Foreshadowing: The death of the grandparents and the reports of men returning from California are
a source of sadness in themselves. Most chapters of the book forshadow the tragedy in the future. For example
the long road they travel to California, with its problems of cars breaking down also foreshadows the hard life the Joads
will have to face in California.
Inciting Force: The inciting force in the book would be the drought, which forces the people to migrate
westward to California.
Conflict: The conflict in the book is the drought that forces the farmers to migrate westward. The
story of Tom Joad shows a conflict between the impulse to respond to hardship by focusing on one`s own needs and the
impulse to risk one`s safety by working for a common good.
Main Characters: Tom is one of the main characters in the book, who shows the most developement. He
gained experience, intuition, and the teachings of Jim Casy, shows best the moral journey from self to community, from “I”
to “we.” Tom moves from caring only for himself to a familial loyalty to seeing the entire world as his family.
Another main character would be Jim Casey, the ex-preacher. He wants people to know that true human divinity can
only be found on earth. It is also not a coincidence that Jim Casey and Jesus Christ have the same initials.
Irony of Situation: It was expected that the Joads, after they move to California, would get good jobs
and have money for their survival, but instead they are trapped in the land where they are exploited and have to go through
a great deal of hardships. Also, when ma tells the family they should stay together, she later telld Tom that he has to go
off alone and leave the family.
Dramatic Irony: The readers know what that the Joads family will suffer in California, but the Joads
belive they will get good money and be happy in the new land.
Man versus Man: Several conflicts happened throughout the novel: the people fighting with the guards,
Casy having a fight with the guard and after Tom picking a fight also.
Man versus Nature: The families at the boxcar camps struggle as the flood covers their cars and their
houses. They try to block the water from covering their possessions and they build a border that can save them. All of their
hard work day and night is ruined by the tree whose roots destroy the border and let the water come trough.
Man versus Society: The society leaves people homeless and helpless in their own land, and as the people
are forced out west, the society still does not let them be completely happy. The rich plantators fear the men and they decrease
the wages and exploit the man who would do anything in order to feed their families. When people start questioning the bosses
about the wages, they put a threat onto the bosses, by this starting the nonending conflict between the society
and the men.
Symbolism:
Rose of Sharon’s Pregnancy holds
the promise of a new beginning, and when she delivers a stillborn baby, that promise seems broken. But rather than slipping
into despair, the family moves boldly and gracefully forward, and the novel ends on a surprising note of hope. In the last
few pages of his book, Steinbeck employs many symbols, a number of which refer directly to episodes in the Bible. The way
in which Uncle John disposes of the child’s corpse recalls Moses being sent down the Nile. The image suggests that the family,
like the Hebrews in Egypt, will be delivered from the slavery of its present circumstances.
The Death of the Joads’ Dog foreshadows the tragedies that
await the family.
Mood: The Grapes of Wrath is a tragic story of the dispossession of the
Joads, and the predominant mood is dark and gloomy. But there are also moments of light-hearted humor, which provides relief
and restores faith in the human ability to survive against all odds.
