The-Grapes-of-Wrath.ppt

1、The Grapes of Wrath,John Steinbeck(1902-1968),1902, born in Salinas, California 1920, enrolled in Stanford University 1925, went to New York 1925 ,Returned to California Started writing career 1935, won his first literary prize 1940, the Pulitzer Prize 1962, Nobel Prize for literature 1967, Went to

2、Vietnam 1968, Passed away,His Major works,Cup of Gold (1929) 金杯 The Pastures of Heaven (1932) 天堂牧场 The Grapes of Wrath (1939) Of Mice and Man (1937) The Pearl (1947) 珍珠 East of Eden (1952) 伊甸园以东 Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962) 与查理同游,Writing characteristics,Settings: American land an

3、d people Focus : speaking for the oppressed and suffered Characters: sympathetic and humanity Authentic descriptions of his times,John Steinbecks Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech 1962,A writer must declare and praise mans proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit - for bravery in defeat, for co

4、urage, forgiveness, and love. I believe that a writer who does not passionately believe in mans ability to improve himself has no devotion for, nor any membership in, literature.”,The Grapes of Wrath,Background,Great Depression,widespread panic,poverty,absolute misery,despair,Influences on American

5、Literature,the subject : Depression,a revolt of genteel manner,naturalistc style,Tom Joad,Ma Joad,Pa Joad,Jim Casy,Al Joad,Rose of Sharon,Connie Rivers,Noah Joad,friend,son,husband,son,son,husband,Introduction of the Major Characters,daughter,The Grapes of Wrath Plot Analysis,. Initial SituationThe

6、land is changing Tom Joad is paroled from prison for homicide. On his journey home, he meets a now-former preacher, Jim Casy, whom he remembers from his childhood, and the two travel together. When they arrive at his childhood farm home, Oklahoma， they find it deserted.,Theres been a drought, dust s

7、torms are rampant, crops are dead, the economy is weak, and landowners must kick tenant farmers (like the Joads) off of the land.,Plot Analysis, . ComplicationCalifornia is not all that. Over three hundred thousand people have moved to California, all looking for the same thing: jobs. The Joads cant

8、 find any jobs and cant settle down. They are hungry, they are tired, they lose four members of the family.,. ConflictThe Joads must move westward. The Joads buy a car and move west, like thousands of other families, in search of a new life, a new home, and new opportunity. With no work here in Okla

9、homa, they have no other choice.,The Grapes of Wrath Plot Analysis,. SuspenseRuthie spills the beans. The floodwaters rise. Tom tries to hide from the world until the murder hes committed blows over, but his little sister accidentally spills the beans and tells the world what hes done. Meanwhile, it

10、 starts raining really hard and the creek beside the Joads boxcar home rises.,. ClimaxTom kills a man. Tom is reunited with Reverend Casy, who has become an agitator or a picketer, fighting for worker rights. The authorities murder Casy, and Tom kills one of the authorities. Hes in big trouble now.,

11、The Grapes of Wrath Plot Analysis,. DenouementTom runs away, the Joads escape Not wanting to drag his family into his crime, Tom runs away for good. As the floodwaters continue to rise, Rose of Sharons baby is stillborn. The Joads leave their boxcar in search of higher and dryer ground.,The Grapes o

12、f Wrath Plot Analysis,. ConclusionA dying man is nursed. In the end, Rose of Sharon commits the only act in the book that is not futile: she breast feeds a man too sick from starvation to eat solid food, still trying to show hope in humanity after her own negative experience. This final act is said

13、to illustrate the spontaneous mutual sharing that will lead to a new awareness of collective values.,Tom Joadgood-natured, thoughtful , strength Protagonist of the story; the Joad familys second son, named after his father. Later on, Tom takes leadership of the family even though he is young.,Charac

14、ters analysis,Ma Joadmatriarch, practical , warm-spirited, “the citadel of the family.” The mother of the Joad family. She is the healer of the familys ills and the arbiter of its arguments, and her ability to perform these tasks grows as the novel progresses.,Pa Joadpatriarch, hardworking sharecrop

15、per and family man Ma Joads husband and Toms father. A plainspoken, good-hearted man, Pa directs the effort to take the family to California, though he sometimes feels ashamed of his weaker position.,Jim Casyradical philosopher, a motivator and unifier of men, and a martyr A former preacher who gave

16、 up his ministry out of a belief that all human experience is holy. Casy goes to prison in Toms stead for a fight that erupts between laborers and the California police. He emerges a determined organizer of the migrant workers.,Rose of Sharonfrom a “hoyden”a high-spirited and saucy girlinto a secret

17、ive and mysterious woman Childish and dreamy teenage daughter who develops as the novel progresses to become a mature woman. She symbolizes regrowth when she helps the starving stranger .,Allegory,Road,We think its interesting to note that Route 66 never really intersects with any other major highwa

18、y or road it goes in two directions only. When you are on Route 66, you can either go forward in search of opportunity, or you can go backwards and return to the poverty you came from.,Bugs,In The Grapes of Wrath, we notice that how easy it is for humans to kill insects, and theres a violence to the

19、 way, for instance, Tom crushes the grasshopper. We begin to see similarities between the way humans treat insects and the way landowners treat tenant farmers.,Turtle,This stubborn and determined turtle-a Joad pet, reminds us of the stubborn and determined ways of the Joad family and other migrant w

20、orker families who persevere even after being kicked off of their farms, cheated by used car salesmen and merchants, and set back by sickness and loss.,The turtle accepts the challenges that come his way, but he never forgets where he is going.,Dog,Joads dog -this dog is run over by a speeding, west

21、bound car, and his body is so mangled as a result that his guts lie strewn on the road. Times are hard, and people are so desperate and angry that they will not hesitate to run over a dog, or to ruin a familys life.,Music,Making music is one of the most natural things for humans to do. Weve been mak

22、ing music for thousands and thousands of years. What does it mean, that Tom Joad makes and hears more music in prison than he does when he is a free man? He tells the preacher, me an some guys had a strang band goin. Good one. Guy said we ought to go on the radio.,Farming,Farming is about life, cult

23、ivation, and growth. However, with advances in technology and science, we watch farming transition from a human-run to a machine-run art. We witness the art of farming trapped in a war between old and new, between human and machine.,Blood,The Grapes of Wrath is full of blood. Blood signals both life

24、 and death,The West,The idea of going west has been a central part of the American consciousness for a long time. The Grapes of Wrath puts a new, dark spin on the American ideal of moving westward and seeking fortune.,The Sun,The sun is an omnipresent force in the Joads life, one that they cannot es

25、cape. The sun is violent and dangerous power. The sun also brings hopes to people.,Pregnancy,Babies are usually a sign of new life, new beginnings. Babies are cool because they ensure a family will continue to exist over another generation. So its a pretty big deal that Rose of Sharons baby is still

26、born. The promise for new life and new start is not realized. However, Rose of Sharon is able to bring life to the world by nursing a nearly starved man.,Themes,Transience,At the heart of The Grapes of Wrath is change, and we watch families cope as they are forced to change their lives, their homes,

27、 and their dreams. Change is bittersweet in this novel because it is imposed upon thousands of farmers and families who would otherwise prefer to remain right where they are.,Family,Family is a means of survival in The Grapes of Wrath. Without each other, the Joads would have no way of coping with t

28、he loss of their land or of getting to California.,Family is the one weapon that the Joads have against the cold, bitter world around.,Lies and Deceit,Central to The Grapes of Wrath is a single lie: thousands of families move west to California because they believe it to be the land of plenty, a pla

29、ce full of jobs and opportunity. This lie is spread through a yellow pamphlet dispensed by a Californian landowner looking for workers, and it both gives families a sense of hope and strips them of hope. Several entities help to sustain this lie: the banks, the car salesmen, the merchants, and the l

30、andowners. The Joads are deceived into thinking that their worries will be forgotten once they get to California.,Betrayal,In the face of loss and poverty, the Joads band together to survive and make do. Thousands of other similarly heartbroken families in The Grapes of Wrath also recognize the powe

31、r of community. However, there are several characters who, overcome by fear, choose to serve themselves rather than their community at large. Willy Feeley, an old family friend of the Joads, accepts a job working for the landowners and helps to drive many sharecropping families away.,Religion,John C

32、asy is constantly thinking about God in The Grapes of Wrath and about the ways in which humans souls are connected. He has given up the priesthood, having been a lecherous and rule-breaking preacher, but he still deeply considers the existence of God and the importance of religion in uniting and ins

33、piring people.,Gender,The narrator of The Grapes of Wrath paints vivid and general portraits of life in Dust Bowl America, and clearly delineates the roles of men and women. The men consider the losses, while the women look on silently, reading their husbands expressions. Men make decisions, and wom

34、en tend to the house chores. Men slaughter and hunt, while women prepare and cook. However, despite these very specific descriptions of gender roles, we see Ma Joad often assume a mans duties, and we see Tom Joad display more traditionally feminine sentiments. The novel complicates its own understan

35、ding of women and men in 1930s America.,Criminality,By virtue of the fact that Tom Joad is on parole and cannot leave the state of Oklahoma, the Joads are constantly aware of the law and of trying to adhere to the law. Much of The Grapes of Wrath deals with families who are treated poorly by the law

36、, whether in their hometown or in their California towns. We begin to question the validity and the value of the law as we watch the Joad family, and many other families like them, fight tooth and nail to survive.,Wealth,Great poverty is juxtaposed with a great appetite for wealth in The Grapes of Wrath. Wealth is defined as both money and hap