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.