1. By: Teresa, Peter, Brianna, Laura
Themes Plot
Literacy and Character Narrative
Setting Figurative Development Tone
Mood Devices Conflict
2. Theme Setting
Theme
Hope
•Finding Weedpatch-feeling of acceptance and a second chance
•Tom Joad finds a job and good relation with camp
Anger
•Pa, John and Al can’t find work
•Small farms and Migrants starving
•At “Men of Knowledge””Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot
create a system whereby their fruits may be eaten.”
Justice
•Weedpatch camp, free from deputies
•Tom tripping deputy (Justice for migrants) and Casy taking blame (Justice for
deputies and Casy).
Setting
California Weedpatch Camp Mood
-First place free from tyranny of deputies until dance
-Run based on Socialism Burned due to relation to Communism
-Sanitary Units CLEANSING, refreshing, cleaning water
3. Mood
Mood
Pity
•For migrants and small business owners who have orchards that will soon be
taken over by the bank because they cannot make profit off their spoiled fruit.
“…[The] debt will have choked the owner.”
•For “Great owners” who are angry at migrants who come take the decaying fruit,
who would come pick up fruit rather than pay 25 cents a dozen.
Hopelessness
•The family is constantly searching for work and struggling to feed everyone.
•There is rot in California from the spoiled fruit and the corrupted deputies.
•Weedpatch camp, Rose of Sharon does not feel that she fits in, due to the
Christian
Redemption
•Weedpatch camp getting second chance and the sanitation units cleanse
them with the water, and they become all clean and properly dressed.
4. Literacy and Figurative Devices
Literacy
“Death was a friend and sleep was deaths brother.” Death is a friend because it simply
means one less mouth to feed and much like sleep, it is freedom from the onslaught of
the depression. metaphor
“The migrant people, scuttling for work, scrabbling to live, looked always for pleasure,
dug for pleasure, manufactured pleasure, and they were hungry for amusement.” The
migrants worked to find work and if it did not pay good, they tried their luck to find
another orchard, and if they found their would be short-lived joy for the two weeks the
family would not have to live in poverty. Parallelism
Archetypes
Underdog~ Uncle John and Pa could not find work
The Hero~ Tom finds a job, helps protect camp from deputies
The Mother~ Ma is new leader of family because she guides, protects, and
keeps family together
The Innocent~ Rose of Sharon because she was frightened and felt alone Figurative
Villain~ California because there false hope and deception.
5. Figurative
Figurative
•“On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for
food.” Ants work in masses, quickly spreading…If they can’t find what they
need ants quickly move to another location.
•“I’ve been thinkin, maybe we ought to git up a turkey shootin’ club an
have meetin’s ever’ Sunday.” Turkey’s represent the deputies. Black Hat
thought the migrants should start fighting against the deputies instead taking
their disrespect.
Peter found this
6. Plot/Character Development/Conflict
Plot
•They start adapting to getting treated like humans again at the government
camp/weed patch
•Tom gets a job at the beginning and the rest of the family cannot find a job
•The “Christian” women stirring up trouble with the Joad ladies, and Mrs. Joad
stands up to protect Rose of Sharon
•The Joad’s join the committees at the weedpatch camp
•The dance
Character Development
•Ma taking over and keeping the family together and protecting her offspring
•Pa being humbled because he could not provide for the family and Ma started to lead
Conflict
•The sinners vs. the saints- they were ‘clutch-an-hug dancin’
•The exploitation of the migrants- no jobs/low pay
•The Dance- deputies trying to break it up
•Ma taking over the head of the household role
7. Anger
“And first the cherries ripen. Cent and a half a pound. Hell. We can’t pick em’ for
that. Black cherries and red cherries, full and sweet, and the birds eat half of
each cherry and the yellowjackets buzz into holes the birds made. And on the
ground the seeds drop and dry with black shreds hanging from them.”
“And in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry
there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling
and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.”
Vintage: Winemaking~ when grapes are ripe and ready for their
final destination.
8. Sub-Plot
•Hardships of the migration, the hunger turning into anger (See chap. 25)
•Reflection of the old times, pursuit of happiness
•The beautiful spring with all the wealth that it brings to the owners and
intellectuals such as doctors, and people who graft new plants into being.
•Then there is fermenting, decay and sorrow for there is too much and they
won’t make a profit
•There is a rage that comes out, the people are hungry
9. Conflict
•paid to start a “riot” three men only doing what’s best for their family
•Rose of Sharon fear of hurting baby by dancing inner conflict
•reader wants to know the outcome of the fight, wants to know what started all of
the conflict, wants to know why the people would come in and start fighting for
no good reason conflict inspires reader to think of reasons that this could
happen and reasons why people turn against each other for money greed
causes people to forget about what they are doing they forget about their values
and do anything so they can get that money
10. Pa
Character Development
“Pa had been silent and withdrawn for a long time.” No longer provider No longer head of the
family.
Ma
Makes decisions and guides the family in the same direction so that they stay together
Uncle John
Became depressed, ashamed over past. No longer thirsty(for water and ambition) does not care
whether he gets his two cents in.
Tom
He has redeemed himself of his imprisonment and taking a dominant role in the family as the
supporter
Ruthie
Impulsive and became jealous of the children who were playing and having fun.
Winfield
Matured-watched his surroundings, did not make rash decisions.
Rose of Sharon
She is future for the Joads, Sharon us a fertile plain along he cost of Israel, and a Rose of
Sharon is a shrub with showy flowers, meaning she bears the nurture and life of the
family. Paranoid that her baby might die she fears for the future of her and the Joad’s
continuing struggle.
11. Narrative Tone
Chapter 25
First~ everything is blooming and beautiful in California, there are
successful men doctors, men of knowledge
Second~ the fruit start to ripen, in large quantities
Third ~there’s too much, they let it shrivel on the ground because they can’t
make a profit
Fourth~ not enough profit, too much fruit let it fall to the ground, “decay
spread s over the state, and the sweet smell is a great sorrow to the land.”
Fifth~ “And the smell of rot fills the country”, “And in the eyes of the hungry
there is a growing wrath.”
John Steinbeck’s tone changes from a happy, joyous, prosperous
words, which describe the magnificence of California. Then the landowners Narrative
begin loosing profit and the Tone changes to a pity and sadness for the Tone
migrants. The anger builds upon the hunger inside the migrants and it
becomes a wrath, which swells like the fruit in the orchards.