The Grapes of Wrath: Question 7

Steinbeck uses many different writing techniques to draw the readers in and help them connect the readers to the various characters. He uses symbolism, foreshadowing, and changing of narration point of view. One device that he did not use much of though would be suspense. He could have put that Grampa Joad was sick and seemed to be about to die, and then put that at the end of the chapter, put in a couple short chapters about things other than the Joad family, all the while building suspense, and then put what happens to Grampa at the beginning of another chapter. But no, he just said that Grampa was getting sick and then he died, and the family went on. Same for Granma, even more so because Ma just blurted it to the rest of the family, so they were just as surprised as the readers.

Some examples of foreshadowing would be when the dog got hit by a car in chapter thirteen, when Granpa dies, and when the man tells the Joad men about how bad it is in California. It seems like the closer that the Joad family got to California, the worse things get. Family members start dying and just leaving out of the blue, like Noah and Connie.

There is also a good amount of symbolism in this book. The road is a symbol for hope. It talks about how Route 66 is the “Mother Road, the road of flight” (Steinbeck 118). I also heard once that back then, Route 66 was one of the only major highways, and not many roads intersected it, so this could also symbolize the fact that the farmers had two choices: go onward toward California and risk the unknown, or turn back to starve at their old houses with the rest of their family. Another symbol is the turtle in chapter three because it got hit by a car, was flipped upside down, and then it just flipped back over and kept going on its way. Even after it got picked up by Tom, it went southwest when it escaped and when he eventually let it go. That could also be foreshadowing because the Joads were going to head southwest to California as well.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.