:GRAPES OF WRATH : :terms: : -proletarian: member of lowest socioeconomic class of society : -okie: term given to any agricultural worker that migrated out of the midwest during the dust bowl (only a minority were actually from oklahoma) at the time used as a pejorative term : -"scabs": worker who refuses to join the union or are union members who refuse to strike or return to work before he strike ends also those who agree to work for less than union wages or non union terms : -sharecropper: farmer who doesn't own the farm but works the land for a share of the crop (to pay rent, credit for tools, etc.) :flight out of midwest resulted from : -natural diasters: drought of 1934, 36, and 37 (the intermediate years were a droughtbut not as severe) along with constant high winds followed by plagues of insects : -manmade disasters: in an attempt to compensate for the loss of crops, they overplanted and overplowed. :may 11, 1934, an estimated 350 million tons of top soil blew out of the dust bowl areas (east). it was deposited as far away as ships in the atlantic ocean. :during 1930s, 150,000 sq. miles of topsoil blew away :btwn. 1930 and 1940, approx. 95,000 okies moved west : :in gor, hero of the story is really the family : -ma tries to keep the family together. despiite ma's efforts, the family disbands, and then later forms as the family of man. the individual family can't stay together, but the family of man can. : :this is a biblical allagory :the monstors are a changed economic order (equated to egypt "which knew not joseph") the monstors knew not the joas :exodus 8:17, plague of lice - equated to the plague of dust :the plants were covered as dust just as the plague of locusts covering the plants :black sunday - sky at noon pitch black from the dust blowing in - equated to day of blackness in plagues of egypt :12 joads on the trip is equavilent of t 12 tribes of isreal (also the 12 apostles) who cross the desert on the way to the promised land (land of milk and honey) :colorado refers to the red sea :rose of sharon's dead baby is equivalent to moses only moses was sent out alive and the baby in gor sent out dead :character names: thomas, john, james :thomas becomes leader much like moses but also a doughter :james casey - a christ figure (initials jc) who was the preacher that goes ino the wilderness trying to seak his peace with god. sacrifices himself for the family :connie becomes a judas figure :rose of sharon is a royal pain in the ass. whiney, complaining, etc. : the rose of sharon bush/tree has been used as a simbol of christ (grows in palestine). it is a big flowering tree that is very hardy. one of the few flowering bushes that didn't die in thedust bowl. at one point, christ refers to himself as the rose of sharon. at the end), she is a giver of life (christ figure) :tractor driver is a judas figure (3 dollars a day/30 pieces of silver) :muley graves: refuses to leave the graves of his ancestors - calls himself a graveyard ghost :transcendental imagery: casey refers to the oversoul/family of man :only way to survive - the family interest must be subordinate to the interests of man. :left from sallisaw, came through oklahoa city, grandpa dies on route 66, justnorth of a lake, under the overpass (north of route 66 bridge over overholser in the field). :grandpa: never makes it out of the old land. :grandma dies crossing the desert into the promised land. the old generation has died. suggesting it will take a ne generation. :he makes ma a strong woman character :pa, tom, and casey predict a change in which people will have to band together. :reference to the grapes of wrath in the bible (fruit of anger) :image of hunger amid plenty is a sickening image he creates : :steinbeck said there are five layers in this book; readers will find as many as they can and won't find any more th they have in themselves. : -story line : -biblical allegory : -social commentary of banding together : :values relected in the novel: : * an appreciation for our common humanity : * the need to work together to achievea common goal : * the need for compassion and justice for the oppressed : * the importance of avoiding stereotyps and labels : * the need to share what we have with others, especially the poor : * the importance of commitment to our beliefs : * a respect for our religious heritage and that of others : * the realization that change is a part of the human condition : * the importance of caring abou the earth and our environment : * an understanding of the role of technology in our society : *