The Grapes Of Wrath * Essay, Research Paper

The novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, illustrates the

hardships of the common man in great detail. The one aspect of

this book that displays life as it exists in the hostile real-world

is the third chapter, in which the human plight is displayed by a

turtle, and his struggle to reach the other side of a road. As the

turtle is about to reach his goal, it is returned to it’s original

location, but it does not waver in it’s determination, and continues

across the road until it reaches the other side. The characters most

easily identified with in this book are the Joad family, and Jim

Casy. Each character undergoes tremendous heartache and burden, yet

they stay true to their plans, and never give up. While the Joad

family is moving from Oklahoma to California, Ma Joad holds the

family together, becuase her belief that a broken-family will not

be able to accomplish their mammoth task, is true. This is displayed

by her not allowing the two cars to split and arrive at California

at different times, when one of the cars breaks down, as they are

leaving Oklahoma. Pa Joad was a hardworking man, who is uplifted

from his normal way of life, and is forced to account for his family

not starving. He does not handle this move very well, and throughout

the book, he is confused, and not as headstrong as Ma. Tom Joad is

a very complicated individual, who is a tremendous asset and at the

same time, a tremendous burden. His parole cuases his family an

unneeded worry, while his ability to get work while very few people

do, also benefited the family. He is the main protagonasist for his

family, with his independent nature, and the main follower of Jim

Casy’s philosophy on human nature, with Jim being much more of a

talker, and an idealist to actually put what he preached into action.

Jim Casy has fequently been compared with Jesus Christ, and his

lifestyle of preaching and leading people in a revolt, as well as

sacrificing himself for Tom and the Joad family demonstrates this

common held belief well. He also had a follower, or disciple in Tom,

who after Jim’s death carries his message, and aids others with it.

The Joad family along with Jim Casy show the benefit of people

uniting in order to accomplish goals, and this is a lesson that

the reader can take away from this “classic” American novel.

Bibliography

The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck