The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck takes place on the arid landscape of 1930’s Oklahoma, where a severe drought is absorbing both the vitality of the crops and its people. The long lasting drought and intense heat of the sun dramatically affected the spread of greenery. In the heat, the soil is is constantly pounded by plows, causing dirt to be carried off the ground and into the air. The lifted dirt then becomes a tornado of dust which consumes the Oklahoma stretch entirely. People living in these dusts must endure the hardship of watching their only form of income wither away and die. In this chapter, Steinbeck exemplifies unity in family. For example, the man of the house must stay strong in order to give the family hope, even though internally, he does not know what to do once all their crops are gone. As a result, the women know that things will be alright as long as their man is not ready to give up. Together, the families of the dust bowl must remain faithful in each other in order to survive in such dire conditions.
Yeah While the dust bowl destroyed the source of income for many families, it did cause families to unite in order to survive. The men, such as Pa and Uncle John had to stay strong and work hard to keep their families together. For example Pa and Uncle John in Chapter 24, were almost ready to accept getting paid a low wage of 20 cents in order to provide a source of income for the families.
ReplyDeleteYes faith and hope was a big factor around that horrible time to have. They didn't really have any valuable items to hold on to knowing that they had to burn them and move on. They only had each other to rely on.
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