Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

The Grapes of Wrath, chronicles the Joads family exodus from Oklahoma to California in reckon for a brighter, economic future. The name Joad and the exodus to California is parallel to the scriptural story of Exodus and the character Job, but at the time was picture the Okie Exodus. The Okies were farmers whose topsoil blew away due to dust storms and were forced to migrate on Route 66 to California in search of work. The Okies were resented for migrating in bouffant numbers to areas in the West where work was already hard to happen upon and the sudden multitude of workers caused wages to be lowered. The Joads reside in Oklahoma, referred to as the Dust Bowl of the U.S. because of its lack of rain. The story takes place during the advanced 1930s when the country was in the midst of the Great Depression. The Joad family were sharecroppers evicted from their homes because they failed to pay the confide their loan payments to the Shawnee Land and Cattle Company.On their journey, the Joads ran into a return migrant from California who tells them that the handbill they have looking for 800 pickers is a clump of hogwash. Hed rather starve in Oklahoma hence starve in California. The migrant scolds them on their naivety saying straight off, how many a(prenominal) of you all got them handbills?...(The men respond that they all have them) There you are, aforesaid(prenominal) yellow handbill. 800 Pickers Wanted. All right, the man wants 800 men, so he prints 5,000 handbills and maybe 20,000 throng see em. And maybe two or trey thousand multitude start West on account of that handbill. Two or three thousand people that are crazy with worry headin out for 800 jobs. Now does that make sense? He tells them that the growers are exploiting them, causing a senseless of workers to drive down labor costs according to supply and demand. The moment of his role in the movie, is that he lets the Joads get it on everything they are moving West for is false. Their jo urney is based on a lie, and the grass isnt greener on the other side.While stopping for gas, Mr. Joad heads into the buffet car to buy a loaf of bread. Mr. Joad is a nickel short of the 15 cents that the bread cost, and against the waitresses opinion the chef tells her to sell it to him for a dime.