Familial Love in the Face of Hardships. Thesis Statement: In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck examines the journey of the

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1 Jack Blanton Mrs. Talley AP English IV-7 th November 27, 2017 Familial Love in the Face of Hardships Thesis Statement: In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck examines the journey of the Joad family from one life to another as they fall victim to the cruel nature of mankind and reinforces the central message of the power and importance that familial love has over the oppressive conditions that were commonplace in America during the 1930s. I. Introduction II. Steinbeck examines the traditional family structure and questions its effectiveness and uses the Joad s and their struggles to construct a family story that is punctuated by interchapters that tell a larger cultural and historical story. A. Steinbeck wanted to avoid overgeneralizing the sufferings of the migrant farmer, while also ensuring that the sheer scope and magnitude of the horrendous conditions were not lost in the specific focus on one particular family. 1.Steinbeck had to both individualize the Joads to be credible as well as universalize them to carry out their functions of representation. 2.The hardships of the dispossessed families become personal and individual through the struggles of the Joad family.

2 B. The novel captures both the sentiment of a pivotal period in American history, one at the intersection of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the shaping of the American West. 1.It is impossible to understand the Joads or what they symbolize without understanding the Dust Bowl. 2.Many families in the region were devastated, particularly those who relied on agriculture to make a living. 3.Many Americans left the only places they knew to call home, but California was a fallen Eden. C. Steinbeck had to figure out how to demonstrate universal plight of hundreds of thousands, without focusing too much on one family and obscuring the universal nature, so, he turned to the use of broad perspective interchapters. 1.First, by presenting the social background the interchapters serve to amplify the pattern of actions created by the Joad family. 2.Only fourteen of the novels chapters focus on the Joad family 3.One of the novel s most important symbols, the turtle, is presented in what is actually the first interchapter. a. Just like the turtle, the Joads endure the perils of their journey. b. The turtle is symbolic and its adventures are a prophetic allegory. 4.The remaining interchapters have the function of providing such historical information of land ownership in California.

3 III. As the novel progresses and the struggles increase, the Joad family remains steadfast, albeit with several exceptions, and grows up in the face of terrible obstacles rather than break apart. A. In Steinbeck s words, The human like any other life form will tolerate an unhealthy condition for some time, and then will either die or will overcome the condition either by mutation or by destroying the unhealthful condition. Since there seems little tendency for human race to become extinct I judge the final method will be chosen. 1.The external struggles of flood, famine and economic injustice spurs them to do more than normally possible. 2. The family will support one another no matter the challenges, and giving up is not an available option for the Joads. B. Joads realize that despite their hardships, there are others that are far worse off than them. 1.As the family unit survives, hope survives. 2.The family unit is a symbol of humanity s resolve and endurance. 3.The Joads survive because they like to eat, but they must work to keep eating. They have no desire to give up, yet they can t mutate, so they work through it. C. Besides moments of negative selfish attitudes, the Joads pull together when required and were able to display a we attitude to serve the family as a whole. 1.Steinbeck intends for the Joads to adopt an I to We mindset with the other migrants if they are to survive economic and spiritual displacement.

4 2.Their interest lies only in perseverance. D. The growth of the Joad family is obvious as they realize and adopt a larger group consciousness toward the end of the novel. 1. Rather than breaking up during their ordeal, the Joad family perseveres and grows up instead. 2.The Joads take the suffering and use it as a means for spiritual growth and new consciousness. IV. Finally, if every mettle of the American spirit and family has been tested and found strong, it has been so with the Joads. A. The Grapes of Wrath shows importance of familial love, but it also reveals the shift in focus from immediate family to a more community-based family group in American society. 1.Finding self-worth through sharing and cooperating with kin and outsiders is what keeps the Joads from falling apart. 2.The family experience injustice and evils yet still managed to reach out in kindness to strangers. 3.Whether it was the Wilson s or the helpless man that required Rose of Sharon s breast milk at the end of the novel, the concept of lending a helping hand is prevalent throughout the entire journey. 4.All the family wants is to reestablish a home and place of its own, and their generosity and kindness to those around them reflect the ideals of being a host that they lost in their exodus.

5 B. The Joad family comes to be a powerful symbol of humanity s resolve and endurance. 1.The Joads illustrate human strengths and weaknesses. 2.With all of the odds against them, their goodness and strength survived. C. In the end, the Joads realize that they are a part of a much larger family, of humanity itself. 1.The Joads and their journey are an allegory of humanity itself. 2.They must have faith in the common man, faith in the ultimate social progress and faith in the direction democracy is moving. V. Conclusion

End of Novel Discussion

Grapes of Wrath End of Novel Discussion What did you think of the novel? Style of writing macroscopic vs. microscopic view; simple, straightforward narrative about the Joads and experimental writing in