1. Examine the intercalary chapters to find passages which seem to reflect some of Steinbeck’s philosophies. Compare these passages with dialogue delivered by the novel’s main characters to determine to what extent Steinbeck’s perspective is similar or different. 2. Compare Steinbeck’s journalistic accounts of the migrant story found in newspaper […]
Read more Study Help Practice ProjectsStudy Help Essay Questions
1. What is the purpose of the intercalary chapters? (See essay on structure and refer to commentaries following each intercalary chapter.) 2. How does the economic decline of the Joad family correspond to the disintegration of their family? 3. Describe Tom’s spiritual journey from inner, intuitive morality to an outward […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for The Grapes of Wrath
babbitt a soft white metal of tin, lead, copper, and antimony in various proportions, used to reduce friction as in bearings. bandanna a large, colored handkerchief, usually with a figure or pattern. barbarians people regarded as primitive, savage, and so on. belligerently in a hostile or quarrelsome manner. boil an […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for The Grapes of WrathCritical Essays Philosophical Influences on Steinbeck’s Social Theory
According to Frederick I. Carpenter in his essay, “The Philosophical Joads,” Steinbeck’s social thought seems to be shaped by three distinct strands of nineteenth century American philosophy: the Emersonian concept of the Oversoul, the idea of a humanism expressed by the love of all persons and the embracing of mass […]
Read more Critical Essays Philosophical Influences on Steinbeck’s Social TheoryCritical Essays Use of Literary Devices in the Intercalary Chapters of The Grapes of Wrath
The unconventional structure of The Grapes of Wrath, in which the narrative chapters are interspersed with intercalary chapters of general comment or information, has frustrated and annoyed readers right up to the present day. Many complain that the chapters are interruptions in the story proper, or that they split the […]
Read more Critical Essays Use of Literary Devices in the Intercalary Chapters of The Grapes of WrathJohn Steinbeck Biography
Family and Education John Steinbeck was a man of experience first and words second. He lived passionately and observed both shrewdly and humanely, focusing on human struggles with the forces of nature around him and the passions within him. Using as its backdrop the tremendous beauty and epic power of […]
Read more John Steinbeck BiographyCharacter Analysis Other Characters
Al Joad The teen-aged brother of Tom is a social young man, his primary concerns being girls and cars. He admires Tom, particularly because he has been in prison, and until the family reaches California, strives for his older brother’s approval. Because he had “driven truck” for a year, Al […]
Read more Character Analysis Other CharactersCharacter Analysis Pa Joad
Not as roundly developed as Ma, Pa represents the theme of the loss of human dignity. Losing the farm seems to “take somepin’ out of Old Tom,” and now that he can no longer provide for his family, he often seems lost or bewildered. At the beginning of the story, […]
Read more Character Analysis Pa JoadCharacter Analysis Rose of Sharon Joad
Petulant and imbued with an inflated sense of self-importance, Rose of Sharon is the least likeable of the characters. A young newly-wed, she and her husband spend the journey to California giggling softly and dreaming of the possibilities of their new life. Her constant concern is that everything that happens […]
Read more Character Analysis Rose of Sharon JoadCharacter Analysis Jim Casy
A traveling preacher, Jim Casy was “lousy with the spirit” but troubled by the sinful sensuality that seemed to result from being “all full up of Jesus.” He leaves preaching and wanders in the wild country, trying to come to terms with his own ideas about God, holiness, and sin. […]
Read more Character Analysis Jim Casy