John Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

Grapes of WrathAuthor John Steinbeck, Robert Demott (Introduction).Penguin USA New York.Reissued discrepancy (Oct. 1992).619 Pages.            Kearney 1The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the epic conditions under which the migratory farming families of America during the 1930s lived, with a in-person approach and heavy symbolism. The novel tells of one familys migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930s. The bank took possession of their land beca hire the owners could non pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California, and how they survive the cruelty of the landowners that took returns of them, their poverty, and willingness to work. The Grapes of Wrath combines Steinbecks adoration of the land, his passionate hatred for corruption resulting from physicalism (money), and his abiding faith in the common race to overcome the strange environ manpowert. As it opens with a retaining picture of nature on rampage, the novel shows the men and women that are unbroken by nature. The theme is that of a man verses a hostile environment. His body may be destroyed, but his spirit is non broken. The method used to develop the theme of the novel is through the use of symbolism. There are several uses of symbols in the novel from the turtle at the beginning to the rain at the end. As each symbol is presented, examples of the grave and the bad things that exist within the novel are shown. The opening chapter paints a vivid picture of the situation facing the drought-stricken farmers of Oklahoma. Dust is described as covering everything, smothering the life out of anything that wants to grow. The dust is symbolic of the wearing away of the lives of the people. The dust is synonymous with "deadness", as Steinbeck puts it.. The land is a undone way of life (farming), people        & nbsp                                          Kearney 2uprooted and forced to leave. Secondly, the dust stands for profiteering banks in the background that squeeze the life out the land as the people are actually forced from their land. The soil, or the people (farmers), have been flow of life and are exploited The last rain fell on the red and gray country of Oklahoma in early May. The weeds became dark green to protect themselves from the suns unyielding rays. The wind grew stronger, uprooting the weakened corn, and the transmit became so filled with dust that the