Blog #20 Plot Summary (The Grapes of Wrath)

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. There were many situations that kept me wanting to read more. The rising action begins when Tom gets out of jail and is travelling home. This is when the reader really experiences Tom’s first impressions. The second event in the rising action is when the Joad family is forced off their land and is left to find work in order to survive. This is when the reader develops an emotional attachment to the family and keeps them wondering if they will make it to California to find work. Another event in the rising action is when Tom and Casy start to become good friends because Casey is a preacher and without knowing, he helps Tom to discover holiness and philosophies of life. At this point, the reader is almost confused because Casy says he is not a preacher, but yet he does many preacher-like tasks throughout the journey. The climax of the story is definitely when Tom gets into a fight with the officer. I think that is the climax because Tom is already violating his parole when he crosses the state line, and so he has to be very careful about what he does. When he gets into a fight, he not only risks his own life, but he also risks his families because he has violated parole and assaulted an officer. This is the point where Tom goes into hiding and in a way leaves the family to fend for themselves. The fight was the most suspenseful part because from then on the reader is left guessing if Tom will get caught and will Ma get caught when she sneaks food to him. The falling action is when Tom does not get caught, and he develops a great relationship with his mom. He tells her that he learned many things from Casy. Another event in the falling action is when Tom basically departs from the family. This is a huge deal because Tom was one of the main characters the whole journey. The last piece in the falling action is when Rose of Sharon nurses a sick man in the end of the story. Her nursing the man sums up all the struggles of the trip by showing how the suffering has had an effect on the migrants and other people.

 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #19 Point of View (The Grapes of Wrath)

The book, The Grapes of Wrath, is told from the viewpoint of a third person narrator. I think having a third person narrator for this book was the right choice because you get to see the family as a whole. Having the third person narrator allows the reader to emotional connect with each of the characters as you follow them in their journey to California. Since there is a third person narrator, the reader also gets the chance to look at the other families that are travelling alongside the Joad family. The reader gets to experience the changes of the time period from different families, when each family wants the same thing, work. I think the main point that the author tries to give through the third person narrator is displaying the different character personalities. Through the narrator, the reader can see Tom, the troublemaker who is looking for a second chance and a new future along the journey. Then there is Ma, the center of the family who keeps everyone together and on task. Along with Ma is Pa, the person who starts out as the head of the family, and later becomes overwhelmed by the pressure and slacks off. Then there is Casey, the preacher who is trying to discover himself along the way. Rose of Sharon is the optimistic one, she believes in fantasy and dreams. Then there is Al, who is quite a teenager; He loves to party and sneak off with girls, but at the same time he is very useful to the family. Uncle John is quite the depressing character because he can never forgive himself for loosing his wife and he cannot move on. Connie is the the perfect character, a real gentlemen, up until he decides to leave his wife and the Joad family. Each character brings a different emotion to the story, and having a third person narrator allows the reader to experience each one. The characters are all very different, but they all come together in times of trouble because they are a family. 

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #18 Tone (The Grapes of Wrath)

The author has many different tones throughout the story. In the beginning when the tractors come to take the land, the words have a very panicked and worried tone. The reader can tell that the people are worried because they are being kicked out of their home. As the story progresses and Tom comes home, the tone changes to positive and happy. The family is happy that Tom is home and can make the long trip to California with them. They start to have a positive attitude about the move, almost like they accepted the fact that they could not do anything and they are now in search for something better. For a couple chapters after that, the family is very optimistic. They are presented with many challenges during the trip, but each time they picked each other right back up. As I was reading, I could tell how close the family was to one another because each time they had a new challenge they were always there for each other and found a new solution. In the middle of the book when the travelling became very difficult, the family started to become doubtful. They really didn’t know if they could find work, if their truck was going to make the trip, and if they would have enough food and money to provide until they got back on their feet. As the travelling became better and they stopped at a really nice camp, the tone changed back to happy. The reader could tell how happy the family was to have a bathroom with hot water, and to dance, and to be able to go down to the market and buy meat after they worked. The tone was happy until Tom got in a fight with authority and was in hiding. The tone became suspenseful. The reader was always questioning if Tom would get caught when he sneaks at night to go visit his family. Once he is in the clear, the tone was very subtle until the end of the book. The family had new jobs and new struggles to deal with, but they dealt with them one by one. The tone changed in the end of the story when Rose of Sharon went into labor. The reader had an emotional connecting with the book when the baby died because in the words you could hear the sadness and disappointment. In the very last chapter of the book, the tone changes to humorous. The author uses a very humorous ending to sum up the travels and hardships the Joad family faced, Each tone helped the reader to better understand the emotions of the characters throughout the book.

 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #17 The Use of Imagery (The Grapes of Wrath)

Throughout the story, the author uses imagery that helps me to better understand the story like I am actually there. Most of the book is just common sense, where the reader uses his or her own imagination to create a picture, but certain parts of the book are vividly described. In chapter 2 (Steinbeck 5-13) the author uses many vivid images when describing Tom’s clothes. Tom is dressed very well for his condition, and the truck driver is not looking for any beggars, so when he sees Tom, he is unusually surprised at his wardrobe. I can perfectly imagine Tom’s new clothes, new grey hat, his towel, new handkerchief, cheap grey suit, and new sneakers. As you move along in the story (Steinbeck 35) the author describes the men who came to take the Joad’s property. The man did not look like a man, he looked like a robot that did not care what he destroyed as he came passing through on his tractor. The author does a good job of describing the scenery the Joad family passes as they are travelling to California (Steinbeck 203). As they travel along the road, the reader can easily picture the road and the trees that surround them, and then change the image to a place where water is scarce and the land is hot and dry. Through the words in the entire book, you can image the cars travelling along the highway in search for work. The traffic is piled up as a bunch of loaded cars are moving along the highway, following the rumors of where work may be. Probably the most vivid image is towards the end of the book where Rose of Sharon just lost her baby. The men are finding where to burry the corpse of the baby as the water is quickly flooding around them. The men decide that they are going to lay the corpse in a basket and send it on down the river, a reenactment of Moses being sent on the river. This is probably the most vivid image because it is easiest to envision a baby floating in a basket down the river and the readers tend to have an emotional connection with the baby (Steinbeck 448). Overall, the imagery in the story helped me to create a better mental picture of what was happening along the Joad’s journey.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #16 Theme-Determination (The Grapes of Wrath)

A reoccurring theme in the Grapes of Wrath is the power of determination. When the family is packing up (Steinbeck ch. 8) to head to California, they are optimistic about their future and the journey that lies ahead. They are all overwhelmed by Tom’s homecoming arrival and excited that he will accompany them on the trip. After being forcefully driven out of their home by machinery, the family is very subtle. Yes, they are scared and nervous, but they keep the pink postcard with them that says work is needed in California, and they have hope. The Joad family knows the journey is long. They know they have little money, a junk car, and little food supply, but they pack up and start moving anyway. Along the way they make plans for the future. Even Rose of Sharon, who is pregnant as can be, finds determination through the journey by making plans about the future with Connie (Steinbeck 164). The overall determination for the Joad family is knowing they will have a better future if and when they reach California. They are excited to work and earn money for food and a house. They want to become wealthy and improve their social status. Even when authority threatens the migrants and starts to kick them off the highways, the Joad family is determined to make it to California. They do not let anything stand in their way. When the food is low, and they have little money, Ma Joad becomes very determined to budget what they have and feed her family a nice meal (Steinbeck 351). In the story, Ma is the most determined character mainly because she takes care of the whole family. She gives determination to Pa to keep moving and reassuring him everything will be okay. She gives determination to Rose of Sharon to forget about Connie and think about her baby. She gives determination to Tom to be a better person and to make sure he does not get in trouble. She is the center of the family’s determination throughout the journey to California.

 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #15 Theme-Inhumanity (The Grapes of Wrath)

One of the repeated themes throughout the story is a conflict, or inhumanity between people and other people. The people in the story are categorized on many aspects. They are mainly put into groups depending on their place in the totem pole, or “popularity” aspect. The people with more money, or the rich people, are seated at the top of the totem pole. The people who are considered “poor” are seated at the bottom of the totem pole. This is where power comes into play. The people at the top of the totem pole believe they have more power than those seated at the bottom of the totem pole, and from an outsiders opinion, they do. In the story though, you see how common people survive the wraths of the higher class men. For example (Steinbeck 33) the families on the farmlands, specifically the Joad family, are kicked off the land and forced elsewhere to find work in order to survive. Frightened, yet determined, the Joad family survived the long drive to California because they had motivation for a better future. As the journey continued though, people were scared. Authorities had power over them. In certain towns the migrants, or so called “Okies”, would gather along the highway to set up their camps (Steinbeck 282-283). Not only were the Okies scared, but the local people became very scared and nervous also. The townspeople had to claim and defend their property from the migrant people. Throughout most of the story, the people have not gotten along with each other. Of course the families stuck together, but once they were mixed in with other migrants, townspeople, and authorities, their actions spoke louder than their words. The journey would have been a lot easier if the other people were eliminated. Yes, food, water, and shelter were main problems along the journey, but they only account for half of the sufferings. The other half of suffering came from the people they ran into along the way

Bibliographic Citation: Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. Los Gatos, California. Viking Press. 1939

Blog #14-Symbol:Rose of Sharon Pregnancy (Grapes or Wrath)

One of the major symbols in the Grapes of Wrath is Rose of Sharon’s pregnancy. The pregnancy represents a new beginning for Rose of Sharon and also for the family. Rose of Sharon experiences a new beginning through her pregnancy because the baby represents the future for her and her husband. They plan on living in a house with books so her husband can study. The husband plans on going to school to receive and education to get a decent job, and their baby is going to live in a nice house in the middle of the city. The baby causes a lot of problems along they way. Throughout the journey, Rose of Sharon becomes more and more pregnant. The living conditions of constantly travelling are not suited for a pregnant woman. She is constantly on the search for food and milk to ensure she gives birth to a healthy baby. After her husband leaves the family and does not come back, Rose of Sharon is devastated. That is the point where Roseahorn believes she will have an unhealthy baby (Steinbeck 354). The pregnancy is also a new beginning for the family. Along the way the troubles with Roseahorn’s pregnancy brings the family closer together. When Rose of Sharon finally goes into labor, she delivers a still born baby (Steinbeck 444). The family is devastated, and Roseahorn is completely shattered. The death of the baby represents the broken promise of the new beginning. From that point on, the story has a softer, more mellow tone, until the very end when the author uses humor and irony,whenR oseahorn’s breast milk helps to feed a needy man. The broken promise of a new beginning does not faze the family very much. They do there best to move forward and place the death behind them, trying to continue in their journey. The burying of the baby is vividly described. The family just tossed the corpse. In a way, they are tossing away their new beginning.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #13-Theme:Power of Family (The Grapes of Wrath)

I think one of the main themes in the story is the power of family. Towards the beginning of the story, the family is not very close. The women are very conservative. They do not like to speak unless they are spoken to or asked to speak. They are very quiet, like they know their place in the family. The men all like power. They are constantly trying to prove themselves to each other just to gain some recognition in the family, even though they know that Pa Joad is the head of the family and will make all the decisions. The grandparents are their own couple. They are not afraid to speak what is on their mind and do what they please. Tom is sort of an outcast in the beginning. The family had that awkward moment of not seeing their son in four years and suddenly he showed up at their doorstep just days before they are about to make a long journey. At first all conversation is just small talk, trying to recollect some of the memories from the past four years. As the story progresses, and the journey because harder and longer that point is really when the family starts to become one. The children become more independent and explore more. The women start to have a voice and realize they are part of the family and can also help in the decision making process. The boys back off a little bit in a sense. They realize the girls, especially Ma Joad is serious about helping out and they start to have more respect for her opinions. The boys stick to the mechanical aspect of the trip, making sure the car is running and they have enough money to make it to California. Each struggle along the way makes the family so much closer together simply because in each situation they all had to work together to overcome it. Their unity as a family was portrayed in the book. When the Joad family met the Wilson family, they welcomed them easily. The families blended together instantly and the children became the children of the other family, in a sense that their unity as a family helped them to reunite with other families along the journey. I think Ma was the center of the family in the story. She really brought the family closer together and made them realize the bigger picture when things became difficult. It was easily show that as the story progresses, the family progressed also, showing how their unity could help them accomplish anything.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #12-Analysis of Jim Casy (The Grapes of Wrath)

The preacher of the story, Jim Casy, is the weird character of the story. At the beginning he is a family friend of the Joad family, and acts as so, but as the story moves along, he becomes more of a risk taker and rebellion. He struggles throughout the entire story debating on whether or not he is a preacher. He says he is not, but he acts like he is. Throughout the story he repeats gospel and he says prayers, but reassures everyone time and time again that he is not a preacher anymore (Steinbeck 70). It is evident that throughout the story Jim Casy is the one who gives moral support and reasoning to all that happens during the trip. He has a lot of respect for the Joad family considering they let him hitch a ride to California on the back of their wagon. He tries to stay out of the way as best as possible because he knows that he is an outsider in the situation. He has a lot of respect for Tom especially because he knows how Tom was in jail and how much Tom risked to leave the state lines with his family. Jim Casy died risked himself for Tom (Steinbeck 386-387) so that Tom could move on with his family. Jim and Tom both helped each other to transform in the story. Jim Casy transformed as a person and a preacher. He used is God-given talent to help organize and move the migrating people. He also risked his life for Tom, which help Tom transform from the man he was in jail to a family man and civil human being. Personally I did not like Jim Casy. He helped with explaining and setting some of the themes in the novel, but he was a very odd character. He was very quiet and stuck to himself most of the time when I think he should have been helping the Joad family make decisions about travel, since he was a part of their group now. Overall, he helped the Joad family to look at their trouble and journey as in a new prospective, holy, which he continued to imply toward the end of the story.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939

Blog #11-Analysis of Ma Joad (The Grapes of Wrath)

Mother Joad is probably the most significant character in the story. Towards the beginning of the story, she is one of the shyest characters. She knows her place in the family is to cook, clean, and care for the children. She stands proudly beside her husband and watches as he makes all of the decisions. As the story later progresses, Ma Joad finds an inner strength within herself (Steinbeck 169). She learns she can stand up against her husband. Ma Joad is a very determined character. She knows what she wants and she thinks of ways in which she can achieve her goal. Ma knows how to care for the family very well (Steinbeck 351). She explains how the family has to eat and drink and at all costs, and she always finds money or something to cook so her family does not starve and so Rose of Sharon can have a healthy baby. Her truth strength really comes out in the story as problems progress along the trip. She shows how her care and her reassurance helps to move the family along to California. The reader can tell that Ma Joad has emotions and feelings, but she does a very good job at hiding them in the story. When the grandmother dies, she laid by the corpse of the grandma so the family could continue their journey. Although the death hits her kind of hard, she realizes she has to be strong so the family can continue on their way. She meets every circumstance with a sense of power and pride. Even if she doesn’t think she can solve a problem, she spends all of her time trying. I respected her in the novel because in the time period of the story the male was the center of the family and in charge of making the decisions, but when he started slacking, she picked up the pace. It was very nice to see a woman able to take charge. Overall, she was the center and the strength for the family. It was because of her that the family was able to make it to California and overcome the challenges that came with the travelling.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York. Viking Penguin Inc. 1939