13

Describe how the balance between specific stories about the Joad family and broader description of the migration of Dust Bowl farmers impacts the novel as a whole.

In the past century, many humans have migrated due to politics, war, climate change, and recessions. One major American migration, brought on by the Great Depression, was described throughout Steinbeck’s novel—The Grapes of Wrath.  Focusing on the Joad family, Steinbeck sums up the Dust Bowl farmers’ experiences due to economics and personal tragedies. One influential portion of the novel is depicted through specific stories about the Joad family versus a broader description of the Dust Bowl farmers’ migration. Personally, I believe the broader description of the farmers’ migration complimented the Joad’s story. However, the Joad’s story was completely farfetched. Due to the great amount of deaths and fights, it makes me ask—would all of these occurrences happen to solely one family? And if so, how frequently?

People often journey to other places. This Thursday I plan to travel to Greece, and yet, in my opinion, there will be little or no large complications during the trip. Not only that; even when people have to leave their home to move somewhere else, they don’t endure challenges and deaths as the Joad family has. For example, in Chapter 13, Grampa dies theoretically from a stroke, but is believed to have died from a broken heart due to his dog’s death. Personally I do not believe that would happen. My grandpa is emotionally attached to his dog, Norah, and if she died, he would not go to that level of anxiety. Think about it—you must have had a pet that has died, and yet you are still alive. Yet because Grapes of Wrath provides such an extreme amount of drama, they had to include Grampa’s death. It just seems too surreal—a family member that coincidentally dies in the first couple of days of their California trip.

When the story continues on, Steinbeck shifts from the Joad family to a description of the tenant farmers and their flight to California. For the majority of the chapter, Steinbeck reiterates how much their homes and possessions mean to the farmers. From the chapter, I get a broad view of what the farmers went through at the time, especially since I know Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath during that era. I personally think the broader view of the Dust Bowl farmers help explain the Joad’s case a little more.

However, my feeling is quickly diminished when Steinbeck switches back to the Joad’s story. As they reach California, another character dies—Grandma. My mind now questions why two of the characters have died. Two important members of the family. Not only that; fights and riots start, Rose of Sharon loses her baby, and at the very end of the book, rain floods their current home. In turn, they have to walk through water to a dry barn. All of these events are coincidental and too dramatic for the novel’s content.

Ultimately, the switch between the Joad family and the Dust Bowl farmers does not flatter the novel as a whole. It creates a confusing parallel story, that gives the Joad family too much to handle. With an abnormal amount of deaths, fights, loss, and murders, it’s no wonder that the parallel stands out.