Literary Analysis

The Grapes of Wrath

1. "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck follows the story of the Joads, a family of farmers in Oklahoma. The Joad family is being forced to leave their farm by a bigger company that is claiming their land. Tow Joad, recently out of prison, finds his family ready to leave for California in search of work along with many other desperate farmers from Oklahoma. The entire family packs into one truck and begins the journey. Along the journey, both of the eldest Joads, know as Granpa and Granma pass away from old age mostly, but also hard conditions and sadness from leaving their homes. The Joads move from makeshift home to makeshift home in search of work. They finally settle in a Hooverville. Things seem better off here, but Tom and some other men provoke a confrontation with some police men, who get hurt and furious and declare they will burn the place down. Tom does his best to stop this and keep his family in the little town, but they decide to leave because they still can't find enough work. In this search, Tom gets into another skirmish with police and ends up killing one. This forces him into hiding and he has to leave his family completely so he won't get caught. The remaining Joads are forced out of the boxcar they are living in by heavy rains and floods and come across an abandonment barn with a boy and his dying father in it. The novel ends with one of the Joads nursing the dying man back to health.

2. Steinbeck's theme in this novel is centered around the struggle of a family to survive during America's Great Depression, and how hard times can force good people to do hard, sometimes bad things.

3. Steinbeck's tone is dismal and bleak, for the majority, to show how bad things are for the Joads. But when a Joad does speak its generally the opposite, showing how they are trying to keep hope alive.

4. 

 1.  Setting- the time period and location of the story are a big factor of the family's struggles.

2.  Tone- Steinbeck's tone shows how unfortunate the Joads really are.

3. Dialect- The Joads are from Oklahoma so the way they speak shows where they are from, and this often hinders them in California.

4. Flashback- Tom and Casy the preacher have flashbacks that let us know more about them.

5. Conflict- The Joads face every type of conflict. People, their setting, and themselves.

6. Allusion- Steinbeck speaks of historical things like Hooverville's that we should know of.

7. Anacrhomism-  The desire for a wrokers union predates its creation in this novel.

8. Character Traits- Each character has strong traits that dictates their sactions.

9. Figurative Language- Steinbeck uses strong imagery to describe being of the hars scenes the Joads face.

10. Diction- Steinbeck selects words that people used during that time period.