Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath

THE 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 under. The novel tells of a family known as the Joads migration west to california through the great economic depression of the 1930’s. the Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possessions of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. One of the biggest problems faced is the fact that the great depression is in its prime. After reading this novel I was able to tell that the great depression is the main cause and sound basis for the novel. The government started playing a major role in agriculture during and after the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It acted primarily to restrict output in order to keep prices high. The growth of agricultural productivity depended on the accompanying industrial revolution that freedom stimulated. So then came new machines that revolutionized agriculture. Conversely, the industrial revolution depended on the availability of the manpower released by the agricultural revolution. One could say that the depression that started was like a catastrophe of unprecedented dimension for the United States. The nations dollar income was cut in half before the economy hit bottom in the 1933. The total output fell by a third, and unemployment reached 25 percent of the work force. The depression was something that hit other countries, and it brought lower output, higher unemployment, hunger and misery everywhere. Today we have jobs that are disappearing for good. Some are the result of normal changing of the economic cycle, but most recently it... Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath Essay On Hamlet Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his difficulty deciding when to act on what he knows what he most do and timing for his actions and inactions. These flaws not only ruin his plans for revenge but also contribute to his death. The king was dead of murder, betrayed from his own brother and Hamlet turned away from the incest of his mother. One would think that an act of revenge would be taken quickly while in-raged, instead Hamlet made his plans for revenge over a large amount of time, which reveals his weakness inaction. Hamlet was full of grand ideas and intentions but failed to act and to carry out his revenge, the fall of Claudius. Why did Hamlet choose, and it was a choice, not to take revenge on Claudius quickly and decisively? Hamlet had his own reasons for inaction; the strategy that he felt best suited his revenge. Hamlet was undoubtedly an unpredictable character, and throughout the play it seemed as though the thoughts of his mind came too quickly for the actions of his body to keep up with. Nearly all of Hamlet’s actions, with the exception of his outburst at Ophelia’s grave, were preplanned and precisely calculated. His inborn thought process delayed his revenge, and while Hamlet may have appeared inmourning with inaction, the wheels in his mind never stopped turning. Hamlet questioned everything, including the validity of his own father’s ghost, and this questioning slowed down Hamlet’s ability to take action. Hamlet may have thought too much for his own good at times; he wrestled with many ideas, thoughts, and feelings over the course of the play, delaying any real action until the time, in his eyes, was right. Hamlet was very much a perfectionist in revenge. He wanted everything to be perfect, and this caused him to take unusual and unique steps to gain his revenge on Claudius. Hamlet’s play within a play, a brilliant scheme in which he caught the conscience of the king, was a prime example of the ... Free Essays on Grapes Of Wrath THE 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 under. The novel tells of a family known as the Joads migration west to california through the great economic depression of the 1930’s. the Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possessions of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. One of the biggest problems faced is the fact that the great depression is in its prime. After reading this novel I was able to tell that the great depression is the main cause and sound basis for the novel. The government started playing a major role in agriculture during and after the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It acted primarily to restrict output in order to keep prices high. The growth of agricultural productivity depended on the accompanying industrial revolution that freedom stimulated. So then came new machines that revolutionized agriculture. Conversely, the industrial revolution depended on the availability of the manpower released by the agricultural revolution. One could say that the depression that started was like a catastrophe of unprecedented dimension for the United States. The nations dollar income was cut in half before the economy hit bottom in the 1933. The total output fell by a third, and unemployment reached 25 percent of the work force. The depression was something that hit other countries, and it brought lower output, higher unemployment, hunger and misery everywhere. Today we have jobs that are disappearing for good. Some are the result of normal changing of the economic cycle, but most recently it... Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath Misfit to Madonna: Rose of Sharon’s Transformation When Rose of Sharon is first introduced in The Grapes of Wrath, we learn that she is expecting a child from her new husband, Connie Rivers. She is described as a mystical being whose primary concern is the well-being of her child, even at the almost ridiculously early stage of her pregnancy at the start of the novel. It is this concern that illustrates Rose of Sharon’s transformation from misfit to Madonna through the Joad’s journey. Rose of Sharon incessantly asks Ma Joad if â€Å"it’ll hurt the baby† throughout a majority of the novel, and adopts an attitude of superiority over others with her precious possession. She all but refuses to help the family pack the truck for California for fear of disturbing her fetus, even though she knows her help is needed. Her selfish antics and complaints are patiently absorbed by Ma, who tolerates her primarily because of her condition. Rose of Sharon knows that she is now an exception to the normal rules and exploits her position to its fullest potential. During the journey Rose of Sharon and Connie pass the time by dreaming of the idyllic life they will lead when they reach California. Connie says he will open a repair shop and buy a white house with a fence and an icebox and a car and a crib, all before the baby is born; all hopelessly idealistic and almost completely detached from reality. Every intention, though, is for the baby so that it may have a perfect life from the very moment it is born. In the face of hardships, Rose of Sharon comforts herself by remembering these dreamlike goals of her family and even reminds others of them, intending to lift the burden of reality. She does so when the sheriff threatens the roadside families to leave or be jailed. She tells Ma of Connie’s plans for California, which have nothing to do with the situation at that moment. This escape only proves to ultimately hurt Rose of Sharon and Connie; ... Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath Life Before Man: Novel Summary and Research Plot Summary A) As Margaret Atwood’s Life Before Man begins, the reader is introduced to the initial characters Elizabeth, her husband Nate and their children Janet and Nancy. The reader is also familiarized with Chris, Elizabeth’s former lover who has just taken his own life. The novel begins in Toronto in 1976, ending in 1978. The main storyline, Elizabeth’s affair and the decay of her marriage, is also presented. B) Life Before Man ‘s inciting incident occurs as Elizabeth changes visibly with the suicide of her lover. Once a devoted wife and mother, she has abandoned cooking and cleaning, opting for hours spent in bed. She gives her husband and children little attention and even banishes Nate to a separate bedroom. She removes herself from reality, but allows no one to enter her world. Nate is forced to give up his career as a lawyer, as juggling both his and his wife’s former role becomes too challenging. C) The rising action revolves around the complicated affairs that result in the end of Elizabeth and Nate’s marriage. The rising action begins as Nate has an affair of his own, becoming involved with one of his wife’s coworkers, Lesje. Elizabeth then plots revenge, sleeping with William, a man also involved with Lesje. D) The crisis is observed at Christmas, when Elizabeth invites each of the adulterous characters to dinner. A confrontation is unexpectedly provoked as the guests indulge in an after dinner game of â€Å"survival†. In the playing the game, each character must reveal why he or she feels that he or she should remain on the lifeboat and not be thrown overboard. The game results in number of emotional confessions from its participants and Elizabeth, whose family has become threatened by the couple’s infidelities, contemplates suicide. E) The climax is then reached as Elizabeth asks Nate to move out. She feels their marriage has suffered enough and looks... Free Essays on Grapes Of Wrath In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters’ individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the nature of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the Great Depression era. One such character is that of Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend of the Joads. In Steinbeck’s, The Grapes of Wrath, Jim Casey represents a latter-day Christ figure who longs to bring religious stability to the burgeon of migrant families facing West. Steinbeck manages to give Jim Casey the exact initials as the historical savior (J.C.), which allows the reader to latch onto this connection from the beginning. Yet, Casey’s relation to Christ â€Å"goes beyond such mere coincidences, and plays out rather in their similar plans of action† (Johnson 19). One of the many similarities between Casey and Christ is that Casey had also drifted out to the forests in order to "soul-search" and discover the answers to sometimes hidden questions. In this particular situation, Casey himself states the comparison of Christ’s and his actions while giving a grace at the Joad’s breakfast table, "...I been in the hills, thinkin’, almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles." (Steinbeck 104) Casey further goes on during his rather rambling grace, "I got tired like Him...I got mixed up like Him...I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin’ stuff." (Steinbeck 105) With Casey’s ... Free Essays on Grapes Of Wrath THE 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 under. The novel tells of a family known as the Joads migration west to california through the great economic depression of the 1930’s. the Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possessions of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. One of the biggest problems faced is the fact that the great depression is in its prime. After reading this novel I was able to tell that the great depression is the main cause and sound basis for the novel. The government started playing a major role in agriculture during and after the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It acted primarily to restrict output in order to keep prices high. The growth of agricultural productivity depended on the accompanying industrial revolution that freedom stimulated. So then came new machines that revolutionized agriculture. Conversely, the industrial revolution depended on the availability of the manpower released by the agricultural revolution. One could say that the depression that started was like a catastrophe of unprecedented dimension for the United States. The nations dollar income was cut in half before the economy hit bottom in the 1933. The total output fell by a third, and unemployment reached 25 percent of the work force. The depression was something that hit other countries, and it brought lower output, higher unemployment, hunger and misery everywhere. Today we have jobs that are disappearing for good. Some are the result of normal changing of the economic cycle, but most recently it... Free Essays on Grapes Of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath By: John Steinback Throughout history, more than one great event has happened that captured the attention of onlookers, not only the onlookers of that time, but also onlookers that were yet to come. Textbooks captured these events, and they were preserved in the hearts of the people. However, some less recognized events that occurred throughout the times that were not brought to the attention of most. These depended on the exploits of the pioneers in writing to preserve these occurrences, so that the people of the future would remember. The Grapes of Wrath is such a book, in which a less known historic event that had a great impact on some people and was an important part of history was documented and preserved for the future to see. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinback speaks of the ongoing tirade hovering over the never-ending cycle of unemployment, and the quest for stability, independence, and happiness. This book opens at the scene of the aftermath of a typical dust storm. It is apparent that these conditions are not by any means rare or unique, but rather common everyday scenes. The sand has settled, the male villagers are reviewing the damage, and their women and children sit quietly waiting for the men. The chapter is passive, and speaks of and to no one in particular, but rather to all people as a general whole. In the next chapter, the book begins a narrative of the Tom Joad, an ex-convict searching for his family after a four-year sentence. This narrative also takes place in Oklahoma. This alternating pattern between passive historical chapters that involve no direct action, and those of historical-fiction chapters, continues to alternate throughout the book, with the historical chapters extending in length from one to three chapters at a time, and the fictional chapters extending no longer than one chapter at a time. Steinback expressed the feelings of the different characters, the central the... Free Essays on Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck’s classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath follows the trials and tribulations of Tom Joad and his family, along with a supporting cast of characters which includes members of Tom’s family, as well as local people. When Tom is released from prison after serving four years for the crime of manslaughter, he begins to return to his family’s farm in the infamous â€Å"Dust Bowl†. Eventually, he meets another main character in this book, Jim Casy, who is a former preacher who seems to value the importance of human contact as something quite holy. Tom and Jim together travel to the Joad’s residence, only to learn that his family is at his Uncle John’s house. There they are planning the long trip to California in search of jobs with high wages, as is promised by the handbills posted all over the Oklahoma landscape California land-owners. It is there that they feel their fiduciary troubles will end. Unfortunately for the Joads, California does anything but solve their problems. Tom’s grandparents die en route, Tom’s younger sister, Rose of Sharon, is pregnant and thinks she might lose the baby, jobs become difficult to find, and all the camps are full of people in similar or worse situations. This new wave of immigrants into California angers the already overcrowded population. Jim Casey is arrested by the local law enforcement because of an argument between them and Tom for which he gets blamed. Eventually, the Joads’ find a government-run camp in which they pick fruit. The police attempt to stage a riot in order to justify breaking up the camp, but Tom helps the men diffuse the situation. After this, the Joads once again set out to find new work. Again, Tom meets up with Jim along the way, who has been released from prison. He is now working to unite the migrant farmworkers into a solidified front commonly known as a union. They are discovered by the police and Jim is shot and killed by one of them....