Grapes of Wrath: Biblical Allusions /  by Mark Walters

Biblical analogues in The Grapes of Wrath: Analyze how a scene in the novel that contains clearly biblical resonances contributes meaning to the overall narrative. What does the story's specifically biblical provenance contribute to the scene as Steinbeck writes it?

There are a number of scenes in the novel that are clear analogues to stories from the Bible. This topic asks you to analyze how the story's inclusion contributes meaning to Steinbeck's narrative. You would need to locate and study the biblical story, understand the meaning of the story within the context of the biblical narrative, and then analyze how that story fits into the context of The Grapes of Wrath.

Some possible analogues to consider:

1. Chapter 30, when Uncle John sets Rose of Sharon's stillborn baby adrift on the floodwaters. This act, in some of its details, is similar to the story of the baby Moses being set adrift on the waters of the Nile.

2. Chapter 29 and The Great Flood: The flood itself is another Biblically significant story; in the Bible it is, after all, a flood that purifies the world by destroying it.

3. Chapter 26: Reverend Casy’s “gospel” and murder as compared to the Crucifixion, or to the story of Cain and Abel

4. Chapter 25: Genesis, the Garden of Eden, and the Fall

Grapes of Wrath: COVID-19 and the "Echoes of History" /  by Mark Walters

The Pakistani-British intellectual and writer Tariq Ali Khan is quoted as saying, “history rarely repeats itself, but its echoes never go away.” In this essay, we will consider how some of these “echoes” stretch back to the era of Steinbeck’s novel, and further.

The title of Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath is allusive-- it is taken from “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, which was an anthem composed just before the US Civil War that Union soldiers often sang as they marched off to battle. Given this, it is fascinating to read The Grapes of Wrath at our own historical moment: just as Steinbeck was evoking and remembering a historical moment 80 years before his time, we are now forced to confront the possibility that COVID may be our own generation’s “Dust Bowl” moment.

For this essay, I want you to select a thread that runs through these 160 years of American history-- from the Civil War, through Steinbeck’s time, to our own. This essay may be written in a number of ways: as a formal, academic essay; as a reflection piece based on your own life and experiences; as a fictional piece in which you write a “chapter” of your own “COVID novel”... be creative!

Here is a (partial) list of topics you might choose. Of course, if you can identify another topic that applies, feel free to do so:

  1. Labor, slavery (chattel, wage, debt), and the economic underclass;

  2. Internal political tensions within American society;

  3. The evolving American “experiment” and the role of struggle in that experiment;

  4. Migrations and their role in shaping American society;

  5. Presidential power and the federal management of crisis;

  6. Environmental “stewardship” and our effects on the land, climate, geography and demography of the US

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Some articles or readings of interest:

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/04/grapes-of-wrath/477897/   

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/04/625351953/one-song-glory   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Hymn_of_the_Republic   

 https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1l3my6k6bqsp8/The-Dust-Bowl-Ravaged-1930s-America-Coronavirus-Is-Today-s-Equivalent   

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2009/11/new-dust-bowl/

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510311/embedded (the “Covering COVID) series

Grapes of Wrath: Ownership /  by Mark Walters

Essay: The Grapes of Wrath: Property and Ownership

In the first third of The Grapes of Wrath, we are confronted with a number of scenes related to ownership and proprietorship. Take, for example, the interaction between the trucker and Tom Joad at the beginning of Chapter 2 (the sticker on the truck), the discussion of land as it relates to the family’s history in Chapter 5, the sale of the people’s “belongings” in Chapter 9, and the return to the discussion of land and people’s connection to (or disconnection from) it, in Chapter 11. Throughout these sections, then, Steinbeck is making a point about the nature of ownership.

So… what point do you believe Steinbeck is making? How does Steinbeck want us to re-think ownership, or to understand it in a new way? Using passages and citations from the text, build your own argument about what Steinbeck might say about the nature of ownership, property or proprietorship. Think of this as a first draft of a formal paper; shoot for 2-3 pages, typed and double-spaced.

The Grapes of Wrath: "Turtle" /  by Mark Walters

Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 3: “Land Turtle”

Chapter 3 of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath is an elaborate animal fable involving a “land turtle” (tortoise). This fable, though simply written, is rife with symbolism and imagery. For this assignment, write a single page, elaborate essay in which you explore the symbolic importance of any one of the following:

  1. The tortoise

  2. The dust

  3. The grass seeds

  4. The ant

  5. The road

  6. The truck(s)

In your essay, be sure to elaborate on what greater concept or theme your symbol might stand in for. Consult the book and quote and analyze passages to explore and explain the symbol you have chosen.