The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by

John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under

which the migratory farm families of America during the

1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration

west to California through the great economic depression of

the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and

their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because

tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank

took possession of their land because the owners could not

pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family

deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty

of the land owners that take advantage of them, their

poverty and willingness to work. The Grapes of Wrath

combines Steinbeck adoration of the land, his simple hatred

of corruption resulting from materialism (money) and his

abiding faith in the common people to overcome the hostile

environment. The novel opens with a retaining picture of

nature on rampage. The novel shows the men and women

that are unbroken by nature. The theme is one of man verses

a hostile environment. His body destroyed but his spirit is

not broken. The method used to develop the theme of the

novel is through the use of symbolism. There are several

uses of symbols in the novel from the turtle at the beginning

to the rain at the end. As each symbol is presented through

the novel they show examples of the good and the bad

things that exist within the novel. The opening chapter paints

a vivid picture of the situation facing the drought-stricken

farmers of Oklahoma. Dust is described a covering

everything, smothering the life out of anything that wants to

grow. The dust is symbolic of the erosion of the lives of the

people. The dust is synonymous with "deadness". The land is

ruined ^way of life (farming) gone, people ^uprooted and

forced to leave. Secondly, the dust stands for ^profiteering

banks in the background that squeeze the life out the land by

forcing the people off the land. The soil, the people (farmers)

have been drained of life and are exploited: The last rain fell

on the red and gray country of Oklahoma in early May. The

weeds became a dark green to protect themselves from the

sun's unyielding rays....The wind grew stronger, uprooting

the weakened corn, and the air became so filled with dust

that the stars were not visible at night. (Chp 1) As the

chapter continues a turtle, which appears and reappears

several times early in the novel, can be seen to stand for

survival, a driving life force in all of mankind that cannot be

beaten by nature or man. The turtle represents a hope that

the trip to the west is survivable by the farmer migrants

(Joad family). The turtle further represents the migrants

struggles against nature/man by overcoming every obstacle

he encounters: the red ant in his path, the truck driver who

tries to run over him, being captured in Tom Joad's jacket:

And now a light truck approached, and as it came near, the

driver saw the turtle and swerved to hit it. The driver of the

truck works for a large company, who try to stop the

migrants from going west, when the driver attempts to hit the

turtle it is another example of the big powerful guy trying to

flatten or kill the little guy. Everything the turtle encounters

trys its best to stop the turtle from making its westerly

journey. Steadily the turtle advances on, ironically to the

southwest, the direction of the mirgration of people. The

turtle is described as being lasting, ancient, old and wise:

horny head, yellowed toenails, indestructible high dome of a

shell, humorous old eyes. (Chp 1) The driver of the truck,

red ant and Tom Joad's jacket are all symbolic of nature and

man the try to stop the turtle from continuing his journey

westward to the promise land. The turtle helps to develop

the theme by showing its struggle against life/ comparing it

with the Joad struggle against man. The grapes seem to

symbolize both bitterness and copiousness. Grandpa the

oldest member of the Joad family talks of the grapes as

symbols of plenty; all his descriptions of what he is going to

do with the grapes in California suggest contentment,

freedom, the goal for which the Joad family strive for: I'm

gonna let the juice run down ma face, bath in the dammed

grapes (Chp 4) The grapes that are talked about by

Grandpa help to elaborate the theme by showing that no

matter how nice everything seems in California the truth is

that their beauty is only skin deep, in their souls they are

rotten. The rotten core verses the beautiful appearance. The

willow tree that is located on the Joad's farm represents the

Joad family. The willow is described as being unmovable

and never bending to the wind or dust. The Joad family does

not want to move, they prefer to stay on the land they grew

up on, much the same as the willow does. The willow

contributes to the theme by showing the unwillingness of the

people to be removed from their land by the banks. The

latter represents the force making them leave their homes.

Both of these symbols help contribute to the theme by

showing a struggle between each other. The tree struggles

against nature in much the same way that the Joad family

struggles against the Bank and large companies. The rains

that comes at the end of the novel symbolize several things.

Rain in which is excessive, in a certain way fulfills a cycle of

the dust which is also excessive. In a way nature has

restored a balance and has initiated a new growth cycle.

This ties in with other examples of the rebirth idea in the

ending, much in the way the Joad family will grow again. The

rain contributes to the theme by showing the cycle of nature

that give a conclusion to the novel by showing that life is a

pattern of birth and death. The rain is another example of

nature against man, the rain comes and floods the living

quarters of the Joads. The Joads try to stop the flood of

their home by yet again are forced back when nature drops

a tree causing a flood of water to ruin their home forcing

them to move. In opposite way rain can helpful to give life to

plants that need it to live. Depending on which extreme the

rain is in, it can be harmful or helpful. This is true for man,

man can become both extremes bad or good depending on

his choosing. Throughout the novel there are several symbols

used to develop the theme man verses a hostile environment.

Each symbol used in the novel show examples of both

extremes. Some represent man, that struggles against the

environment, others paint a clear picture of the feelings of the

migrants. As each symbol is presented chronologically

through the novel, they come together at the end to paint a

clear picture of the conditions, treatment and feelings the

people (migrants) as they make there journey through the

novel to the West.