Weakness in Men in the Grapes of Wrath
Weakness in Men in The Grapes of Wrath
Sexual inequality can be traced throughout history. Since centuries ago the male populations have been perceived as the ones with less weakness and flaws, they were almost even deemed as superior. Kings were often regarded as the chosen ones over the queens, additionally, in many locations including Greece and early America only male could vote. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, male characters of the Joad family; Pa, a collapsed leader, Uncle John, a blameworthy shameful husband, and Grampa, an aged fragile progenitor, develops into dependent, vulnerable followers allowing the women in the fragile family to step up and take over. Steinbeck utilizes this juxtaposition to demote men’s supremacy and emphasis the equality between the two different sexes, moreover the equality of all human beings. During the 1930s in the United States, millions of families had to abandon their homes and migrate to California due to the cruel Dust Bowl era. The unforgiving Dust Bowl was a severe crisis; the top layer of the surface earth of the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys was loosened as a consequence of the drought, the stormy wind in the environment further deteriorated the condition. Life was a struggle in this harsh surrounding; in addition bankers were forcefully withdrawing the tenant farms, the homes of the powerless weak farmers. In The Grapes of Wrath, the novel follows the specific Joad family, the main protagonists, throughout their harsh and strenuous road trip on Route 66.
In the opening of the novel, before the arduous journey Pa, from the Joad family begin with complete ascendancy and control.“…Course I cant say right now; Pa says all the men’ll talk tonight and figger when we gonna start. I guess maybe we better not say till all the men come” (Steinbeck 127). As the Joad family was forced out of their residence Pa, as one of the head of the family, plans the family’s trip to California with care and
Sexual inequality can be traced throughout history. Since centuries ago the male populations have been perceived as the ones with less weakness and flaws, they were almost even deemed as superior. Kings were often regarded as the chosen ones over the queens, additionally, in many locations including Greece and early America only male could vote. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, male characters of the Joad family; Pa, a collapsed leader, Uncle John, a blameworthy shameful husband, and Grampa, an aged fragile progenitor, develops into dependent, vulnerable followers allowing the women in the fragile family to step up and take over. Steinbeck utilizes this juxtaposition to demote men’s supremacy and emphasis the equality between the two different sexes, moreover the equality of all human beings. During the 1930s in the United States, millions of families had to abandon their homes and migrate to California due to the cruel Dust Bowl era. The unforgiving Dust Bowl was a severe crisis; the top layer of the surface earth of the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys was loosened as a consequence of the drought, the stormy wind in the environment further deteriorated the condition. Life was a struggle in this harsh surrounding; in addition bankers were forcefully withdrawing the tenant farms, the homes of the powerless weak farmers. In The Grapes of Wrath, the novel follows the specific Joad family, the main protagonists, throughout their harsh and strenuous road trip on Route 66.
In the opening of the novel, before the arduous journey Pa, from the Joad family begin with complete ascendancy and control.“…Course I cant say right now; Pa says all the men’ll talk tonight and figger when we gonna start. I guess maybe we better not say till all the men come” (Steinbeck 127). As the Joad family was forced out of their residence Pa, as one of the head of the family, plans the family’s trip to California with care and
Bibliography: Cederstrom, Lorelei. The ‘Great Mother’ in The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck and the Environment: Interdisciplinary Approaches. Ed. Susan F. Beegel, Susan Shillinglaw, and Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr. University of Alabama Press, 1997. 76-91. Rpt. In Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 124. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Mar. 2010. Hinds, Maurene J . John Steinbeck Banned, Challenged, and Censored. United States of America: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2008. 2 Mar. 2010. Print. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. 1939. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. Print.