Journey to the Promised Land
John Steinbeck, the author of The Grapes of Wrath outlined his work in an interesting fashion which gave the story a spice that is much appreciated. He coated words with a sweet honey that made the novel interesting to read, and acknowledged the setting and characters in a satisfying manner. The story itself was intriguing and the dialect he used had a sort of welcoming aura to it and made it seem like you were actually experiencing the life with the Joads as well. There were parts of the story were I thought about the outcome, for example when Tom decided to travel west with his family and completely ignore his parole knowing the consequences that came with this action. After the Joads started their journey to California, there were parts where I thought they wouldn’t make it until they met the Wilsons and they helped each other. This gave me hope and helped me realize how we need family and friends to achieve a desired goal or to overcome obstacles. Chapter 17 elaborated on the connections one made on their way to the west, and was a sort of cherry on the top for the concept. The first paragraph got my attention because it explained how families got together and became one: sharing their secrets of life, talking about hardships and obstacles they faced, and giving each other advice on private and public concerns. John Steinbeck stated, “The twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all”. (264)
The Joad family is one of the strongest, supportive families I’ve read about since the Cullens in the Twilight Saga. They do what’s best for the family and each member has a role to play. The most fascinating member of the family is Ma, who caught my attention from the beginning because of the power she holds within the family. She gets respect from all the members and people respect her opinions and ideas. Ma is a strong character because she thinks about everyone even if they’re not kin and makes sure...