Grapes Of Wrath :: essays research papers

Grapes of Wrath Explain how the behavior of the Joadsshows Steinbecks view of the responsibility of the individualto society as a whole. Chapter 14 made an interesting point.At one point in the chapter it was stated that a farmer lost hisfarm. As this mans family picks up their belongings andheads west they meet up with another family dealing with asimilar situation. Now these two families share a commonbond. A join is forming. This is the catalyst. Nolonger is it one farmer saying he lost his land but two farmersunited saying they lost their land. Much the sametransformation happens to the Joad family especially to thecharacters of Ma, Young Tom, and Rose of Sharon. At theonset of the novel we see the Joad family struggling just tokeep their immediate family together. They are focused onjust themselves. By the check of this wonderful book we seethe Joad family branching out in many different ways toembrace all of human race as one big family. Ma Joads mainconcern at the beginn ing of the story is her family. She wantsto keep the unit together and works diligently to achieve thisgoal. However, one by one, family members leave the groupfor various reasons leading to the slow but sure disintegrationof the Joad clan. The first to go is Noah then grandfather andGrandma dieConnie walks off and leaves Rose of SharonYoung Tom leaves because he has gotten into trouble againand Al becomes engaged and decides to go with hisfiancees family. Ma deals with each loss as best she can. Asthe story progresses, we find Ma Joad becoming more andmore concerned with people outside the family unit. Shefeels the choose to share whatever meager food andbelongings her family has with other families enduringhardships. She saw the needs of her own family at thebeginning of the story and by the end of the novel, she seesthe needs of her fellow man. Young Tom appears to beself-centered when he if first introduced. He has just leftprison after serving four years for murder. Tom want toenjoy life to the fullest and to be with his family. He is verydisturbed to find the family home deserted and almostdestroyed. He by this time has reacquainted himself with JimCasey, an ex-preacher. The more Tom listens to Jim and hisviews on life, the soul of man, and the fellowship of mankind,the less he focuses on himself and his needs. He then beginsto focus on the plight and hollo of the homeless farmers.