The Unrecognizable Role in a Family Essay -- Literary Analysis

It is extraordinary to see how much the world has prospered through the ages. History means the period of time after writing was invented. It is seen through many of history’s works such as Romeo and Juliet, the everlasting story of love, and even through the eighteenth century’s SNL in Gulliver’s Travels. These classics define the meaning of history, but one novel that is easily forgotten with many others is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In his novel Steinbeck establishes himself as a true futuristic thinker. Steinbeck borrows straight past the abolition of slavery and harks upon the equality of human rights. Essentially, in a time of a failing economy, it is first expected that there is a minimum sense of hospitality with the basic needs (food, water, and shelter), and are seen through the mercenary minor characters in Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck suggests a radical difference in the Joad family to the rest of the world. This dissimilarity in the main characters of the novel is a benchmark of people should be like in the Dust Bowl era. Before the Joad Family began their journey, the individual roles had merely begun to open up, and much of the importance of the characters was not yet realized. Pa Joad is a good, thoughtful man, and he plans the family’s trip to California with great care and consideration. This serves as one his only leadership roles throughout the novel. The stereotypical Man of the family in this era is found in Pa only in the beginning of the novel. â€Å"Who’s there? Tom intimidated by his bulging powerful muscles† (Steinbeck 71). This leadership role is later transferred to Ma Joad slowly throughout the novel with events such as the journey through the desert. The changing of role... ...n nobody travel back east, and the ragged man that the Joads meet at the campground confirms this fear. Even worse than a crowded labor market is the fact that the presumed opportunities because jobs are a fraud; inducing too many workers in order to drive down wages. The ragged men even suggest that the Joads will face a worse fate in California than they did in Oklahoma. Steinbeck really highlights the imperfect world that tags along with the Dust Bowl. It can definitely said that Steinbeck can be seen as a futuristic thinker as well as a hopeful author. By placing the imperfect world in our minds as the environment in the Grapes of Wrath, he allows a little light to flourish from the Joad family that symbolizes the perfect world. Much like Ma Joad’s leadership over Pa Joad the perfect world has overtaken the inhospitality or imperfect world in today’s society.