Main Themes of The Grapes of Wrath – Introduction
This novel takes place in 1930s America during the Great Depression and, more specifically, the Dust Bowl era in the Great Plains region. The main characters, the Joad family, are from Oklahoma but are being forced from their home by the banks after the over-worked soil has stopped producing crops properly. The family becomes transient after this, traveling across Route 66 in order to get to California to find work. The novel all takes place either along this route, or as the family travels through central California in search for decent and steady work.
The Grapes of Wrath has one major motif and it upholds some of the themes of the novel very intensely. The motif is improvised social structures, which is something that can be noticed wherever the Joads are, no matter the situation. In terms of the nuclear family unit, structures have to be improvised as the family transitions from a more patriarchal structure to a matriarchal structure. For example, as the story starts, the family upholds patriarchal values when they give Grampa the right to speak first on important issues, even though he is old and belligerent. Pa steps up to take the lead after Grampa dies, but soon finds himself more prone to quiet reflection rather than leadership. Ma becomes the family’s undisputed leader at this point out of necessity and then Rose of Sharon matures to the point of becoming a future leader herself.
Grapes of Wrath Themes
Here’s a list of major themes in The Grapes of Wrath.
- Man’s Ability to Treat Mankind Inhumanely
- The Power of Family and Fellowship
- Dignity and Honor
- The Multiplicity of Acts of Kindness or Acts of Evil
Man’s Ability to Treat Mankind Inhumanely
This novel really speaks to the ability that people have to oppress other people. This theme is a constant throughout the story and can be seen in several different ways. At first, it comes up when the banks are pushing families off their land by just bulldozing right over their homes. The banks did not care whether these families had backup plans in place for their safety and/or wellbeing. They just came in and destroyed everything, trying to mechanize farming in order to increase capital. Later, in the Hoovervilles, the migrants tend to be cruel towards one another, as they find themselves in a bitter stance of competition, even though they are ultimately all better off working together. In this case, the inhumane treatment comes more out of fear and self-preservation. Finally, the landowners and police in California treat the migrants as subhuman, calling them Okies and working to drive them away. They have no regard for everything these people have been through and instead categorize them as a threat and try to keep them as oppressed and afraid as possible. Any uprisings of workers are immediately punished to the highest extent in order to maintain order at the cost of the very poorest people.
The Power of Family and Fellowship
Many times throughout the story, people come together as a family or join ranks in order to work towards a greater common good despite any inherent risks in this. Loyalty and commitment are shown to be traits that lead to strength and power, in this novel. In the case of the Joads, the ones who stick together are the ones who carry on and perservere. They are seen as able to handle almost anything because they have each other. As far as the migrant workers as a whole are concerned, they tend to have more power when they organize and work together instead of fighting against each other out of bitterness and fear. This is why the police work so tirelessly to prevent this from happening—it threatens the very structure from which the landowners, police, and banks all benefit.
Dignity and Honor
The characters who have strong moral leanings are the ones who garner the most respect and, in many senses, become the most powerful. In a lot of ways, Ma and her transition to family leader represents this. She is morally sound and works from a place of honor and dignity. She does not belittle others in order to keep her family safe. Instead, she is willing to join forces with other benevolent people and will go out of her way to share with other unfortunate people. Because of this, Ma perseveres through whatever is thrown her way.
The Multiplicity of Acts of Kindness or Acts of Evil
The Grapes of Wrath is a story in which every action is amplified. In terms of evil, this trickles down to the poorest people and ruins their entire lives. In some cases, it literally kills them. In this world that Steinbeck has created as a reflection of actual events, he shows that the pockets of the few are only able to grow at the expense of thousands of less fortunate individuals. In the same way that selfishness and evil ripples down the social and economic ranks, acts of kindness are portrayed as spreading outward and having lasting effects. In this way, selfishness and altruism are painted as opposing forces, like the classic good vs. evil. An example of kind acts being paid forward can be seen when the Joads stop at a gas station. The waitress takes pity on a hungry man and his children and sells them sweets for a dramatically reduced price, just because she pities the children and wants to see them feeling better. Some truck drivers see this and leave her an extra tip as a reward for her kindness. The presumed idea with this kind of ripple effect is that it will continue to be paid forward indefinitely. While these acts are much smaller than the wealthy men profiting off of the oppression of thousands of laborers, they are presented as direct opposite, yet equal forces in the world.
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