John Steinbeck greatly portrayed a serious struggle in his book, "The Grapes of Wrath." It is a display of some of the struggles forced upon some people after the depression. This novel goes into great detail about some of the challenges people were forced through due to a foreclosure of the banks. The people in this book have to deal with some very hard times. Many things are thrown there way and character is definitely seen through the way they handle themselves. Maturity is seen through these characters through out the book.
One of the major characters of this book is Tom Joad. He is always ready for what life throws at him. He handles situations the very best he can. Although he sometimes makes mistakes in the things he does, he seems to grow from his wrongs into a better person. He is a pretty well rounded character in my opinion. I also think that Jim Casy is a very big character in the novel. He definitely proposes many themes in the novel, one of the biggest one's being unity and everyone coming together as one; equality. I think he is a great inspiration for Tom. He also helps build a lot of Tom's character, in my opinion. I also believe that Rose of Sharon is a very important character in this novel. She is seen with much growth through out the novel. She starts very immature. She becomes pregnant and on her journey she loses her husband when he abandons her. Then later on she loses her baby. Rose, however, shows a great strength at the end of the book, when she helps nurse a poor man back to help with the milk she is carrying.
I think the book is full of many symbolic things and it contains many great themes. I find the death of their dog, in the beginning to be very symbolic. This is almost foreshadowing some unseen tragic events that that family is going to face. It is similar to the introduction to all their struggles. A theme I found very relevant in this novel is the one portrayed by Jim Casy; equality. This theme is seen through out the book. It is very relevant when the Joad family helps the Wilsons. I think by them helping each other, it shows how everyone is struggling through the same things and one's struggles is another's struggles. This book is full equality, or longing for an equal and unified society. This book was a challenging read, but I definitely got something out of it. I enjoyed it personally.
I like that you truly went in depth with the characters Tom and Rose of Sharon. I believe those two characters really show great character development. I also found the symbolism of the dog dying interesting. I never thought of that idea before. I also loved the theme of equality you used.
ReplyDeleteSo tell me, what are some of the specific examples of equality you found throughout the book? You talk about how Tom and Jim mature, but how? What exactly did you see in the story to defend this notion of maturity? It is best to draw from the text to support your claims. Use quotes, page numbers, and chapters to help support what you say. You have some really good ideas, but without any specific evidence this reads like Sparknotes. I like the fact that you do go deeper into the novel and play with equality and symbolism, but you need to show us how this is evident. Good post, but next time try to support your claims with evidence from the book.
ReplyDelete