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.