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.