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Turtle Symbolism In The Grapes Of Wrath

859 Words4 Pages

The Great Depression was a time when our country went through economic crisis and turmoil. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath express to readers the life and hardship of the characters during the Dust Bowl at the time of the Great Depression. The novel portrays a turtle crossing the Oklahoma highway which symbolizes the struggles, discrimination, and perseverance of many migrant farmers in the Midwest during the time of the Great Depression. The journey of the turtle is portrayed as a metaphor of the journey of the migrant farmers in their search for hope and a better life for their family. The use of symbolism in the story helps readers create the ideas and qualities of the characters. It is important to understand that the story takes place in time when life is difficult and everyone is just trying to get by. The turtle in the story is faced with many hurdles on his way to crossing the highway. When the turtle starts its journey, he is adamant to get across the street. A journey taken is like “sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of …show more content…

The author used the turtle as a metaphor to describe the characters in the story. The novel portrays a turtle crossing the Oklahoma highway which symbolizes the struggles, discrimination, and perseverance of many migrant farmers in the Midwest. Like the turtle crossing the highway it was faced with difficulties just like the migrant farmers. They both struggled to overcome the hardships that they face. They were both treated hast and with discrimination because of who they were. They were thought of as insignificant and inhumane. Both the turtle and the migrant farmers didn’t give up on their journey to either cross the highway or find work and new home for their family. They didn’t give up and showed that if they keep trying and stick with it they would

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