Book number two, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was yet again a difficult read. The complexity of this book differs from Huck because Twain started with a whole adventure pouring out of the text while you had to dive into Grapes of Wrath to find, not necessarily an adventure but the purpose. It might not be a book for enjoyment but it has purpose, like all stories. This story starts out mournfully painful describing the way the dust is blown, thickly around a small community and how this tragedy causes the tenets to lose sight of their farms, produce, and neighbors around them. That first chapter describing this event is foreshadowing the hardships to come. Their "sight" being blocked by something they cannot control.
All of the books we are assigned have a purpose for us. The Grapes of Wrath's purpose, I believe, is to enlighten the reader that life is really not perfect. Take the Joads for instance. This family is tough and resilient, and that quality is passed down from generation to generation. Grampa is a hard, dirty worded, loud mouth that doesn't take smack from anyone. Pa is just like that but does not express it has vocally as Grampa. Then there is Tom. He obviously is tough and strong, being able to endure years in jail, being paroled unharmed. But like I was saying, they're not perfect. Tom murdered a man, the Joads where forced out of their home, their house was punctured, and they were basically left homeless with no income. Depressing, none the less it does not get much better.
This family does not rely on their luck. For this reason they are lacking in that department. With Tom's crime, Casy's murder, and Rosasharn's baby being a stillborn. These woes are strewn on this family at almost every instant. Their only goal was to journey to California to begin a new life. I'm not too sure how Steinbeck does it, but his portrayal of the struggles this family endured in this tale were so realistic that we feel the pain as if we are a part of this depressing time. I felt at times that I too, was a Joad, having to live with all the misfortune. The tone played a factor. It’s a dreary and slow tone that aids in the connection to the story. The tone also could be helping the way the setting is presented. Difficult times infused with the setting were enhanced by the way Steinbeck used tone. "To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth..." That is just an example of how tone factored into the setting. The Grapes of Wrath is a meaningful book that makes me and probably others take a step back and see that I should be appreciative that I didn't have to indulge in such catastrophe as shown in The Grapes of Wrath and the Great Depression.
Resiliency and tone caught my attention in your blog. You say that you're not really sure how Steinbeck does it, well do you think his tone is the tool? Is the resilient family's struggles part of the tone as well? Also, do you think this book had more of an affect on you because it is an America you can relate to more than the one in Huck Finn? How important do you think context of a novel is? Context meaning its place in history and knowing the time period in which the book was written? Would this book have the same effect on someone who was not familiar with our Great Depression? If so, how and why? You have some very good comments in this post; good job!
ReplyDeleteI agree with where you say that the book shows that life isnt perfect and you show good examples using the Joads, but i do not think that is what the entire story and theme is about. There is a bigger picture to the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say the dreary tone adds alot to the story.
Sabrina-
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say about tone and how Steinbeck makes you feel that you are part of the book, like you are a Joad. Yet in reality, if you think about it we are. Having to go through this economic recession in our day of age, makes us understand better what it was like during the Great Depression. Although it is not as bad, there are still many similarities between now and then. Many families have gone through the same things as the Joad's family.
-angeLa:)