SOCIAL CRITICISM Judge a man by his questions
SOCIAL CRITICISM “Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers. ” Year 12 English Novels
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath "Literature is not a game for the cloistered elect. Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of human need for it and it has not changed except to become more needed. "
Arthur Miller: "I can't think of another American writer, with the possible exception of Mark Twain, who so deeply penetrated the political life of the country. " Published in 1939, shocked readers, is considered a masterpiece of literature, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, Pulitzer Prize for Literature yet burned in the streets, banned in schools & libraries with explicit sexuality as the excuse. Attacked in US Congress so much feat that Steinbeck bought a gun for self defence. Steinbeck called "a liar", "a communist" and "a Jew acting for Zionist-Communist interests". The book has sold about 14 m copies and still sells steadily. Set in California, migrant working communities looking for a better life. Follows a family, their suffering, their hopes, their humanity, their moral & philosophical growth, their physical and emotional journey. It’s about family, relationships, society, hope, dreams, money, greed and evil. Social criticism of society, the wealthy, the banks – clear parallels to our modern world.
Context Mechanisation of farming Humans Need Not Apply
Context - Capitalism
Context - Communism
Grapes of Wrath CHAPTERS 1 – 10: THE LAND
Chapter 1
Questions: 1. ‘To the red country and part of the grey country of Oklahoma the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth’. (7) ‘The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the grey country’. (7) What is the significance of the colour imagery in this quotation?
2. ‘Every moving thing lifted the dust into the air; a walking man lifted a thin layer as high as his waist, and a wagon lifted the dust as high as the fence tops, and an automobile boiled a cloud behind it. The dust was long in settling back again. ’ (7) Why is this an effective description of the dust?
3. ‘Now the wind grew strong and hard … The wind grew stronger. The rain crust broke and the dust lifted up out of the field and drove grey plumes into the air like sluggish smoke. ’ (8) ‘In the middle of that night the wind passed on and left the land quiet. The dustfilled air muffled sound more completely than fog does. … In the morning the dust hung like fog, and the sun was as red as ripe new blood. All day the dust sifted down from the sky, and the new day it sifted down. ’ (9) How is danger presented in this description of setting?
4. ‘The men were silent and they did not move often. And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men – to feel whether this time the men would break. The women studied the men’s faces secretly, for the corn could go, as long as something else remained. The children stood near by, drawing figures in the dust with bare toes, and the children sent exploring senses out to see whether men and women would break. The children peeked at the faces of the men and women, and then drew careful lines in the dust with their toes. Horses came to the watering troughs and nuzzled the water to clear the surface dust. After a while the faces of the watching men lost their bemused perplexity and became hard angry and resistance. Then the women knew that they were safe and that there was no break. Then they asked: What’ll we do? And the men replied: I don’t know. But it was all right. The women knew that it was all right, and the watching children knew it was all right. Women and children knew deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole. … As the day went forward the sun became less red. It flared down on the dust-blanketed land. The men sat in the doorways of their houses. The hands were busy with sticks and little rocks. The men sat still – thinking – figuring. ’ (9 – 10) What does this quotation suggest about the people and their attitudes, values and beliefs? How are the people represented?
Black Sunday – The Dust Bowl
Is Chapter one written in a Social Realist style? How do you know? Realism, in literature, is a manner and method of picturing life as it really is, untouched by idealism or romanticism. As a manner of writing, realism relies on the use of specific details to interpret life faithfully and objectively. Social realism means the depiction in literature of social reality as it is; there should be a direct correspondence between the society depicted in literature and the real actual society.
Language Techniques Can you find examples of the following in Chapter 1: 1. Similes 2. Personification 3. Repetition 4. Tripling 5. Hypotaxis
Hypotaxis “hypotaxis”, elongates sentences to allow for the writer to pile up images consecutively and build emotional potential. ØHere is a “normal” sentence: She sat as far away as possible from him that morning in school, although she could not avoid his accusing stares. Since he was never going to go away, she decided to outstare him instead. She made sure to glare at him at every opportunity. He soon regretted everything. ØHere is a hypotaxis sentence: She sat as far away as possible from him that morning in school, and could not avoid his accusing stares, but he was never going to go away and she decided to outstare him instead, and she made sure to glare at him at every opportunity and he soon regretted everything. In this example, hypotaxis is the (conventionally seen as grammatically poor) overuse of the preposition “and”. The effect, is to make the prose expansive and declarative and spare and relentless.
Chapter 2 1. Look at the descriptions of the Truck Driver, Waitress and Hitchhiker in this chapter. What is the impact of these descriptions?
2. ‘If he took in the hitch-hiker he was automatically a good guy and also he was not one whom any rich bastard could kick around. He knew he was being trapped, but he couldn’t see a way out. And he wanted to be a good guy. ’ (13) What does this tell us about people?
3. How does the conversation between the truck driver and hitchhiker foreshadow events to come in the novel? What events, issues or ideas might be encountered further on in the novel? (14 – 17)
4. What is the difference between the language used in Chapter 1 and the language used in Chapter 2?
5. What does Tom’s irritation at the truck driver suggest about his character?
6. What does Tom reveal at the end of this chapter? Why is this effective in engaging the audience?
Chapter 3 ‘And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging its high-domed shell over the grass. His hard legs and yellow-nailed feet threshed slowly through the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along. … His horny beak was partly opened, and his fierce, humorous eyes, under brows like finger-nails, stared straight ahead. He came over the grass leaving a beaten trail behind him, and the hill, which was the highway embankment, reared up ahead of him. For a moment he stopped, his head held high. He blinked and looked up and down. ’ (20) Continue to read the description of the land turtle on page 20 – 21. Explain the symbolic significance of the turtle. Write a paragraph response using evidence.
Thinking Points Steinbeck’s dual narrative style is clearly established in these opening three chapters. Chapter 1 and 3 are shorter and often more descriptive vignettes, while the middle chapter (chapter 2) focuses on the Joad family and their story. What is the purpose of Steinbeck’s narrative style?
Character study Characters - Reverend Jim Casy - Tom Joad - Old Tom (Pa) - Muley Graves Characterisation: Physical Appearance Personality What they say Their actions What others say about them Relationships Representations What do these characters represent? What do they symbolise? What is the message that Steinbeck is trying to send?
Philosophies Refer to Chapter 2, 4 and 6 Chapter 2 – the Little Guy - ‘If he took in the hitch-hiker he was automatically a good guy and also he was not one whom any rich bastard could kick around. He knew he was being trapped, but he couldn’t see a way out. And he wanted to be a good guy. ’ (truck driver) Chapter 4 – the Reverend – ‘maybe it’s all men an’ all women we love; maybe that’s the Holy Sperit – the human sperit – the whole shebang. ’ (Jim Casy) Chapter 6 – the Hunted – ‘I was mean like a wolf. Now I’m mean like a weasel. When you’re huntin’ somepin you’re a hunter and you’re strong. Can’t nobody beat a hunter. But when your hunted – that’s different. Somepin happens to you. You ain’t strong: maybe you’re fierce but you ain’t strong. ’ (Muley)
Context Refer to Chapters 5, 7 and 9. The Bank – machine – look at the use of personification of the bank and also the impact this has on dehumanising the cause of the trouble. Used Car Salesman – making money – look at the tone or persona. What words create this tone / persona? And how is the reader positioned to feel about this persona? Tenant people – moving on – how is the sentiment developed in this chapter? How do you feel as the people are moving on? Extended image – machines as insects. Find examples of metaphors or similes which portray machines as insects. How does this technique develop the representation of machines in the novel? What is this representation?
Chapter 10 I'm scared of stuff so nice. I ain't got faith. I'm scared somepin ain't so nice about it. " (Ma) "I dunno, " he said. "Two weeks, maybe ten days if we got luck. Look, Ma, stop your worryin'. I'm a-gonna tell you somepin about bein' in the pen. You can't go thinkin' when you're gonna be out. You'd go nuts. You got to think about that day, an' then the nex' day, about the ball game Sat'dy. That's what you got to do. Ol' timers does that. A new young fella gets buttin' his head on the cell door. He's thinkin' how long it's gonna be. Whyn't you do that? Jus' take ever' day. "
Chapter 10 – continued "An' you ain't gonna preach? " Tom asked. "I ain't gonna preach. " "An' you ain't gonna baptize? " Ma asked. "I ain't gonna baptize. I'm gonna work in the fiel's, in the green fiel's, an' I'm gonna be near to folks. I ain't gonna try to teach 'em nothin'. I'm gonna try to learn. Gonna learn why the folks walks in the grass, gonna hear 'em talk, gonna hear 'em sing. Gonna listen to kids eatin' mush. Gonna hear husban' wife a-poundin' the mattress in the night. Gonna eat with 'em an' learn. " His eyes were wet and shining. "Gonna lay in the grass, open an' honest with anybody that'll have me. Gonna cuss an' swear an' hear the poetry of folks talkin'. All that's holy, all that's what I didn't understan'. All them things is the good things. "
Chapter 10 – The Family Look at the family structure and discussion regarding the family’s move to California. How are decisions made? How does the family function? Who is important in the discussions? What roles and responsibilities does each family member have? Using evidence, write a short paragraph that examines the significance of the family in Chapter 10.
Paragraph Topic Sentence – hypothesis or statement of ideas. It should cover the whole paragraph. Three Quotations – bite size and you can integrate these within sentences and link them with each other. If you do not want to use quotations you can paraphrase events, ideas, characters, etc. Clear explanation which show analysis of characters, themes and ideas. Analysis can include discussions about: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Representations Positioning Themes and Ideas / Philosophy Message Techniques Characterisation Context Concluding Sentence Cohesion to link paragraph together
The Preacher "I been thinkin', " he said. "I been in the hills, thinkin', almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles. " "Pu-raise Gawd!" Granma said, and the preacher glanced over at her in surprise. "Seems like Jesus got all messed up with troubles, and He couldn't figure nothin' out, an' He got to feelin' what the hell good is it all, an' what's the use fightin' an' figurin'. Got tired, got good an' tired, an' His sperit all wore out. Jus' about come to the conclusion, the hell with it. An' so He went off into the wilderness. " "A-men, " Granma bleated. So many years she had timed her responses to the pauses. And it was so many years since she had listened to or wondered at the words used. "I ain't sayin' I'm like Jesus, " the preacher went on. "But I got tired like Him, an' I got mixed up like Him, an' I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin' stuff. Nighttime I'd lay on my back an' look up at the stars; morning I'd set an' watch the sun come up; midday I'd look out from a hill at the rollin' dry country; evenin' I'd foller the sun down. Sometimes I'd pray like I always done. On'y I couldn' figure what I was prayin' to or for. There was the hills, an' there was me, an' we wasn't separate no more. We was one thing. An' that one thing was holy. "
Chapter 11 Look at the description of the empty land the lifeless tractors. What is Steinbeck’s message here? What is he suggesting about people, land machines?
The Land: Chapters 1 – 11 Review 1. What does the setting of the opening scene suggest about the rest of the novel? What does it suggest about family structure? 2. Animals play an important symbolic role throughout this novel. What important qualities does the land turtle have as described in Chapter 3? 3. What opinions does Casy, the former preacher, have about sin and using “bad words”? 4. How do the tractors operate? What role does the bank play? What power do the small farmers have against the banks and the tractors? 5. Of what importance is Muley in this story? What’s the difference between being the hunter and being the hunted? 6. Chapters 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 tell the narrative about Tom Joad and his family the way novels usually do. What is the function of the other short chapters (1, 3, 5, etc. )? What does Chapter 7 imply about used-car salesmen? 7. What do the faces of the Joad family reveal about them? What are the most important characteristics of Ma and Pa and of the grandparents? 8. How does each member of the family feel about going to California? How does each feel about leaving home? What is young Tom’s philosophy for dealing with the future? What does Ma’s burning of the old stationary box illustrate?
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