Monday 3 December 2012

The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The Story...

The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.  First published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath summed up its era in the way that Uncle Tom’s Cabin summed up the years of slavery before the Civil War. Sensitive to fascist and communist criticism, Steinbeck insisted that “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” be printed in its entirety in the first edition of the book—which takes its title from the first verse: “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s fictional chronicle of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

A Reader's Experience...

"Moving" doesn't even begin to describe this American classic. As a reader, I lose my faith in humanity, gain it back, lose it all over again. It's tragic and profound, a full spectrum of human emotion and empathy. Although there are no happy endings, I am confident that we as humankind can (and will) learn to do better, and I believe that is only though such bold moves as taking the hidden realities of the era out of the shadows can we begin to be challenged to do so. I am in awe of the resourcefulness, teamwork, and compassion that are highlighted in Steinbeck's writing.

Throughout each chapter, the Joad family keeps their wits about them with a mix of humor, hard work, and brutal honesty. They save what they can and share what they can, go where they are needed and come up with innovative solutions. Although they get in to trouble, I believe it takes a high degree of intellegence on their part to have stayed alive and stayed together as much as they did.

Each family member fufills a skillfull role and works together seamlessly. Cooking, repairing, working, driving, and looking out for one another. They are the very definition of a team, a cohesive unit, and it proved to be key to their survival. They all knew how to gauge one anothers feelings and actions, and how to communicate and respond at a very connected level. It clearly matters not only what struggles you can overcome but who you are with, and if I found myself fighting for life and livlihood I can only hope to be bonded so deeply to my family and allies.

Another beautiful sentiment is the human compassion that does shine through in this saga. The preacher, the other families and travellers that the Joads meet along the way - so many extend a helping, courteous hand to another in need. They all recognise what it is to suffer, and all remind us that there really is "good folks" out there everywhere. The relationships become beautifully interdependent in that what goes around comes around. If you help others now, they will reciprocate when you come to need them. Somehow, despite the bitter circumstances, I feel that Stenbeck is reminding us that together, we are so much better and stronger than the superhuman, capitalist, economic forces that threaten to tear us apart, if we are willing to be.

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