FREE ESSAY ON GRAPES OF WRATH-MOVIE VS. BOOK

GRAPES OF WRATH-MOVIE VS. BOOK

The Grapes of Wrath
In John Ford's film The Grapes of Wrath, the audience travels along with an Oklahoma
family that has set out to find wealth and privileges in California during the Great
Depression. The film was taken from John Steinbeck's classic novel The Grapes of Wrath.
The filmakers intentions in putting this novel to screen was to show how the impact of
the Great Depression effected the families of that time. 
The film was taped in a journalistic, documentary-style black and white texture which
helped create a strong feeling of poverty and realism to the audience. The filmakers did
a good job at recreating scenery to make the plot as real as possible. The use of actual
dialect of the Okies, was helpful to make the dialogue as realistic as possible.
Throughout the movie the family's clothing, possessions and even the car added to the
effect that Steinbeck had created when he wrote his novel long ago.
As the movie progresses, there is actually two stories, one of the individual journey of
the Joad family, and one for telling the general plight of the migrants. The director
shows the individual family to show that the migrants are really people and to bring
their plight home to the audience. The general story is told to show how it is affecting
large numbers of people.
Throughout the movie, we watch the Joads progress from a concern only for themselves and
their own personal welfare to a concern for all the people in the world. This shift from
individual thinking to wide spread thinking is most directly seen in the actions of Tom
Joad. When we first see him at the beginning of the film he is mainly concerned for his
own welfare. He wants to make up for all the things he missed when in prison. Later on in
the film he is more concerned with the welfare of the family. When we last see him he has
shifted to trying to do what is best for all the migrant people by trying to organize
them into striking. He tells his mother bye and he leaves to help the others.
That shift in thinking is also accompanied with the replacement of the individual family
by the world family. The thing that started the breakup of the individual family was the
loss of their land. The family had lived there for many generations and had strong ties
to the land. Getting thrown off the land was sort of like losing their family history.
Grampa Joad died because he couldn't take leaving his home. He is the first family member
to leave the family.
Previous to this the Joads had always paid their own way and never asked for charity
When they get to the government camp, there is a brief respite from the breakup of the
family. They are finally getting treated like humans again. This shows the audience that
there actually is some good in the world. To this point in the movie the family hasn't
had any good fortune to look up to. 
The characters that were chosen to play the parts were great portraying their character
roles. Peter Fonda who played Tom Joad did a great job is showing the depth of his
character's harshness and sincerity. Tom Joad can be seen as the main protagonist. He is
a strong, responsible person who doesn't like being pushed around. At the beginning of
the book he had just got out of the state penitentiary and is on probation. That limits
his actions when he gets to California because he broke parole and can't get arrested. He
and the family have to flea after he gets involved in some trouble at a camp. They are
afraid that Tom will be taken away. He undergoes a change throughout the film. At the
beginning he is only worried about himself and wants to make up for the years he spent in
prison. As the film progresses, though, his viewpoint expands to first having concern for
the family, and later for the whole migrant society. If Casy were a Christ figure then
Tom would have to be his disciple. He lives on after Casy to carry on and implement his
philosophy.
Ma Joad is the backbone of the Joad family. When things were really bad the family turned
to her and not to Pa. The family gauged their own emotions by looking at her reaction.
She knew that if she faltered then the whole family would collapse. She is always
concerned for the welfare of her own family, but still tries to help others as much as
possible as shown by her when she gave food to the children in the camp when she barely
had enough to feed the family anyway. She fights throughout the movie to keep the family
together, and without her the family would have fallen apart quickly. In spite of this
she still sees that the family is breaking apart. She fights this as much as possible,
but isn't completely successful. 
I was able to have the opportunity to read John Steinbeck's novel before watching the
movie and it painted a great picture by bringing his words to life. Overall I felt this
was a good educational movie, not one you would probably take a date on a Friday night
but one that everyone needs to see. This film is helpful in showing younger generations
the fight that their ancestors had to overcome to make it in those days. It gives the
audience a great perspective of the times. I came away from the film with a thankfulness
for all the things I have. 
Bibliography
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrathe, John Ford