Grapes of Wrath Essay Theme of Strength Through Unity

Theme of Strength Through Unity in The Grapes of Wrathnbsp;nbsp; The traditional human family represents a necessary transition between self and community. In the difficult era of the 1930s, the familys role shifted to guard against a hostile outside world rather than to provide a link with it. With the drought in the Dust Bowl and other tragedies of the Great Depression, many were forced to look beyond the traditional family unit and embrace their kinship with others of similar necessity. In his novel The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck uses the theme of strength through unity to comment on the relationship between the dissolution of individual families and the unification of the migrant people. The journey of the Joad family†¦show more content†¦As the many families camp together, proximity combined with necessity breaks down barriers of relation, and miniature societies form with there own unwritten rules and expectations. It is in one of these Hoovervilles that the Joads have a wicked confrontation with a vigilant police officer. A wo man is shot, Tom and Floyd Knowles nearly become fugitives, and Jim Casey is arrested and thus removed from both the family and society. This sacrificing of self for the good of the group strengthens the bonds between the migrants in the Hooverville, and Caseys experience with fellow inmates in prison gives him an important realization about the power of organized protest. Incidentally, these terrible losses at the Hooverville drive the Joads in fear to what will turn out to be a far better place, and the knowledge that there are others in the same situation who will help lends unifying strength to the family and other migrants. On the surface, the government-run Weedpatch camp is heaven compared to the squalor of the Hooverville, but it is also a place of incredible unity and advanced culture. The Joads are lucky to find a place, and this is a pleasant place where all people are held to be equal. Broken down, it is a collection of families sharing common sanitation units, but taken as a whole, it is a society. Here the individual family roles break down as family members fill other positions for the camp at large.Show MoreRelatedBiblical Allusions to The Grapes of Wrath Essay example1457 Words   |  6 PagesBiblical Allusions to The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902. He studied marine biology at Stanford University and then traveled east on a freighter through the Panama Canal. Steinbeck went to New York to work as a newspaper reporter but soon returned to California and held a variety of jobs while he wrote. Steinbeck published Tortilla Flat in 1935, Of Mice and Men in 1937, and The Red Pony in 1937, which established his reputation as a forcefulRead MoreThemes, Styles, And Techniques Essay2289 Words   |  10 PagesSpencer Kandel English IV Mr. Otton 16 November 2016 Themes, Styles, and Techniques as Expressed in the Works of John Steinbeck INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO INTRO When looking over Of Mice and Men, we come to realize that this work portrays various questions when it comes to man and his life. The main question that this work asks when the story is told is â€Å"is man destined to live alone, a solitary wanderer on the face of the earth, or is it the fate of man to care for man, to go in his wayRead MoreTheme Of Creation And Expulsion Of Cain From The Garden Of Eden Essay2550 Words   |  11 Pagesanother?† Should we ride solo or join others along the way? That is one of the themes of this work. This theme is like the theme that occurs in the Old Testament immediately following the story of creation and expulsion of Cain from the garden of Eden. (Goldhurst 126) Particularly with this questioning on man’s fate, we are asked whether we should live life alongside others or not. We come to realize that this same exact theme has been portrayed in another work, and in this case, the Bible. The questionRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pageshave been used to explain other religious phenomenon dont always apply comfortably to the peculiar developments of Rastafarianism. For instance, very few modern religions have assumed such a signiï ¬ cant place in the mainstream of popular culture through the use of music. Marley is not seen as a religious ï ¬ gure; rather he is seen as a rock star, a pop hero, an icon. And yet his faith is at the core of his music. Rastafarians have dubbed Marley the psalmist and prophet of the movement. This is a