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The Dust Bowl In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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John Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath” is set in the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s, a time period in which many Oklahomans were faced with economic hardships due to the condition of the land. The novel is centered on the Joad family, farmers who are being forced by the bank’s takeover of their land to move to California in search of work.
“The Grapes of Wrath” begins with an in-depth passage incorporating imagery, repetition, and diction with negative connotations to depict the state of the land. Steinbeck states the “surface of the earth crusted” and “the sharp sun struck day after day” (Steinbeck, 3). Steinbeck’s detailed imagery makes it easier for the reader to visualize the setting (and, later, empathize with those who live off of the
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