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The Grapes Of Wrath Inhumanity Analysis

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Humanity likes to believe that it doesn’t create problems when in reality it is the main cause. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, cruelty to mankind through its own actions is demonstrated by the harsh conditions of the Great Depression. Along the Joad’s journey to a prosperous life in California, they come across multiple challenging obstacles. They are able to unite with friends and other families at government camps and on Route 66 that help them defeat each obstacle. These trials of inhumanity are portrayed through literary devices that support the creation of a theme throughout the novel. As a whole, the book is enhanced through the use of literary devices that portray the inhumanity created by other humans. The personification of tractors and banks as monsters creates a cruel image in the reader’s mind. When the men on the tractors come and …show more content…

These devices help to develop themes such as the cruelty of mankind to itself. During harsh conditions such as the Dust Bowl, people turn on each other, feeling that they have no other choice in order to survive. Even in an environment of survival, people should help each other, for people are stronger in groups, and inhumanity should not be caused by the people it affects. In harsh conditions, inhumanity can be a cruel weapon, making survival strenuous, and life complicated. Although in severe conditions people are more likely to survive in groups, people often find themselves in a life or death situation where they only care about their family. In life, when people need each other the most, they often abandon their companions in hopes of survival. With crumbling families and shattering relationships, fellowship is often the prime tool in mending a family, and surviving extreme

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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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