Grapes Of Wrath By Steinbeck (395 words) Essay Example For Students

Grapes Of Wrath By Steinbeck (395 words) Essay Grapes Of Wrath By SteinbeckThe novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, illustrates the hardships of thecommon man in great detail. The one aspect of this book that displays life as itexists in the hostile real-world is the third chapter, in which the human plightis displayed by a turtle, and his struggle to reach the other side of a road. Asthe turtle is about to reach his goal, it is returned to its original location,but it does not waver in its determination, and continues across the road untilit reaches the other side. The characters most easily identified with in thisbook are the Joad family, and Jim Casy. Each character undergoes tremendousheartache and burden, yet they stay true to their plans, and never give up. While the Joad family is moving from Oklahoma to California, Ma Joad holds thefamily together, becuase her belief that a broken-family will not be able toaccomplish their mammoth task, is true. This is displayed by her not allowingthe two cars to split and arrive at California at different times, when one ofthe cars breaks down, as they are leaving Oklahoma. Pa Joad was a hardworkingman, who is uplifted from his normal way of life, and is forced to account forhis family not starving. He does not handle this move very well, and throughoutthe book, he is confused, and not as headstrong as Ma. Tom Joad is a verycomplicated individual, who is a tremendous asset and at the same time, atremendous burden. His parole cuases his family an unneeded worry, while hisability to get work while very few people do, also benefited the family. He isthe main protagonasist for his family, with his independent nature, and the mainfollower of Jim Casys philosophy on human nature, with Jim being much more of atalker, and an idealist to actually put what he preached into action. Jim Casyhas fequently been compared with Jesus Christ, and his lifestyle of preachingand leading people in a revolt, as well as sacrificing himself for Tom and theJoad family demonstrates this common held belief well. He also had a follower,or disciple in Tom, who after Jims death carries his message, and aids otherswith it. The Joad family along with Jim Casy show the benefit of people unitingin order to accomplish goals, and this is a lesson that the reader can take awayfrom this classic American novel.