The structure of the Grapes of Wrath is unique in that it alternates between specific narrative chapters about the Joad family and general intercalary chapters about the migrant workers as a whole. .
In the narrative chapters, Steinbeck tries to keep his style simple, helping the readers grasp the basic elements of the story. He uses a dialect in the characters" speech to add to the realistic nature of the story, and he uses a primarily Objective Point of View. This means that he portrays interactions and conversations as viewed by an observer, without focusing on any particular characters or representing their thoughts or motivations.
In the intercalary chapters, Steinbeck often varies his style. In some chapters, like Chapter 3, the anonymous narrator uses symbolism to provide the readers with an idea about the migrant workers. .
In chapter 3, a turtle struggles to travel across a highway, being nearly squashed twice by passing motorists and flung off the road by a driver who attempted to squash it. The turtle symbolizes the migrant workers migrating to the west, and the two drivers, an ignorant driver and an evil murderous driver, symbolize those who are destroying the lives of the migrant workers. The ignorant driver represents those who kill the workers not knowingly, such as plantation owners, who jack up prices and cut wages, and land owners who evict the families, unaware of what they will have to go through to survive. The murderous driver represents those who are out to specifically hurt the workers, such as the police officers, who keep the workers from staying together and organizing, and the people who charge ridiculously high prices for goods and services. .
In other intercalary chapters, the narrator describes events broadly, describing the general experience of the migrant workers. In these, the narrator often takes the voice of a typical man, such as a corrupt car salesman, expressing the person's individual concerns.
The Grapes of Wrath Analytical Paper The structure of The Grapes of Wrath is very unconventional. ... Having come upon much criticism straight from the start, The Grapes of Wrath still has maintained its success over the years. ...
These two phenomena allowed Steinbeck to create his best selling and most influential book, The Grapes of Wrath. ... The Grapes of Wrath is a novel about and old system dying, and a new one that is taking shape. ... Most significant in The Grapes of Wrath is its" religious association with the bible. ... The structure of The Grapes of Wrath also seems to mirror the bible in some respects. Battle Hymn of the Republic The Grapes of Wrath is structured in three parts: the time at the origin of their journey, in the midst of a heavy drought; the time on the road; and the time in California whe...
The Grapes of Wrath For many people in America, anger, discontent, and disillusionment characterized the years immediately following World War One. ... Approximately 10 years later, another highly acclaimed writer, by the name of John Steinbeck, had also adapted this new writing style as his own, especially in The Grapes of Wrath. ... In The Grapes of Wrath, fate is terribly cruel to the Joad family. ... Note that this break down of societal structure demonstrated with this quote is just like in The Sun Also Rises. ... In both The Sun Also Rises and The Grapes of Wrath, the writers use na...
Grapes of Wrath, Chapters 1-11: 5 out of 8 questions 1.What does the setting of the opening scene suggest about the rest of the novel? What does it suggest about family structure? ... The opening scene also illustrated the structure of families, where the "women [stood] beside their men and the children [played]" (Steinbeck, 6-7). The families were all similarly structured; Men made decisions, women watched the children and did as they were told. 2.Animals play an important symbolic role throughout this novel. ...
In his novel `The Grapes of Wreath` we can see his attitude towards people and conditions and the extremes of poverty, injustice and suffering. ... `The Grapes of Wrath` is evaluated as a document rather as a novel. ... These values persist in `The Grapes of Wreath`, the earth motive serves two main functions: first, to signify love; and second, to signify endurance. ... Steinbeck`s subject in `The Grapes of Wreath` is not the adventures of the Joad family so much as the social conditions. ... This structure has its roots in the Old Testament. ...
In my presentation I will talk about the common and most talked about causes of stillbirth in today's society, the uncommon and preventable causes, and the relationship between those and Rose of Sharon's stillbirth baby in The Grapes of Wrath. ... Between 5 and 10 percent of stillborn babies have abnormalities involving their chromosomes, the tiny thread-like structures in each cell that carry our genes. ... Like these statistics above, the Joad family in the Grapes of Wrath, specifically rose of Sharon, fits in perfectly. ... Although today the common causes are for the most part u...
Stories within stories are difficult structures to maintain without losing the reader in a mass of explication at the beginning, or through the confusion of attempting to sort out the various plot lines unaided. On the other hand, when the interweaving of the stories is skillfully managed by the author, the reader's experience is enriched by the contrast of a global and a particular viewpoint, for example, the alternating chapters in Moby Dick and The Grapes of Wrath. ... By making the main story that of a family and their country, Atwood takes on one of the most difficult novelistic ...
A Women's Strength in a Broken Family In John Steinbeck's, The Grapes of Wrath, he writes of the direct effect on the traditional American family, where the father was the head of the household. ... As families made due with less, fathers slowly lost status within the structure of the family. ... The baby she is carrying is responsible for many decisions and shifts in the family's hierarchal structure. ...