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Suffering In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath was published just as the Great Depression ended. His novel is set during the 1930’s, specifically in the dust bowl of the Midwest. In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family makes the perilous journey out West to find new jobs after their family farm was shut down by the company that owned their land. When they reach California, they realize it was not the oasis they had once imagined it to be, as they were met with no jobs left in the state, poor living conditions, brutal police, and low amounts of food. However, the obstacles they face all hold one thing in common: they are the product of man’s cruelty. Each of these hurdles were also faced by every other family that moved out West during the early 1930’s, and their mentality was merely to survive. Therefore, true human nature was …show more content…

There are many different reasons as to Steinbeck chose this to be his major theme to prevail throughout the book, but the main reason is to make the readers feel what he felt while researching for the novel. The theme is apparent due to the constant nature migrants who are constantly on the receiving end of cruelty from the native California people. One point that shows this is in chapter twenty-two when a native told Rose of Sharon, “I can see your black soul a-burnin'. I see that innocent child in that there girl's belly a-burnin'” (Stienbeck 409). In this quote a native is telling Rose of Sharon all the things she does, not even completely sinful, is ruining her innocent baby. There are instances like this in every chapter at least once, if not normally

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John Steinbeck has been a pillar of American literature for decades. His work, especially Grapes of Wrath and The Harvest Gypsies, helped to shed light on some of the issues that plagued California, and the rest of the United States during the Great Depression. His works accentuate the theme of the importance of community, especially when those with the power to help don 't. These novels take place during the Great Depression, a time when there were very few jobs, little stability, widespread poverty, and diminished hopes for the future. This era sets the stage on which these stories take place. During these harsh times, many people turned to the government or banks for help, but they were turned down by the banks because they wanted a profit, or they bankrupted, and the government 's resources were stretched so low they could only help few people.

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The Grapes Of Wrath Chapter 11 Analysis

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The tone of chapter 11 in John Steinbeck's, “The Grapes of Wrath,” is sympathetic, sad and hopeless. His word choice and syntax show how the sad houses were left to decay in the weather. His use of descriptive words paints a picture in the reader's mind. As each paragraph unfolds, new details come to life and adds to the imagery. While it may seem unimportant, this intercalary chapter shows how the effects of the great depression affected common households.

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570 Words | 3 Pages

In the book, American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, James N. Gregory attempts to change readers perspective of stereotypes created by artist during the Great Depression, such as those created by John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath and Dorthea Lange’s photograph of the “Migrant Mother”. In his book, Gregory “takes us back to the dust bowl migration” to reveal that there is more to Oklahoman, Arkansan, Texan, and Missourian immigrants than economic hardship. He focuses on regionalism, and an “Okie” subculture that was created due to the high rate of migration to California. Gregory sets out to prove that they also had a mass effect on Californian culture and social patterns. Using extremely efficient primary

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Since the book came out in 1939, everyone has had a opinion on the ending to John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. It has a very controversial ending, that Steinbeck thought would name the last nail into the coffin, so to speak, on how bad the dust bowl and moving west really was. The ending starts when the Joad family is threatened with a flood, so they make their way to a old barn where they find a boy and his old father. The boy says his father is starving, and that he can’t keep anything solid down. He needs something like soup or milk.

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Grapes of Wrath show the unfair working situations that migrants face when they arrive in California. Land Owners are the most wealthy and powerful having the ability to pay their workers a poor wage. In the Grapes of Wrath, many Americans lose their homes, jobs and life savings, forcing them to move and leave behind their land in hopes of finding a prosperous place to live. The Great Depression (1929-1939) was the worst, deepest and longest lasting economic collapses in the industrialized western world. The Joad family is planning to move to California, but some of them have doubts and attachments that make them contemplate whether or not it is the right choice.

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