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