Huckleberry Finn Essay, Research Paper

1. John Steinbeck wrote the novel The Grapes of Wrath.

2. The setting of the novel The Grapes of Wrath is mostly in a wagon on the route 66 between California and Oklahoma. The time period of this novel is around the early 1900’s and late 1800’s

3. This novel’s level of difficulty is average, because of the different settings and the different symbolism.

4. The main character in this novel is Tom Joad. Tom is very sly, angered about people, and is morally strong in some senses. Grandpa Joad is very loud and annoying, he gets to be very irritating to deal with, and he has a very bad temper. Ma Joad is very powerful in her ways. She is also very humorous and patient while brings joy to her family. Pa Joad can be passive yet angry, he is also bewildered man, and very stubborn. Jim Casy is a spiritual man, he is also a comforter, and a trustworthy fellow to Tom.

5. Tom Joad was just released from prison and got a ride from a truck driver. The driver dropped off Tom and Tom ran into Jim Casy, a preacher. The two head for Tom Joad’s farm but when they arrive they realize it’s vacant. Muley Graves tell them that their house was repossessed by a large industry. In the morning Tom goes to his Uncle John’s and finds out that his family is moving out to California to find better lives and jobs. Grandpa doesn’t want to leave so the family dopes him and later that night he dies from a stroke. The Joad’s meet up with the Wilson’s who help them bury the body. Mrs. Wilson becomes very sick so the Joad’s in return give them food and money.

During the trip Grandma is getting sicker and dying. Mrs. Joad uses Grandma as an excuse to cross the desert and then buries her when the coast is clear. Later they arrive at a disgusting campsite where they can’t find a job. An out breaking riot causes them to leave the area. The Joad’s find another vacant area where there is law and peace but can not find a job still so they still have to move on to a better place. The family hears of a peach orchard looking for workers. They start the first day so they can eat also. At the end of the day Pa Joad finds out that Jim Casy is leading a strike on the orchard for cutting pay in half. Jim gets killed and Tom kills one of the men who killed Jim. The Joad’s leave because their pay was cut in half and they go to a nearby cotton field where Tom can hide.

Tom was fine until one of the other Joad children got into a fight and said, “my brother Tom has killed a man before and he can kill you too”. When Ma hears of this she sends Tom away and gives him some money as well. The cotton picking is soon over and a large rain comes in and floods the town. So Pa and some other men build a barricade to prevent the water to seep in as Rosasharn is having her dead baby. They live in a boxcar until they reach a farm where an old man is dying of food and water. Ma makes a suggestion of using Rosasharn’s breast milk and she happily agrees.

6. The theme of the novel The Grapes of Wrath is God’s has a weird way of telling you what’s right and what’s wrong. First the preacher is there to show them the signs of God. The Joad’s get kicked off of their land and they find a better life in California, which was God’s way of saying move. Rosasharn’s baby died and that was a sign of God saying that it was way too much to handle. This book had a lot of symbolism of God and his works of power.

7. “If I come to that situation again I would still do the same thing” pg. 45 Tom is saying that if he were sliced again by someone he would still kill them in self-defense. “You ain’t got the right to get discouraged. This here fambly is goin’ under. You jus’ ain’t got the right .” pg. 197 Ma is saying that the whole family is having troubles right now so don’t get down on yourself or the family but instead help us.

8. In the novel The Grapes of Wrath I particularly liked the symbolism. The turtle, the dust, and the grapes are symbolized things, but Jim Casy and Rose of Sharon are symbolistic figures as people. The turtle represents survival and the will keep on living and going even if it hurts. The dust in this novel is symbolized as the deterioration of the land as it erodes away. The grapes in this novel represent the bitterness of the people. Jim Casy represents a God like figure in which every one listens to. Rose of Sharon is symbolized as a God like figure also for saving that mans life.

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