Seminar in
American Literature
RESOURCES

Aimée C. Taylor
English 7758
Dr. Nordquist
July 23, 2002 

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1976.

The Promised Land

     Of all the novels covered in our course, The Grapes of Wrath most compellingly lends itself to team-teaching. The structure of the novel, the content, and the uniting themes can be more accurately studied by combining historical and literary approaches.  I certainly would ask a history teacher to assist me in relaying what was occurring politically, economically, religiously, and socially in America’s most turbulent years. Such a foundation is essential to understanding the power of Steinbeck’s myriad of messages as well as to appreciating his keen sensitivity and honest descriptions of characters.

What does Steinbeck’s novel offer that is unique?

     If Faulkner’s Bundrens are pathetic-bumbling, uneducated, lazy and hopeless, then Steinbeck’s Joads   are unfortunate, unlucky, unnerving, and amazingly persistent. Their plight breaks the reader’s heart while reaffirming the soul. From the very beginning, the novel depicts the desolation of land, scarcity of vegetation, reflecting the isolation and the wasting away of body, spirit and ultimately mind.

     The key to the novel is fascinating: the novel is pessimistic in the constant foreshadowing of worse dooms but strangely optimistic in the basic belief that if men work together for the good of all, life will go on, serving as a reflection of the power of a united soul. The apocalyptic tone of the novel makes it difficult to find glimmers of hope as families suffer terrible losses. Instead, the reader must focus on the strength of people like Ma Joad; she survives because she always puts the good of others first, collectively. In addition, she is willing to take power away from those less willing to sacrifice. She is not just the head of the Joad household; she becomes Mary. She knows that her personal suffering is less important than ensuring that good, honest people survive without losing faith. Similarly, Jim Casy sacrifices himself for Tom and the others twice, dying at the hands of the corrupt and greedy. He is a Christ figure with faults, but he redeems himself through his renewed faith in mankind.

     What Steinbeck thus offers is reality. He shows that even in the worst of times, people can act their best. He shows that despair can be remedied through kindness. He also shows that even if the novel is predictable and perhaps even filled with too much foreshadowing, the events are still tragic, compelling, and heart wrenching because we hope that there really is comfort in numbers. We hope that we could be as strong as Ma Joad. We hope that we could find a renewed purpose like Jim Casy. We hope that we will never lose hope.

How does Steinbeck balance the pessimism and optimism while also creating moving characters?

     First, the structure of the novel itself creates balance. The novel opens with a brief but reflective chapter, describing in detail the dry dusty harsh hell of Oklahoma. Rain is a tease that is answered with gusts of dust and despair. The thin film is left as a constant reminder of life’s cruelty. The dust can never be completely cleaned up. It will always taunt and nag at people, showing a lack of power and hope. The descriptions are enhanced with color imagery that also parallels political beliefs, religious ideals, and economics. The “red country” describes the dried and burned up land while it also foreshadows  the communist movement the Joads are introduced to and warned about in California. Green not only represents the misguided hopefulness for the lushness of land and vegetation in California but the opportunity to earn money as well. The country is white and gray because innocence can be tainted at any moment with just a pinch of evil. Even the sun’s glow is an ominous sign of heat and suffering. Whenever Steinbeck describes a setting, color is foremost.

     While the first chapter is reflective and descriptive, the second chapter introduces the main character Tom Joad. By telling his whereabouts for the past four years and insinuating that prison life was not bad, Steinbeck sets up the contrast for just how hard life is, has always been, and will continue to be for the Joad family. In prison, Tom was clothed, fed, and maintained a set schedule. Out of prison, nothing is guaranteed except suffering. Again, Steinbeck creates a balance. This chapter also lays the framework of political and economical ideals of the wealthy. The “little man” is at the mercy of untouchable “monsters” such as corporations and banks. As necessary as it is to blame someone for their suffering, the poor find the futility in such desires. They cannot “see” who is at fault and thus cannot strike out. Steinbeck consistently shows what is wrong with the current views in the novel that such poor people are dispensable.

     In chapter three Steinbeck introduces both nature and insignificance as uniting themes in the novel. The turtle is representative of  the “little man” trudging slowly on in hopeful pursuit of a better life while on the verge of victimization by the wealthy. This is balanced with spirituality in the form of the former preacher Jim Casy. “Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of “ (31). Like many during this time, he has lost the Holy Spirit and succumbed to sin. Yet, everyone around him pushes him into prayer, sermons, and offerings of hope. He ends up replacing his religious zest with political activism, dying a martyr nevertheless. What he never loses sight of is his desire to help his fellow man. He loves people and wants to be around them if he feels needed. He has a changing purpose but still a purpose.

     By chapter five, Steinbeck’s pattern has been established-reflect on society and then show an example of its problems. Thus, the Joads are the result of being victimized by nature, financial institutions, corporations, and sadly by the God they desperately pray to daily. The balance of the novel is established to highlight the lack of balance around the Joads. Role reversals stem from necessity. Religion, spiritual nourishment, takes a back seat to physical nourishment. In many ways, the novel is a justification of Maslow’s theory “Hierarchy of Needs”. A person cannot achieve self-actualization if he/she has not eaten in four days.

     The rest of the novel follows this pattern of balancing description and reflection with examples of suffering. The novel is also one of the few in this course, which does come full circle in the end. Instead of being left in despair, the ending is hopeful, productive, and humane. In the beginning, the novel details suffering one example at a time. It is almost comical in places. For instance, Granpa must be drugged to leave the farm he loves, but the dog dies first. Granpa and Granma are the two meanest and toughest people but the die during the journey. Granma who prays about the original Promised Land dies just after crossing into the new utopia of California. She makes it only to be buried there. She leaves the dust of Oklahoma only to become dust in the ground in California. This is also another example though of the novel coming full circle. Even though Rose of Sharon loses her husband to illusions of grandeur and her bay is till born, she still has something to offer another man. She provides the nourishment that not even God can at that moment. Or, through her, God is offering salvation.

     The characters are believable with their quirks and faults. The attachment to the land is particularly touching. Granpa and Pa are attached to the land not because they own it but because they have worked it. They have poured themselves into the land. Backbreaking work, tedious hours in the hot sun, praying for rain and blowing away dust, they became united. They are also part of a dying generation. The younger Joads want more. They want excitement, possessions, and a name. Rose Of Sharon and her husband really see themselves in a little house with a white picket fences wearing nice clothes. Al wants to sleep with any girl who will have him. He is cocky and daring and actually has a talent for fixing cars. Tom is not afraid of work but he too knows that there is more to life than tending a farm. Prison life was easier on a man. Each generation wants more than the past mostly because of watching the hard work and suffering of the previous generation going unrewarded.

How does the role of religion shift in the novel?

     Religion is familiar, safe, but its power dwindles throughout the course of suffering. It is ironic that the preacher who has slept with the same girls he preached to become a martyr, but it is also believable because he makes no false promises to those around him. He knows that he has sinned, but he realizes that God has also sinned in a way for allowing so many people to suffer. He to punishes himself, but then he tries to save others. Individual sin and suffering become less important that the entity of man’s faith and existence. Jim Casy does not die for selfish reasons even though some of his past actions were individually based. Those that survive in the novel make sacrifices to help more than just themselves. Steinbeck creates a socialist society with standards. Work together to help your neighbors and be rewarded with peace. Even Tom who is so accustomed to violence without regret or guilt learns the same lesson. He is a product of society if he continues to react through violence. He is elfish and worthless if he does not change his views. After Jim Casy dies, Tom realizes he too is part of mankind’s collective soul. He becomes determined to make a difference, to make Casy’s death a gain instead of a loss.

     Biblical allusions jump out from every page, obvious, yes, but still necessary. Jim Casy’s initials are typical for a martyr just as Joad closely echoes Job. In addition, Jim Casy wants to pick grapes and make wine-the blood of Christ. When the rains come, they flood the desolate land. Of course, Noah is nowhere to be found and cannot lead the people nor the animals to safety. (Why? He was deprived of oxygen at birth.)

     The rains are also cathartic, serving as a new beginning for Tom while also serving as a release for Ma Joad. She is free to stop her worrying. It is no longer essential to keep the family united because mankind is uniting in suffering. Tom returns to the plight of humanity, giving Ma a much needed break. She has been so busy taking care of other people and worrying that she has not allowed herself to grieve. She must now feel and move on with life. She passes the role of mother (Mary) to Rose of Sharon.

     By offering her body in a maternal fashion, Rose of Sharon soars above vanity, societal restrictions, and sin. She selflessly gives at the moment when she has lost the most. Knowing this is the ultimate “offering of gifts,” Steinbeck offers the hope of acceptance, worth, and forgiveness not just for her but also for everyone who has suffered. She offers a flower for the dead and to the living. At that moment, she is the only one who can offer such hope and fulfillment.  

     Religion shifts because every aspect of life for the Joads and the other migrating families has to shift. To survive, frills must go. This does not mean that the Joads condone sinning, but they do have a better sense of severity and priority. After all, when they needed a house, they stole it. When confronted with violence, Tom reacts in self-defense. But, when confronted with a starving child, a sick migrant worker, or a lost preacher, the Joads offer what they cannot afford to give. 

Teaching Strategies/Ideas:

1. Create a “color chart” which lists the symbolism and usage of each color in the novel.
2. Examine the state laws in California that directly stemmed from the influx of migrant workers during the depression. What were the immediate and lasting implications? Are there still problems with farming and migrant workers?
3. How does the selling of family farms in the Midwest during the 1980s relate to the devastation of the depression and farming? Are there similarities? Are there connections? What changes still need to be made?
4. Steinbeck does a fabulous job portraying the used car dealers who preyed upon the Okies. The depiction is still considered accurate today. What other business portrayal does he offer that is still relevant? What specific characteristics do we connect with such a profession? Is such a perception still accurate? Why or why not?
5. Which character do you identify with most and why? Come dressed as your character and give a three-four minute presentation explaining what you have endured and what your plans are for the future.
6. Why do the Joads continue on to California after hearing numerous warnings that they will be disappointed? Why did they not stay in Oklahoma and “wait it out?” Debate one side of the issue and be prepared to meet your opponent in front of the class with specific examples/quotes from the text.
7. Explain how the disposal of Rose of Sharon’s baby is a biblical allusion. What are the differences and similarities? Is the novel’s ending hopeful? Why or why not?
8. Use your artistic talents and show one of the Joads killing “the monster.” Be prepared to explain your depiction.