Symbolism In The Grapes Of Wrath
John Steinbeck uses many literary techniques in The Grapes of Wrath to help the reader better understand the story, especially through his use of symbolism. By writing the odd chapters, Steinbeck foreshadows the even chapters and the events that will eventually take place in them. He is also able to produce a great deal of symbols which provide a clearer understanding of the novel through things such as animals, machines, and nature.
In chapter three, Steinbeck uses imagery to describe a "concrete highway" (20) that a land turtle struggles to cross. The turtle almost crosses this "obstacle" when a truck intentionally hits it. The incident leaves the turtle with a chipped shell, lying there on its back. The turtle then has to struggle with all of its might to turn back over. Eventually the turtle flips back over and continues on its journey. The truck driver intentionally hitting the turtle is symbolic in a sense that many people in the novel try to hurt the Joads. The banks, car salesman, landowners, and citizens of California all try to stop the Joads from living a prosperous and happy life. This chapter also symbolizes the continuous struggles and obstacles that the Joads will have to deal with the entire novel. The Joads encounter many hardships such as being forced to leave their home, losing family members such as granpa granma and Noah, working for low wages, suffering from hunger, floods, and also mental hardships such as cruel prejudices in California. Like the turtle, the Joads refuse to give up on their American Dream and continue on with their journey. Another symbol of animals is Rose of Sharon's " blue shriveled little mummy" (603). This shows the reader that long, painful journeys with many problems sometimes amount to nothing in the end. These journeys, however, must start somewhere and they usually begin with the farmers being evicted off their land.
Chapter five discusses the tractors that came to the land to plow through it and...
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