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Grapes Of Wrath - Theme Of Journey - Essay

Grapes Of Wrath - Theme Of Journey

The Journey Theme in The Grapes of Wrath
As a major literary figure since the 1930s, Steinbeck displays in his writing a characteristic respect for the poor and oppressed. In many of his novels, his characters show signs of a quiet dignity and courage for which Steinbeck has a great admiration. For instance, in The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck describes the unrelenting struggle of the people who depend on the soil for their livelihood. One element helping give this novel an added touch of harmony is Steinbeck’s ability to bind these two ideas into one story: the never ending struggle to survive and primacy of the family.
The journey of the Joads serves as a suitable vehicle for the ...

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This relates to The Grapes of Wrath by enlightening the reader of the fact that many things are identical at different levels.
The first level, the literal, is simply to describe the events the Joads witness and experience. Steinbeck uses the journey to place his characters in a range of dilemmas. He is then able to draw reactions from them. As each character involved in the situation reacts, we are able to see Steinbeck's respect for the poor shining through. Steinbeck stresses the evolutionary idea that man must adapt to changing conditions. Among the worst offenses he feels one man can commit against another is that of inhibiting the process of adaptation or of causing another to revert to a former state in self-defense (French 324). The 'never say die' efforts of Uncle John to stop the rising flood water is one example of Steinbeck's unremitting struggle theme (Steinbeck 567). The constant effort of the entire Joad family to find work, although poor, oppressed, and ...

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Grapes Of Wrath - Theme Of Journey. (2007, July 21). Retrieved January 21, 2025, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Grapes-Of-Wrath-Theme-Of-Journey/68340

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 7/21/2007 10:06:07 AM
Category: English
Type: Free Paper
Words: 1177
Pages: 5

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