FREE ESSAY ON GRAPES OF WRATH

GRAPES OF WRATH

The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions
under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's lived. The novel
tells of one family's migration west to California through the great economic depression
of the 1930's. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not 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 advantage of them, their
poverty, and willingness to work. 
The Grapes of Wrath combines Steinbeck adoration of the land, his simple hatred of
corruption; resulting from materialism (money), and his abiding faith in the common
people to overcome the hostile environment. The novel opens with a retaining picture of
nature on rampage. The novel shows the men and women that are unbroken by nature. The
theme is one of man verses a hostile environment. His body destroyed but his spirit is
not 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 through the novel they show examples of the good and
the bad things that exist within the novel. 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 erosion of the lives of the people. The dust is synonymous with deadness.
The land is a ruined way of life (farming), people uprooted and forced to leave.
Secondly, the dust stands for profiteering banks in the background that squeeze the life
out the land by forcing the people off the land. 
The soil, the people (farmers), have been drained of life and are exploited: The last
rain fell on the red and gray country of Oklahoma in early May. The weeds became a dark
green to protect themselves from the sun's unyielding rays... The wind grew stronger,
uprooting the weakened corn, and the air became so filled with dust that the stars were
not visible at night. 
As the book continues a turtle, which appears and reappears several times early in the
novel, can be seen as standing for survival, a driving life force in all of mankind that
cannot be beaten by nature or man. The turtle represents a hope that the trip to the west
is survivable by the Joad family. 
The turtle further represents the migrants struggles against nature/man by overcoming
every obstacle he encounters: the red ant in his path, the truck driver who tries to run
over him, being captured in Tom Joad's jacket: And now a light truck approached, and as
it came near, the driver saw the turtle and swerved to hit it. The driver of the truck
works for a large company, who try to stop the migrants from going west, when the driver
attempts to hit the turtle it is another example of the big powerful guy trying to
flatten or kill the little guy. Steadily the turtle advances on, ironically to the
southwest, the direction of the migration of people. 
The turtle is described as being lasting, ancient, old and wise: horny head, yellowed
toenails, indestructible high dome of a shell, humorous old eyes. The driver of the
truck, red ant, and Tom Joad's jacket are all symbolic of nature and man trying to stop
the turtle from continuing his journey westward to the promise land. The turtle helps to
develop the theme by showing its struggle against life comparing it with the Joad
struggle against man. The grapes seem to symbolize both bitterness and copiousness. 
Grandpa, the oldest member of the Joad family, talks of the grapes as symbols of plenty;
all his descriptions of what he is going to do with the grapes in California suggest
contentment, freedom, the goal for which the Joad family strive for. The grapes that are
talked about by Grandpa help to elaborate the theme by showing that no matter how nice
everything seems in California, the truth is that their beauty is only skin deep, in
their souls they are rotten.
The willow tree that is located on the Joad's farm represents the Joad family. The willow
is described as being unmovable and never bending to the wind or dust. The Joad family
does not want to move, they prefer to stay on the land they grew up on, much the same as
the willow does. The willow contributes to the theme by showing the unwillingness of the
people to be removed from their land by the banks. The latter represents the force making
them leave their homes. Both of these symbols help contribute to the theme by showing a
struggle between each other. The tree struggles against nature in much the same way that
the Joad family struggles against the Bank and large companies.
The rains that come at the end of the novel symbolize several things. Rain in that is
excessive, in a certain way fulfills a cycle of the dust which is also excessive- In a
way nature has restored a balance and has initiated a new growth cycle. This ties in with
other examples of the rebirth idea in the ending, much in the way the Joad family will
grow again. The rain contributes to the theme by showing the cycle of nature that gives a
conclusion to the novel by showing that life is a pattern of birth and death. The rain is
another example of nature against man, the rain comes and floods the living quarters of
the Joads. 
In opposite ways rain can be helpful to give life to plants that need it to live.
Depending on which extreme the rain is in, it can be harmful or helpful. This is true for
man, man can become either extremes bad or good depending on his choosing. Throughout the
novel there are several symbols used to develop the theme man verses a hostile
environment. Each symbol used in the novel show examples of both extremes. Some represent
man that struggles against the environment, others paint a clear picture of the feelings
of the migrants. 
As each symbol is presented chronologically through the novel, they come together at the
end to paint a clear picture of the conditions, treatment and feelings the Joads' as they
make there journey through the novel to the West.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of our country
and the Great Depression. It was a long novel, but you could feel the story because
Steinbeck was writing about his own time period, not his ancestors or his children, but
something he actually lived through.