{"id":10699,"date":"2019-02-08T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hilbertthm90.wordpress.com\/?p=10699"},"modified":"2022-06-21T12:16:49","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T17:16:49","slug":"john-steinbeck-grapes-of-wrath-analysis-should-it-be-required","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amindformadness.com\/2019\/02\/john-steinbeck-grapes-of-wrath-analysis-should-it-be-required\/","title":{"rendered":"John Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath Analysis: Should it be Required?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A series in which I read books on required reading lists and discuss their merits.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think you’ll agree with me when I say:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Required reading in schools should teach kids the value of reading. In today’s world, it’s conceivable that some kids will never read a novel. They’ll read summaries online to get through their tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Required is allowed to be difficult, but it should be comprehensible and motivating as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I won’t bury the lede anymore. The Grapes of Wrath is a great American classic that should be read by all, but it should not be required reading in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on to find out why.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"grapes<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Grapes of Wrath Plot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The basic plot is simple: The Joad family experiences great loss with the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. They travel west from Oklahoma to California in search of a better life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was what I remembered the plot to be when I read it in high school. But the novel is over 600 pages long. I thought I must not have remembered it fully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is both true and false:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plot is one of the least relevant parts of the book. Around 100 pages go by before they even leave on the trip, and these pages are filled with conversations and essays to give context and characterization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very little happens in terms of the plot until the last third of the novel. I won’t contribute to the problem I alluded to above about websites answering kids homework questions for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relevant plot points will be discussed as they come up in future sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grapes of Wrath Themes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at some of the key Grapes of Wrath<\/em> themes. There’s a lot of them, but I won’t sugarcoat it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grapes of Wrath<\/em> has to be one of the most unapologetically anti-capitalist books I’ve ever read. The other themes support this central message. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Death is everywhere in this novel. I most certainly do not remember this aspect from my own days in high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The novel opens with Tom Joad getting out of jail for killing someone<\/strong>. The seeds get planted from the first chapter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n