Thursday, September 12, 2013
The Grapes Of Wrath by Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.
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Is the book about multiple farms or one that is fighting against the dust bowl? Is there more than one main character? What point of view is it written in? Does it have any relation with the Of mice and men?
ReplyDeleteThere is more than one character, it follows some people for a short time. It is written in third person. It has some relation to Of Mice and Men, the writing style is about the same.
ReplyDeleteWhich of the two Steinbeck books do you like better Grapes of wrath or of mice and men.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kurt- I'm so happy to hear you're reading another nove by Steinbeck! This is one of my favorites- it demands a LOT of the reader but is worth it by the end. How far have you gotten? What parts have you liked best so far?
ReplyDeleteRight now I am half through chapter 6, Casy and tom are talking. I like the slang that Steinbeck uses in his writing, it make the conversation seem real. Steinbeck is also very good with detail, from the main character to the fly that is on the wall Steinbeck writes it all. I like how there are so many characters in this book.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're enjoying Steinbeck's style so much. Jim Casy is a hoot, isn't he? Steinbeck said he wrote this book on 5 (count 'em- 5!) levels: the Joad family's struggle, the migrant farmers' struggle, the struggles of America/ Americans, mankind's struggles (complete with tons of religious allusions), and the deepest level, which he described as "the reader's level of engagement with the text"-- which I see, at least in part, as the pleasure we get from experiencing the way he tells the story (detail, etc.) Hope that's not too much information at this point!
ReplyDeleteThat is not to much information. I am now far enough i get most of that.
ReplyDelete:) yay!
ReplyDeleteThis is a vary good book but, I am now at the point in the book where there is a lot of arguing. It so happens to be the middle of the book that this takes place, but it seems as if the only thing going on is a large argument.
DeleteHang in there!!
ReplyDeleteThe family is now moving on after a cop came to camp an harassed people, ending up with Tom getting in a fight with the cop.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much going on at the end of the book, the family has gotten to the place they wanted to go but is not as good as it was made out to be.
ReplyDelete