The Grapes of Wrath, I felt, was a very depressing novel, but it had to be depressing. I think it had to be depressing because the message had to be sent through depression. I read about how so many people were starving and how they were miserable and all the pain just poured out. If all the pain wasn't shown however, then how would you understand what the theme of the book is? I think the pain is the whole reason this book is a classic. The dead baby in chapter 30 is the symbol of pain. When people were to find the dead baby it was to represent all of the sufferings that the migrants had endured.
In the novel, I really noticed the growth of Tom. At the beginning of the novel Tom is a man who has no will or patience to think of the future. He just wants to get through each day. I think this is because when he was in prison that is all he could do because thinking of the future would just make time go by slower. Throughout the trip to California the priest, Casy, seemed to inspire Tom little by little. I think Tom's change showed after Casy's murder. Tom left his family to lead the struggle toward making the future a better one.
I think one of the main themes in the book is the power of family and togetherness. I think that the novel has two families. The Joad family and the family of all the migrants. Throughout the novel the Joad's stay empowered and keep hope because they have each other to lean on when things go wrong. All of the migrants come together to form sort of a symbolic family. The migrants are a family that are all going through the same troubles. They stay empowered because when they are united everything seems to run smoother. An example is the Weedpatch Camp. The camp is only run by migrants, and everything is better than other camps that are ran by the government.
All in all, I think "The Grapes of Wrath" was an excellant novel, and made me wonder about how I would deal with all the struggles the migrants had to deal with.
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I definately agree that the message of the story did have to be shown through depression at the beginning of the novel. And, your saying of "maturity" of Tom throughout the novel really encouraged me to think about this and to come to realization that you are correct. I do think Tom maruted and grew quite a bit as a man throughout this novel. Everything was well said!!
ReplyDeleteHey Brendito! I really agree with what you said about Tom developing as a character in the story. Why do you think Tom inspired Casy? I defenitley saw that in the book too, and I think it is because Casy realized how much of a struggle Tom had encountered, and he thought he would be able to make it through the hard times, too. Good job! You should follow me :)
ReplyDeleteI believe that the depression in this story was needed to get the point of the novel across because of the fact that this novel takes place during the "Great Depression". This novel is not about flowers and rainbows, but rather hardships and struggling on just to survive. I believe family and togetherness was important in the novel, but I believe survival of the fittest and adjusting to your surroundings is really the important theme. Without this, no one would have survived in California because they still were used to the way they lived in Oklahoma, not California. Don't get me wrong though because family and togetherness are still very important in the novel. People needed to be a big family in order to survive and thrive in California.
ReplyDeleteI definitely like the way you put symbolism to the book. when i read it i was extremely bored and didn't think about the symbolism of the book. not that i think about symbolism unless im in a class room and the teacher makes me, no matter how well written the book is. i do however, now that you mention it see the symbolism within the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jared. The book needed to be depressing in order to get the emotions, events, and thoughts of the Great Depression out. It was called the Depression for many different reasons.
ReplyDeleteYour theme is right on. Togetherness and the power of family is something that cannot be defeated. Family is not restricted to blood; family is anyone who cares for one another and helps out when needed. The migrant families became the one big family by the end of the book. This was necessary for survival.
Great post!
Love what you said about power and togetherness being a theme! Definately agree! In that time period, people had to learn to stick together and stay strong in order to survive and get through things.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!