and resistance felt in the innocent farmers, brought on by rich privileged men who gain their power from the unstoppable big banks. These chapters strengthen my knowledge of the struggles of the time, and give me more information of what is not seen from the Joad’s struggles alone.
James says, “My stepfather’s final admonition to me went unheeded as I absolved myself of all responsibility and stayed out of the house as much as possible” (140). Jordan’s death started James’ form of “running.” Unfortunately, James’ way of grieving was through the abuse of drugs and alcohol. After some time of constant abuse, he was falling apart and it was eye-opening. James said, “I wanted to give up weed, but I couldn’t.
James McBride goes to Virginia, back to where his mother lived in order to try and find the purpose for which he is there. Apart from that he learns about his mothers effects on what she has done in her lifetime. Although james McBride goes to speak with James Aubrey, he realizes that when he goes to visit over there all the jewish people would greet him in a kindly manner. In Chapter 22, as James speaks to Rubenstein, he sees the significance of what Aubrey has to say about him. As he meets him Aubrey is astonished to see James, but shows no emotional effect of his presence and personality.
James spent his time with Big Richard and his friends that hung out on “the corner”. The corner was not a place for a teenager to be. There was alcohol, drugs and crime all combined in one section of town. One of the friends, Chicken Man, sat down and talked to James and said “If you stay here, you’ll fool around…Go away and learn to live on your own. ”(page 178-179)
They had different ways of handling the situation. For example, James was caught up in the influence of society, “ I snatched purses. I shoplifted. I even robbed a petty drug dealer once.” (McBride 6).
In the penultimate chapter of the book, James reflects on his life. He hated that his skin color seemed to determine everything about his identity in the eyes of the world. Yet, his mixed heritage allowed him to witness that black people as they proclaimed that white people had it
In the beginning of the book, James finds that he is often embarrassed by his mother, Ruth, due to the fact that she is the only white in a black community. After her second husband dies, Ruth copes with it by riding a bicycle around town, which embarrasses James even
Intercalary Chapter Literary Analysis During the Great Depression, the nation as a whole was stripped of financial security and forced into a survivalist way of living. This changed the ways that people interacted with one another and the overall mentality of society. In the Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family is torn from their land and find themselves with nothing, a common story for migrant farmers of that time, derogatorily called “Okies” by Californians. But this is not the only group that is struggling, the entire county was in a state of panic and bruteness, no matter how “well off” they seemed to be.
James is very much like his father which is in part of the reason that he cannot stand his father. The attachment and love he demands from his mother is usually toiled by his father who, “disturbed the perfect simplicity and good
ZHANG Shiyuan_HRM Human Recourse Management fascinates for me for the dynamism and challenge that it provides. A vital cog in the machinery of any business to maximize employee productivity, it is an interdisciplinary field relevant to the knowledge in policies and industries, business environment, organizational culture, essential skills in negotiation and leadership. I am hugely interested in grasping HRM knowledge for further integration with strategy consulting and management, which will be essential for establishing my career path. My first degree in International Communication Studies, which places great emphasis on analytical and highly interdisciplinary approach, has cultivated me with the literacy of communication, a significant quality needed for a practitioner in media and culture.