John Steinbeck s Grapes Of Wrath Essay - 1006 Words

Identify one of John Steinbeck’s themes in Grapes of Wrath. Using in-text citations, analyze how three scenes clearly convey this theme. One of John Steinbeck’s themes in the novel Grapes of Wrath is the irresistible need for familial replacement. Whenever a family member of the Joads dies or departs from the family, they are not able to compensate emotionally and therefore resort to replacing the family member with a stranger from the road. He first conveys this theme when the Joads pick up the Wilsons in Chapter 13, when Grampa dies. As he dies, the Joads feel an almost primal urge to replace him, to help others in payment for his death. And so, on page 148, they decide to pick up the Wilsons and bring them to California: â€Å"Joads and Wilsons crawled westward together as a unit† (page 163). However, when the Wilsons are no longer able to carry on, the family also suffers another two losses. Granma dies and Noah stays behind, convinced he can make a living by himself. The family is crushed, but since they are unable to mourn, they seek out emotional compensation from strangers. On page 243, the Joads land in Hooverville, a small town with many camping families seeking a new life in California. Al finds a friend in Floyd Knowles, who lends the Joads a tip about work up in Santa Clara valley. Before the family can decide whether or not to travel 200 miles, Floyd aggravates a police officer for existing. Casy takes the blame, and the preacher is carted away from the Joads. FloydShow MoreRelatedThe Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck4043 Words   |  17 PagesSet in the swallowing depression of the 1920’s, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck provides a hallowing, realistic view into the plight of the proletariat farmer and the exploitation that was all too common during the Great Depression by major corporations. Steinbeck’s literary work serves as a window into the world of the great depression by not only providing a narrative history of the era, but also giving faces to the nameless victims through the characters of Tom Joad, the lead protagonistRe ad MoreJohn Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath1414 Words   |  6 Pages†¢ John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) contains anticapitalistic sentiments which force the reader to question whether capitalism is responsible for the death of the American Dream, even questioning if that dream in fact exists. To explore this further, this essay will examine a number of John Steinbeck’s works in addition to the primary text. To gain a better understanding of a capitalist society, the essay will focus on how society was affected by the economy, industrialisation, and KarlRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath 1594 Words   |  7 Pages John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. 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The attributes that enable both the Joad and Walls familiesRead MoreJohn Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath And Jeannette Walls951 Words   |  4 PagesFamily Matters Different circumstances shape people into who they will become. This is relevant in both books, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle. Both the Joad and Walls families faced adversities but made it through them stronger. The two families move from place to place and greatly struggled financially. The value of family and lessons that can be learned from them is prevalent in both novels. The attributes that enabled both the Joad and Walls familiesRead MoreAlienation, A Theme in John Steinbeck ´s The Grapes of Wrath625 Words   |  3 Pages Grapes of Wrath: Alienation In Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck reveals the assumptions and moral values of Californian society in the 1930s by narrating the tale through the eyes of Tom Joad. 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The bleak human condition of loneliness a nd the importance of community is shown throughout John Steinbeck’s novelsRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath And Of Mice And Men 1433 Words   |  6 Pagesimportant things in life are love and beauty, which bring joy to the process of living. These answers are the philosophy of John Steinbeck † (Benson 555). John Steinbeck was a major American writer who has written many books, which have come to be known as classic American stories. Examples of these classic stories are The Grapes of Wrath, The Red Pony, and Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck is worthy of the praise he has received for his contributions to American literature because he added a new genre asRead MoreAnalysis Of John Steinbeck s The Grapes Of Wrath 1554 Words   |  7 Pagescontrast the novel and the movie to show how the messages can be changed when they are put into different medium. After finishing the novel and the movie I would point out that The Grapes of Wrath Novel by John Steinbeck is does a better job capturing an image plus showing messages from back then than the movie by John Ford in many ways. The novel demonstrated various significant rhetorical messages that can be found that were not in the movie, although the novel and the movie had many significantRead MoreComparing John Steinbeck s Mice And Men And The Grapes Of Wrath1126 Words   |  5 PagesComparing and Contrasting Steinbeck John Steinbeck is a famous author known for many of his short stories, as well as the books Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. His works have been studied and analyzed often because of his unique ability to create symbolism from small amounts of text. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is a short story written by John Steinbeck, and was first published in 1939. It tells the story of a woman who feels she is capable of completing any task a man can, but is set back by