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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
Steinbeck makes me feel like I am a time traveler, learning not only about the time period but also about the human condition.
The Grapes of Wrath is beautiful in the same way that an abandoned and decrepit half-fallen down barn is beautiful. Worn by the elements and slowly returning to the earth, sad and majestic at the same time. The Joad family suffers in a biblical way, chased by a furious fate into exile, fighting and killing and dying along the way. But somehow, despite everything, they survive. Never to be the same, of course, but Steinbeck doesn't tell us that part. That part we only know because we have survived. We're all Joads, in some sense, and Tom Joad is still with us.
“Then it don' matter. Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where - wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' - I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build, why, I'll be there.”
“Then it don' matter. Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where - wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' - I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build, why, I'll be there.”
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a very challenging read for me. I really took my time in understanding everything that Steinbeck was trying to say. The story of the Joads is one that thousands of people across dozens of time periods have lived. People will continue to be Okies, but the Okies of today are different. Read this.