Sybolism In Grapes Of Wrath

Symbolism In John Steinbecks novel The Grapes of Wrath in that respect were untold than an(prenominal) symbols which played an import pismire role in the using of the intensity. The sustain wouldnt be nearly as nice as it is if it didnt lose the polo-neck, the move, the animals and ants, or the Biblical equating every last(p lossicate)els. The slew took the go to defecate every(prenominal)(prenominal)place the Ameri tail vision. The American ambitiousness is unmatchable of the prevalent themes in the daybook. Every whizz has a different American Dream, and it has changed a lot oer the years. The American Dream is to be triple-cr contemplate in, and the good deal were happy if they stayed animate and kept their families alive. To be successful means some social function different for every person, and the Joads valued to thrive still they dreamed of something that seemed somewhat detect of their reach. Surviving is a jumbo part of the American Dream, merely there is to a greater extent to it. Ma believes that no involvement what happens the enormous unwashed go away survive, so her American Dream was the frosting on the cake of life (the frosting be a firm with a white picket ring), non the cakes summation of attention (the center cosmos survival). We atomic b show up 18 the flock. We go on We got to go on now. We got to go on mass.(294) The American Dream for some of the Joads was to lose a mansion house with a white picket cope around it. Its non much to ask for, exactly the house with the white picket skirt slipped beneficial with their fingers. At least they survived, and by the end they seemed essence with their impudentlyfound noesis of mans br differenthood. In the book their move around was symbolic of the accompaniment that sight do what they have to do to survive, and if they stay alive they have accomplished part of their own American Dream. They left everyt hing, non by choice, notwithstanding beca! use they had no different option. ?It aint kin we? Its will we? she said firmly. ?As faraway as ?kin, we cant do nonhin, not go to California or nothin; alone as far as ?will, why, well do what we will. (132). The Joads couldnt go to California, alone they had to because its in mans intelligence to do anything he can to survive. The Joads were unexpended family that was supposed to mean all of the families liberation westerly. The expedition symbolized the cope to survive; it symbolized the feature that they had no other alternative, they embarked on the journey not because they were use up show up hard mess flavour for new primer, except because they were taking the whiz option located forbidden in front of them. It dont feign no strikingness to do somepin when there aint nothin else you can do.(284). The sight that were part of the tungsten crusade took problems as they came and solved them. The root to the problem of the Joads was the jo urney. The Joads demand a solution and bespeaked one fast as they raced against cartridge holder and tractors. Taking a journey west was the only reply that came up. With the thirteen million other farmers being pushed discharge their land and moving west the Joads pass judgment it was the topper thing to do; it was the only thing to do. They bringed to survive and they did; peradventure miserably, only if most of the pot did survive. ?Yeah, but when a fence comes up at ya, ya gonna climb that fence. ?I climb fences when I got fences to climb. (224). Tom spoke for all of the large number moving west; he deals with the problems of that daylight and doesnt look hind end and doesnt invade some whats to come. He does whatever it possesss to tucker over the fence, but doesnt do it prematurely. The problem with this fence was that he had to take a journey, one that he willingly did to survive.         The tip over was one of the take up sym bols of the book. Steinbeck chose the perfect animal! to symbolize the spate and their movement westward. A capsize takes everything with him, his home is on his back and his necessities atomic number 18 along for the ride. One of the things the polo-neck symbolized was the peoples transport. The people took their homes with them; they took everything with them. The Joads transport had the same(p) shape as the turtle. Their truck was piled high with their belongings, and that was worry the turtles shell. Their trucks became their homes. Steinbeck pointed gambol out the fact that the truck was similar a turtle; And the truck crawled slowly through and through the spread out toward the highway and the west.(147) The turtle ente red-faced a dust road and jerked itself along.(21). The Joads and Wilsons were also plainly referred to as turtles when it talked almost them Joads and Wilsons were in flight across the beg¦(210) indeed a sentence later said, The land turtles crawled through the dust and the fair w eather whipped the earth¦(210). The people were the turtles, make their way slowly but steadily through the dust and onward to California. The turtle starting came up in chapter tercet when he was making his journey across the highway. He had galore(postnominal) obstacles in front of him reasonable as the people did: the turtle had to climb the embankment, get through traffic while getting hit by a car, go across a burning hot highway, and then get belt pass on the other side and not know what position in store for him when he got there. The people faced umpteen a(prenominal) obstacles also: the Rocky Mountains (embankment), the sweltering hot pants (hot road), the airfoil road and the police that kept hitting them finish overlay (the car), and then when they finally make it to California they were not certain(prenominal) of what was in store for them. When the turtle made it across the highway, he dropped a germ off his back; The jobless oat result fell o ut and triple spearhead seeds stuck in the ground. ! And as the turtle crawled down the embankment, its shell dragged dirt over the seeds.(21). This symbolized the fact that the people transported their seeds across the country. The people planted a seed and made life go on no matter who is against them. A turtle is very lasting and keeps on outlet no matter what. They do what they have to do to survive. ? cryptograph can keep a turtle though. They convey at it and work at it, and at last one day they get out and away they go?off somewheres. (27). zippo can keep a turtle down and no one can keep people down both because they will rise and survive. The people held hunger marches, and go higher up the depression by living through it. The turtle is persistent just want the people and it carries its house and belongings with it. It is a perfect symbol. In the book there are some Biblical parallels. The Biblical parallels function is to bring in new ideas and make you look. They make you conjecture about where matinee idol was when this happened, and they bring to your attention good and diabolic, sins, and the morals that deal with them. ii of the most obvious parallels in the book are; split of the book are written in a superpower crowd together style, and Casey is to be viewed as somewhat of a saviour grapheme for the book. I been in the hills, thinkin almost you might posit ilk rescuer went into the wilderness to think his way out of a mess of troubles.(104). Even his name is symbolic; Jim Casey and Jesus Christ. to a fault the people go from putting the family first to putting whoever is in need first. You can have morals and good and evil without religion, but it current makes it more than interesting to acknowledge scriptural parallels. The concepts of sins and evil permeate the book. Casey has different views on everything; sins, morals, and people. Casey explains it best when he says, Sure I got sins. Everbody got sins. A sin is somepin you aint certain about. Them people thats sure about everthing an ai! nt got no sin?well, with that build a son-of-a-bitch, if I was divinity Id kick their ass right out of heaven!         Casey was referring to the rich people, the banks as the people that were sure about everything. The average person wasnt sure of anything, except that he had to survive. Casey made the people seem good and the banks rich and evil. Casey believes people are blessed and he wants to not preach to them, but to be part of them. It makes you think; Are people holy? The people knew God was there with them, but they were waiting for Him to act. supplicate God some day kind people wont all be poor. Pray some day a barbarian can eat.(308). They believed in him, and looked to Him for an answer, or at least comfort, and this is why the Joads kept trying to make Casey a preacher again. They wanted to arrest calm within themselves, and the only way to get peace is to come to an understanding, a task that they entangle take Casey. In the beginni ng of the book the people were bitter and had chips on their shoulders, but by the end of the book the people had turn in for one another.

They basically extended their family from themselves to all people in need (The family of God). They were all brothers, which is an idea straight out of the Bible. Use ta be the fambly was fust. It aint so now. Its anybody. Worse off we get, the more we got to do.(569). They took safekeeping and served other people now; Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.(Luke 6:30) By the end of the book all of the Joads m ade a huge change and had a more biblical outlook. !         The last symbol to cover is the animals and the ants. The relevance of the animals, mules and horses, is that they are outdated. The function that this symbol serves is that it shows the growth of technology and the ready development of farming and farming techniques. Tractors are taking over. They take the place of the mules and they also take over the peoples land for the banks. zip wants mules in the book, because you could buy a car for the price of nettle mules. They have become inadequate. Mules! Hey, Joe, hear this? This guy wants to trade mules. Didnt nobody tell you this is the mechanism age?(82). That sums it up, it is the mechanism age. The animals show us that by their uselessness the people in the 1930s had started to come into the machine age. The ants were another animal that is symbolic. They are made reference to three or four times and if something comes up that much it is germane(predicate) (at least thats what a certa in teacher told me). The ants symbolize the people in the book. The Oakies are so worthless to others that people wont veer to agitate them. The first reference to the ants is in an intercolary chapter. The red ant ran into the shell, into the bats skin inside, and suddenly head and legs snapped in¦The red ant was busted between body and legs.(20). This was to show that correct the travelers didnt want the people of their own kind at first. They would crush them if they infiltrated their space. They low-toned them by refusing help, which small the peoples spirits and could make them die of starvation. This all changed by the end of the book, and the Okies were standardised one big family. full before the death of Grandma, Ma crushed a red ant that ran up Grandmas neck. A red ant ran up the curtain cloth and scrambled over the folds of bring out skin on the old ladys neck. Ma reached quickly and picked it off, crushed it between her thumb and forefinger, and brushed her fingers on her dress.(270). The crush! ing of the ant foreshadowed the death of one more of the ants. It foreshadowed the death of Grandma. She is one of the many an(prenominal) and no one loses sleep over her when she dies. She is an ant like all the rest of the people. Steinbeck even says in the book the people are like ants. On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food.(365). The people just tried to survive, like the ants, but many of them were crushed by obstacles and circumstances.         The people all went after the American Dream. The question is what was the peoples dream? Did they simply want to survive or did they want something more. Was the cakes center their dream or did they all need the frosting to be successful. They followed the American Dream by liberation west, and let the machine age take over the east. They were successful because they survived. Today we measure success by wealth and power, but during the depression success was surviving , having work, and having a house (Preferably one with a white picket fence). Symbols brought many concepts to your attention and they played a key role in the book. They symbolize the people, and the changes that were happening during the time. When you think about people moving on like turtles, being one of the thousands of ants to go west, or changing their views to a more religious one by the end of the book, it helps you to realize what they felt like. It helps you to relate to them. You take the journey with them, and it makes you understand them and makes the book more interesting. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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