John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath portrays the Joad family’s arduous journey from their home to California during the Dust Bowl Era. John Steinbeck uses various elements in his novel, including animals representing different characters in the story, to convey symbolism and deeper meaning. John Steinbeck repeatedly uses a turtle to represent humanity throughout the novel. The turtle also represents good triumphing over evil through hard work and determination. The turtle is important because it represents one of John Steinbeck’s major themes which is that all living things are connected.
John Steinbeck has an experience early on in life where he kicks a turtle by accident while out on a morning jog along with his dog Charley (Steinbeck 6). He feels extreme guilt for what he has done. John Steinbeck describes how he feels after this incident: “For the first time I perceived that there was a part of me that could rise above my own life, my own fortunes; something that stood aside and watched with cold judgement; something which if it would work unceasingly could defeat me or make me master of all men” (Steinbeck 7).
John Steinbeck’s early life experience with the turtle is what inspired him to write The Grapes of Wrath . John Steinbeck uses symbolism through repetition throughout his novel to portray deeper meanings in different scenes. He does this by repeating specific phrases throughout the book multiple times. John Steinbeck does not do this for no reason, but to let his readers know that there is more to the story than just what was being told on the surface. John Steinbeck utilizes repetition of certain phrases throughout The Grapes of Wrath .
John Steinbeck’s symbolism through repetition that occurs throughout his novel The Grapes of Wrath is meant to portray deeper meanings in different scenes. One example John Steinbeck uses this technique is by using, “wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. ” John Steinbeck repeats this phrase throughout the book multiple times for specific reasons. John Steinbeck does not do this for no reason, but to let his readers know that there is more to the story than just what was being told on the surface. John Steinbeck wants his readers to understand that all living things are connected.
John Steinbeck wants his readers to understand that it is through determination and hard work that all living things will come together despite how many times they get pushed down during their struggles. John Steinbeck’s repetition of the phrase, “wherever there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there,” relates to his major theme in The Grapes of Wrath , which is that humanity is one and all living things are connected. John Steinbeck did not want to just tell this story and move on with his life; he wanted to convey deeper messages throughout The Grapes of Wrath.
John Steinbeck wanted to make sure that his readers understood what he was trying to say through The Grapes of Wrath . John Steinbeck wants his readers to understand that all living things are connected and that through determination and hard work, all living things will come together despite however many times they get pushed down during their struggles. John Steinbeck wanted to make sure that his readers understood this message because John Steinbeck felt like he was not able to reach very many people when he had this experience with the turtle (Steinbeck 7).
John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, focuses on the Joad family, who are forced to leave their farm in Oklahoma to escape the Dust Bowl. They set out for California where they believe there will be more work available. John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath while working as a journalist during the Great Depression. His writing style uses descriptive language and symbolism to convey messages about society and nature – including man versus machine, religion versus spirituality, corruption versus hope, dehumanization versus community.
Throughout John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath”, main characters struggle with many different types of loss that impact their lives significantly. Author John Steinbeck takes readers through Tom Joad’s journey upon his return to his family farm. The Joads are making their way to California where they hope work is easy to find so John’s mother, Rose of Sharon, can feed her starving family. John makes multiple stops along the way and meets up with Jim Casy, who was a preacher before John left for prison four years earlier.
John is saddened by Jim’s transformation into a less spiritual person. When John finally makes it to the family’s destination in California he finds that there are no jobs available for him because machinery now does all the work. The only work available requires using machines as well. John continues his journeying across America without finding much luck until he decides to travel back home where he believes there will be more opportunities (Wilkinson).
John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” is full of symbolism with the turtle symbolizing many different things. John Steinbeck used this animal to represent patience, travel, and transformation. Patience John Steinbeck’s vision for The Grapes of Wrath came from his job as a journalist reporting on the Great Depression. John interviewed people who had been affected by the Dust Bowl which helped inspire him to write about those who were forced to leave Oklahoma because their homes were no longer habitable.
John wanted to show how families struggled as they traveled across America under harsh conditions (Traynor). John included a turtle in The Grapes of Wrath as a sign that everything turn out okay in the end even if a person has to wait a long time. John included the turtle in Chapter 20 of The Grapes of Wrath as Jim Casy and John sit by the river discussing their future plans. John explains, “But we’ll go down an’ look at the river an’ maybe we’ll fish. We ain’t had no luck for a long time” (Steinbeck 296).
John Steinbeck’s use of symbolism with this quote is that even if things appear to be so bad there is always something good waiting around the bend. Travel John Steinbeck used imagery with many different animals within his novel The Grapes of Wrath to represent specific themes and messages throughout the story. John included a turtle at various parts throughout his novel to symbolize patience, travel, and transformation. John included a turtle in Chapter 20 of The Grapes of Wrath when John is traveling with Casy along the river to California.
John begins by telling Jim that they would go down to the riverbank and fish for a while because he had not been lucky at fishing for quite some time (Steinbeck 296). John uses symbolism with these characters by traveling across America with difficulties at every turn only to find luck on the way back home. John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” is full of symbolism with the turtle but it also includes symbols such as dust storms, weather conditions, religious references, man versus machine, dehumanization versus community, and many more themes.
