Symbols In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath
Symbolism
Symbols are often used to represent bigger ideas and concepts in a novel. In The Grapes of Wrath, there are many symbols to represent the lives of not only the Jode family but the migrants as a whole. Steinbeck uses the symbols of the dust and the turtle to show the struggles of the migrants and how they overcame all odds, revealing the only hope the migrants had to survive the harsh trek cross country was perseverance. The dust is the first significant symbol Steinbeck uses to represent the migrants and their struggles. As the dust filled the air in Oklahoma, families watched their lives settle to nothing along with the dust, “The men were silent and they did not move often. And the women came out of the houses to stand beside …show more content…
Steinbeck uses the symbolism of the turtle to represent the stubborn migrants fighting their way west, “And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass” (14). The turtle was set back by both nature and man on his journey across the road, just like the migrants were on their long trek westward. The turtle faced a red ant, barely escaped death by a car twice, and had to struggle with rough terrain along with flipping himself upright after being flipped over by the front wheel of a truck. Like the migrants overcoming sickness, death, car problems, money shortage, unfair merchants, and lack of work, the turtle also overcame all of his challenges and setbacks and continued to persevere on his path, “Its front foot caught a piece of quartz and little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright… The turtle entered a dust road and jerked itself along, drawing a wavy shallow trench in the dust with its shell. The old humorous eyes looked ahead…” (15). Even though the turtle had several setbacks, he still held his head high and looked forward down the path he was traveling, never forgetting where he was going just like the
Symbols are often used to represent bigger ideas and concepts in a novel. In The Grapes of Wrath, there are many symbols to represent the lives of not only the Jode family but the migrants as a whole. Steinbeck uses the symbols of the dust and the turtle to show the struggles of the migrants and how they overcame all odds, revealing the only hope the migrants had to survive the harsh trek cross country was perseverance. The dust is the first significant symbol Steinbeck uses to represent the migrants and their struggles. As the dust filled the air in Oklahoma, families watched their lives settle to nothing along with the dust, “The men were silent and they did not move often. And the women came out of the houses to stand beside …show more content…
Steinbeck uses the symbolism of the turtle to represent the stubborn migrants fighting their way west, “And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass” (14). The turtle was set back by both nature and man on his journey across the road, just like the migrants were on their long trek westward. The turtle faced a red ant, barely escaped death by a car twice, and had to struggle with rough terrain along with flipping himself upright after being flipped over by the front wheel of a truck. Like the migrants overcoming sickness, death, car problems, money shortage, unfair merchants, and lack of work, the turtle also overcame all of his challenges and setbacks and continued to persevere on his path, “Its front foot caught a piece of quartz and little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright… The turtle entered a dust road and jerked itself along, drawing a wavy shallow trench in the dust with its shell. The old humorous eyes looked ahead…” (15). Even though the turtle had several setbacks, he still held his head high and looked forward down the path he was traveling, never forgetting where he was going just like the