Novel the Grapes of Wrath

¶ … narrative structure of the Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a realistic novel that chronicles the journey of the Joad family during the dustbowl era. The Joads have lost their farm and are looking for work in California. They are contemptuously called 'Oakies' because they are itinerant migrants from Oklahoma. Steinbeck weaves the conventional narrative structure of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution with musings about the nature of America, its farmland, and the economy.

The story begins with the Joads getting ready to leave their farm, which has been repossessed by the bank because the Joads have been unable to plant anything in the dusty soil. Steinbeck portrays the banks as greedy monstrosities: "They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money" (Steinbeck 32). The son Tom Joad is currently on parole but he decides to follow his family. His friend, a wandering preacher named Jim Casy agrees to accompany them. This sets the scene for the first question that will drive the novel: will the promised land of California be the solution to the Joad family's worries? The Joads invest everything in the journey: they kill all of their pigs, the only livestock they have, so they can salt and bring the meat on the journey. The scene of the slaughter creates a sense of foreboding regarding the journey.

As the Joads travel, their luck begins to worsen. The Joads' dog is hit by a car and dies. Grandma and Grandpa die. The family is treated with contempt wherever they go, even by members of the working poor, like a gas station attendant who is angry because he thinks they are begging from him. People are so poor they are trading merchandise with him for gas. "Why one fella wanted to give me his shoes for a gallon" (Steinbeck 127). Although times are hard, however, Steinbeck also portrays more prosperous members of the city through which the Joads travel and the truckers at a local diner, who are not desperate like the farmers. This underlines how the farmers have either been forgotten or are feared because people worry that they may unite together and revolt.

Over time, other members of the family split off, including Rose of Sharon's husband Connie, despite the fact his wife is expecting a baby. The family encounters people who have already been looking for work in California and found none. When the remaining Joads finally. arrive in California the wages are low and the working conditions are abysmal. "Work all day for a piece of bread" (Steinbeck 399). The owners of the farm can pay the workers next to nothing, because there are so many men waiting to take their place if the workers quit. The rising action of the novel becomes more heated as workers begin to agitate for unionization, while others are so desperate for employment they cross picket lines. Eventually, Tom commits a murder when Casy becomes involved in a fight between union and non-union men. Casy is killed and Tom kills Casy's murderer. The climax occurs when Tom flees the scene, realizing that his life has been forever changed.