Writing Style
Students will identify five major characteristics of the author's writing style and display examples from the text as well as definitions.
John Steinbeck's writing style has been known to be a naturalist or realist style but at times can vary. A realist style is defined through the theory or practice of fidelity to nature or to real life and accurate representation without idealization of everyday life. This style is immediately present throughout the first few chapters of the novel.
In most of John Steinbeck's books he writes in the mind-set of 'The Great Depression'. The main characters are usually poor or working-class people who are struggling to make a living, but somehow manage due to their faith. The environment around these characters symbolize the hardships they endure and the blessings of beautiful life. Steinbeck doesn't want to "sugar coat" his tales of real moments in American history by writing his novels in a modernistic writing style. He wants to give the full effect to his readers and doesn’t let any detail scurry away. In modernistic styles, authors only write about the good events that occur within that certain period of time and nothing else to portray what is happening.
Here are a few examples from within the book that exhibit the realist/naturalist style of Johns writing style.
"A gentle wind followed the rain clouds, driving them on northward, a wind that softly clashed the drying corn." Steinbeck is symbolizing nature to the events happening to the local community to help give the reader a better understanding. The rain clouds symbolize the misfortune of the long drought, and the wind driving them northward is like the last hope for the farmers to start over somewhere new and better.
"As the sharp sun stuck day after day, the leaves of the young corn became less stiff and erect; they bent in a curve at first, and then, as the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward." To me the leaves of the corn that he is talking about symbolizes each of the farmers becoming doubtful of their crops and the doubt of them ever recovering. The central ribs of strength, being the seemingly more resilient farmers holding on to the smallest hope of rainfall. Finally the all the leaves tilting downward, which would be all of the farmers realizing that they will all die and wither away.
In the third chapter Steinbeck is describing a turtle who seems to symbolize the lifestyle of Joad. "clover burrs fell on him and rolled to the ground." People criticized him for killing an innocent man they claimed but he wasn't guilty of anything he had ever done, he went on to say that if he had the opportunity he would do it all over again.
Once again making a connection between the turtle and Joad, Steinbeck writes: "He came over the grass leaving a beaten trail behind him," Steinbeck could be referring to Joad being released from prison and that will be there in his past that could restrain him from certain opportunities.
In the fifth chapter Steinbeck describes how the drought has brought such an economic fall on the landowners and the farmers as well. The farmers don’t seem to be making any profit so they are being evicted by the land owners who are also seeming to be struggling financially. "A man can hold land if he can just eat and pay taxes;"
He goes on to refer to the bank as a monster. This is supporting the realism writing style by showing the thoughts of the poor/working-class people as the banks and bigger companies being unfair to the hard-working people. "But--you see, a bank or company can't do that, because those creatures don't breathe air, don't eat side-meat."
Steinbeck uses the former preacher, Casey to help detail uncomfortable but boldly real situations in life, for example he writes that the preacher used to take fancy some of some of the young women in the church, yet he would still go to the church on Sunday morning and continue preach God's heavenly word. While reading we noticed certain literary elements that John Steinbeck uses throughout his novel the Grapes of Wrath Such as parallelism in the following statement: "The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog's coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse's fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep's wool; sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man's trouser cuff or the hem of a woman's skirt, all passive but armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage of movement." He repeats almost the same thing continuously, only using different instances or situations.
Another style we noticed were long drawn-out sentences such as: "In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk; and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn." Maybe the reason for the longer sentences could be to help portray the feelings of an everlasting drought that is causing so much turmoil in all of the resident’s lives already.
In conclusion John Steinbeck is a naturalist/realist writer, who sometimes uses his own experiences to help add to the reality of what he is writing about. He uses his own personal situations and knowledge to further his writing. He uses the weather and nature to portray the feelings of one or more of the main characters throughout the novel.
In most of John Steinbeck's books he writes in the mind-set of 'The Great Depression'. The main characters are usually poor or working-class people who are struggling to make a living, but somehow manage due to their faith. The environment around these characters symbolize the hardships they endure and the blessings of beautiful life. Steinbeck doesn't want to "sugar coat" his tales of real moments in American history by writing his novels in a modernistic writing style. He wants to give the full effect to his readers and doesn’t let any detail scurry away. In modernistic styles, authors only write about the good events that occur within that certain period of time and nothing else to portray what is happening.
Here are a few examples from within the book that exhibit the realist/naturalist style of Johns writing style.
"A gentle wind followed the rain clouds, driving them on northward, a wind that softly clashed the drying corn." Steinbeck is symbolizing nature to the events happening to the local community to help give the reader a better understanding. The rain clouds symbolize the misfortune of the long drought, and the wind driving them northward is like the last hope for the farmers to start over somewhere new and better.
"As the sharp sun stuck day after day, the leaves of the young corn became less stiff and erect; they bent in a curve at first, and then, as the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward." To me the leaves of the corn that he is talking about symbolizes each of the farmers becoming doubtful of their crops and the doubt of them ever recovering. The central ribs of strength, being the seemingly more resilient farmers holding on to the smallest hope of rainfall. Finally the all the leaves tilting downward, which would be all of the farmers realizing that they will all die and wither away.
In the third chapter Steinbeck is describing a turtle who seems to symbolize the lifestyle of Joad. "clover burrs fell on him and rolled to the ground." People criticized him for killing an innocent man they claimed but he wasn't guilty of anything he had ever done, he went on to say that if he had the opportunity he would do it all over again.
Once again making a connection between the turtle and Joad, Steinbeck writes: "He came over the grass leaving a beaten trail behind him," Steinbeck could be referring to Joad being released from prison and that will be there in his past that could restrain him from certain opportunities.
In the fifth chapter Steinbeck describes how the drought has brought such an economic fall on the landowners and the farmers as well. The farmers don’t seem to be making any profit so they are being evicted by the land owners who are also seeming to be struggling financially. "A man can hold land if he can just eat and pay taxes;"
He goes on to refer to the bank as a monster. This is supporting the realism writing style by showing the thoughts of the poor/working-class people as the banks and bigger companies being unfair to the hard-working people. "But--you see, a bank or company can't do that, because those creatures don't breathe air, don't eat side-meat."
Steinbeck uses the former preacher, Casey to help detail uncomfortable but boldly real situations in life, for example he writes that the preacher used to take fancy some of some of the young women in the church, yet he would still go to the church on Sunday morning and continue preach God's heavenly word. While reading we noticed certain literary elements that John Steinbeck uses throughout his novel the Grapes of Wrath Such as parallelism in the following statement: "The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog's coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse's fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep's wool; sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man's trouser cuff or the hem of a woman's skirt, all passive but armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage of movement." He repeats almost the same thing continuously, only using different instances or situations.
Another style we noticed were long drawn-out sentences such as: "In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk; and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn." Maybe the reason for the longer sentences could be to help portray the feelings of an everlasting drought that is causing so much turmoil in all of the resident’s lives already.
In conclusion John Steinbeck is a naturalist/realist writer, who sometimes uses his own experiences to help add to the reality of what he is writing about. He uses his own personal situations and knowledge to further his writing. He uses the weather and nature to portray the feelings of one or more of the main characters throughout the novel.