As the Great Depression demolished the family funds and the Dust Bowl destroyed the family crops, plantation owners took full advantage of the desperate situations. Knowing that everyone was desperate for work, these owners compromised a fair wage to maximize corporate profit. The Joad family in Grapes of Wrath were one of many victims to this selfishness, as they embarked on a strenuous journey to California in pursuit of better wages. Through alternating language and numerous details of their journey, John Steinback blends the social issue of greed into his novel and makes his audience realize how superficial the American dream truly is.
The plot includes few happy moments for the Joad family. The first Joad family member we meet is someone who has been convicted for homicide. As we follow him on his way back home, Tom Joad finds his old house empty. A neighbor tells him that they were evicted, and are at his Uncle’s house. Even from the start, we as readers are exposed to greed through the ousting of the Joads out of their home. With Steinback’s numerous details about how the landowners cut costs by replacing the Joad family with a large tractor, he makes us despise large wealthy landowners and sympathize with families like the Joads who have been cheated of their American dream.
But things only escalate in difficulty as the voyage out west starts. The Joad family encounters numerous hardships, including the deaths of both grandparents. To heighten the sense of struggle of the Joad family faces, however, the narrator of the story often strays from the main plot. The narrator changes from the neutral narrator to the lively language of a greedy car salesman, juxtaposing the poor families traveling out west with the people who are making a profit off of their struggles. By seeing both sides of the corrupter and the cheated, we feel even more pity for the families trying to gain the stereotypical American dream of a house, car, and land.
In conclusion, John Steinback criticizes the American dream by incorporating greed into his novel. By manipulating language, he masterfully portrays salesmen, landowners, and corporations as antagonizing forces against the common people. Steinback makes us question whether or not the American dream is an achievable goal or simply a shallow facade.
I think your introduction paragraph is good but the thesis needs work. I think you could have better explained how greed was a part of the novel instead of saying SteinbEck blended it into his novel. Greed was not casually mixed into the Joad's story, it became the foundation that they had to build their new lives on. I also think you need to say what SteinbEck does to convey the superficially of the American Dream so you can expand on that in your body paragraphs. You body paragraphs are good but watch out for topic sentences that don't actually introduce the topic. "But things only escalate in difficulty as the voyage out west starts." does not tell the reader what the main point of the paragraph is going to be. And you like to start your conclusion paragraphs with "in conclusion". You are an excellent writer, I know you can come up with something catchier that that.
ReplyDeleteThis is also a good essay. You have some very good details although it can be a bit plot summaryish. I think that you end a bit quickly. I am not sure if this is because you ran out of time but I think you could work on the ending.
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