More Symbols- The Grapes of Wrath

Their are a lot of symbols that are shown throughout the novel The Grapes of Wrath. Even though I have already done a blog about symbols here are some more that are shown throughout the book. One of the symbols are Rose of Sharon's pregnancy. In the book, their has been so much despair about death and starvation. Her being pregnant is showing a new beginning in life. It brings the family hope and confidence heading into California. Sadly, she delivers a still-born baby, but the Joads still move on in their quest to find a job. Even though they do not find a job, Rose of Sharon still tries to give a new life to another man. The next symbol in the novel is the death of the Joads' dog. While the Joads' were trying to get gas to head into California, their dog gets ran over by a car. This death shows the up coming of all the death's that the Joads' are going to have to live through while heading to California. Not only deaths', but also everybody leaving and separating from the Joads' family. When the dog got hit, Rose of Sharon was scared to think that this death could do something bad to her baby. In the ending she was right about something bad happening to her baby. When Steinbeck says, "A big swift car whisked near, tires squealed. The dog dodged helplessly, and with a shriek, cut off in the middle, went under the wheels. The big car slowed for a moment and faces looked back, and then it gathered greater speed and disappeared. And the dog, a blot of blood and tangled, burst intestines, kicked slowly in the road. Rose of Sharon's eyes were wide. D'you think it'll hurt? she begged. Think it'll hurt? Connie put his arm around her. Come set down, he said. It wasn't nothin'" (Steinbeck 130). This shows how much Rose of Sharon went through when she saw this dog die. She was very scared to think that something bad could happen to her baby. The symbols had a lot of meaning and meant a lot to many people in this novel.

Bibiography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Tom Joad- The Grapes of Wrath

Tom Joad was basically the supporter in the whole Joad family. Even though he was in jail for four years for killing a man, he still gained the trust of his family. Whenever you hear the quote, "when life gives you lemons you make lemonade" that quote is basically what sums up Tom Joad. When the Tom realized his family were not a his farm he decided to take the chance to head to California in order find work. When Steinbeck says, "The squatting men raised their eyes to understand. Can't we just hang on? Maybe next year will be a good year. God knows how much cotton next year. And with all the wars -- God knows what price cotton will bring. Don't they make explosives out of cotton? And uniforms? Get enough wars and cotton'll hit the ceiling. Next year maybe. They looked up questioningly. We can't depend on it. The bank -- the monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size" (Steinbeck 32). This quote is showing farmers who are getting their land getting token away from them by the landowners and the banks. These are just other farmers, but this is what Tom Joad had to deal with when he got "home". He had to deal with it and move on. This is what every farmer back in the Great Depression had to do. Whenever Tom and his family got laid off from a job in California it was always his turn to find a job that would fit him and his family. His family trusted him even after being in jail for killing a man. It takes a lot of guts in order to let a man back into your family after killing someone, but it takes more guts in order to trust him. Although Tom Joad did kill a man, he showed himself as a respected, well-rounded man for helping his family make it to California in order to live.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Ma Joad- The Grapes of Wrath

There were a lot of characters in the novel The Grapes of Wrath, but there are only a select few that had a big impact. Ma Joad is the first of many characters, but one of the major characters. On their way to California the Joads do not have any idea as to what they are getting themselves into. They just set out to find a job in California. Once they get there some of the family members of the Joads were either leaving or they died on the way to California. Once they all left the family it was very easy for the Joads to go insane and just give up on life itself. Not for Ma Joad though she was the one who kept this family sane and she kept them together for as long as she could. When Steinbeck says, "It ain't no use, Noah said. I'm sad, but I can't help it. I got to go. He turned abruptly and walked downstream along the shore. Tom started to follow, and then he stopped. He saw Noah disappear into the brush, and then appear again, following the edge of the river. And he watched Noah growing smaller on the edge of the river, until he disappeared into the willows at last. And Tom took off his cap and scratched his head. He went back to his willow cave and lay down to sleep" (Steinbeck 209). The quote shows that Noah is leaving the family because he does not want to be their any longer with them. Ma Joad has to take charge in order to keep the family together and not just let their family separate. Throughout the novel Ma Joad shows courage, love, care, and trustworthiness towards her family. It could be very easy to go insane during the Great Depression, but Ma Joad showed the strength in order to keep her family as well as herself together. Ma Joad was a huge character when it came to this novel.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Techniques- The Grapes of Wrath

There are a lot of techniques that the author uses in order to make the story effective and keep the readers interested. The first technique he uses is suspense. Throughout the whole story I did not know what was going to come next. It seemed like the Joads were never going to find a job they were going to stick with and then the next thing I know they found a job that pays very little. Also you do not know if the Joads were going to make it to California with all the troubles they had been having. When Steinbeck says, "Tom said, You got nothin' on him. The deputy swung around. 'F you'd like to go in too, you jus' open your trap once more. They was two fellas hangin' around that lot. I wasn't even in the State las' week, Tom said. Well, maybe you're wanted someplace else. You keep your trap shut" (Steinbeck 263). This shows the kind of suspense that Steinbeck showed readers between the deputy and Tom. Although the suspense was a very big technique in this novel symbolism was another big technique that happened frequently throughout the novel. Steinbeck wrote, "Then slowly she lay down beside him. He shook his head slowly from side to side. Rose of Sharon loosened one side of the blanket and bared her breast. You got to, she said. There. Her hand moved behind his head and supported it. Her fingers moved gently in his hair. She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously" (Steinbeck 455). The symbolism in this quote is renewal. This shows that people still had hope and were still trying to push through the Great Depression. Even though she had lost her baby she still thought of a way to keep this man alive. The techniques in this novel made it much more interesting to read and made the story very effective towards readers.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

History- The Grapes of Wrath

This novel reflects history very accurately because this book was placed during the Dust Bowl. The various groups in society such as the workers and the bosses were portrayed as the bosses get the money and all of the workers ran around trying to find a decent job or any job at all. That is how it was all the time during this Great Depression. People were out of work and the bosses really did not give any money away unless the workers were working for them and even that the workers would only get the slightest amount of money. The author also portrays another group of society in this novel which is the men and women. The men during this time were basically the ones that had to find jobs in order to keep their families running. The women on the other hand had to take care of their families which was probably one of the more difficult tasks during these harsh times and conditions. The author really does a good job with putting in different groups of societies into this novel. When Steinbeck says, "The eyes of the whole family shifted back to Ma. She was the power. She had taken control. The money we'd make wouldn't do no good, she said. All we got is the family unbroke. Like a bunch a cows, when the lobos are ranging, stick all together. I ain't scared while we're all here, all that's alive, but I ain't gonna see us bust up" (Steinbeck 169 & 170). This shows on how much family had to rely on each other to stay together. The men had to go out and find jobs while the women had to keep their families together. The women had a very important role to take care of while the men were away trying to find jobs. I think that the author influenced himself because he lived through these hard times and he wanted to make a story that taught people on what it was like growing up during the Great Depression.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Message- The Grapes of Wrath

People in these modern times still read this book because it has so much history involved with it that it is so interesting to readers. It is interesting to see what people just like us had to go through in order to make a living for themselves and their families. The timeless part about their message and their characters is that their were people just like us who went through a huge drought and had to change places daily! It is just like today with people struggling with life or just with other people. It is not the same situation, but it is around the same idea. When Steinbeck says, "They came painting up to the rain-soaked barn and staggered into the open end. There was no door in this end. A few rusty farm tools lay about, a disk plow and a broken cultivator, an iron wheel. The rain hammered on the roof and curtained the entrance. Pa gently set Rose of Sharon down on an oily box. God Awmighty! he said" (Steinbeck 453). This shows that the Joads were just trying to find shelter for their family and how it was a struggle at the time to find one. The shed that they found was basically a broken and run-down barn. Steinbeck does a great job with showing or telling us how hard it was in order to just find shelter when you had no money. We can learn a lot from reading this novel, we can learn how hard it was for large or small families just like the Joads to find or meet the needs for themselves. It was a rough time to find money so some families would just starve to death. We can also learn that people just like us went through a lot struggles especially during the Dust Bowl. The novel, The Grapes of Wrath, showed readers that everyday people go through struggles and they have to stay strong and live with what they have got.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.