The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison - 1103 Words

Toni Morrison is known for her prized works exploring themes and issues that are rampant in African American communities. Viewing Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye from a psychoanalytical lens sheds light onto how, as members of a marginalized group, character’s low self-esteem reflect into their actions, desires, and defense mechanisms. In her analysis of psychoanalytical criticism, Lois Tyson focuses on psychological defense mechanisms such as selective perception, selective memory, denial, avoidance, displacement, projection, and regression. Selective perception is only seeing and hearing what we feel like we can handle. Selective memory is the way of modifying our memories in order to not overwhelm ourselves or to just forget†¦show more content†¦Growing up in a time when the idea of black beauty was missing furthered the low self-esteem held in black woman everywhere. Pauline is a woman with deep insecurities, and she projects her own insecurities immediately onto her daughter. Pauline loses herself at the cinema in the fantasy of being beautiful like the movie stars. She works for white families as an escape from her life in a lower class. There is this worldwide phenomenon that parents, especially mothers, believe that their child is the cutest. Loving your own child is nature, it is an instinct, not a choice. But when Pauline sees baby Pecola, she immediately â€Å"knowed she was ugly† (126). She projects her low view of herself onto her offspring. Pauline’s husband, Cholly, has never known what true love his. As a baby, his mother abandoned him, leaving him behind with a twisted view of love and family. This traumatic event left him with identity issues. Instead of faces his issues, he regresses into an aggressive, angry alcoholic. His constant violent fights with Pauline leave the children with a lack of idea of familial love. He does not know how to nurture his children and show them love. This misconstructs the idea of love in the Breedlove family. Cholly’s rape of Pecola is just a consequence of the toll systematic racism can take on a person on a mental, emotional, and personal level. Morrison implies that this skewed love is due toShow MoreRelatedThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison1720 Words   |  7 Pagesof The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison, criticizes the danger of race discrimination for any kinds of situations with no exception. The purpose of the paper is explain how pervasive and destructive social racism was bound to happen in American society. The intended audiences are not only black people, but also other races had suffered racism until now. I could find out and concentrate on the most notable symbols which are whiteness, blue eyes and the characterization while reading the novel. Toni MorrisonRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison1587 Words   |  7 Pagessaid, â€Å"We were born to die and we die to live.† Toni Morrison correlates to Nelson’s quote in her Nobel Lecture of 1993, â€Å"We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.† In Toni Morrison’s novel, The Bluest Eye, she uses language to examine the concepts of racism, lack of self-identity, gender roles, and socioeconomic hardships as they factor into a misinterpretation of the American Dream. Morrison illustrates problems that these issues provoke throughRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison956 Words   |  4 PagesHistory of Slavery Influenced the Characters of The Bluest Eye Unlike so many pieces of American literature that involve and examine the history of slavery and the years of intensely-entrenched racism that ensued, the overall plot of the novel, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, does not necessarily involve slavery directly, but rather examines the aftermath by delving into African-American self-hatred. Nearly all of the main characters in The Bluest Eye who are African American are dominated by the endlessRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison1189 Words   |  5 PagesA standard of beauty is established by the society in which a person lives and then supported by its members in the community. In the novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, we are given an extensive understanding of how whiteness is the standard of beauty through messages throughout the novel that whiteness is superior. Morrison emphasizes how this ideality distorts the minds and lives of African-American women and children. He emphasizes that in order for African-American wom en to survive in aRead MoreThe Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison1095 Words   |  5 PagesSocial class is a major theme in the book The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Toni Morrison is saying that there are dysfunctional families in every social class, though people only think of it in the lower class. Toni Morrison was also stating that people also use social class to separate themselves from others and apart from race; social class is one thing Pauline and Geraldine admire.Claudia, Pecola, and Frieda are affected by not only their own social status, but others social status too - for exampleRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison2069 Words   |  9 Pagesblack/whiteness. Specifically, white people were positioned at the upper part of the hierarchy, whereas, African Americans were inferior. Consequently, white people were able to control and dictate to the standards of beauty. In her novel, ‘The Bluest Eye’, Toni Morrison draws upon symbolism, narrative voice, setting and id eals of the time to expose the effects these standards had on the different characters. With the juxtaposition of Claudia MacTeer and Pecola Breedlove, who naively conforms to the barrierRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison Essay1314 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, encompasses the themes of youth, gender, and race. The African American Civil Rights Movement had recently ended at the time the novel was written. In the book, Morrison utilizes a first-person story to convey her views on racial inequality. The protagonist and her friends find themselves in moments where they are filled with embarrassment and have a wish to flee such events. Since they are female African Americans, they are humiliated in society. One of Morrison’sRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison1462 Words   |  6 PagesBildungsroman literature in the 20th century embodies the virtues of different authors’ contexts and cultures, influencing the fictional stories of child ren’s lives around the world.. The Bluest Eye is a 1970 publication by Toni Morrison set in 1940s Ohio in America, focal around the consequence of racism in an American community on the growth of a child, distinct in its use of a range of narrative perspectives. Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid is a novel set in post colonial Antigua, published in 1985Read MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison992 Words   |  4 PagesSet in the 1940s, during the Great Depression, the novel The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, illustrates in the inner struggles of African-American criticism. The Breedloves, the family the story revolves around a poor, black and ugly family. They live in a two-room store front, which is open, showing that they have nothing. In the family there is a girl named Pecola Breedlove, she is a black and thinks that she is ugly because she is not white. Pecola’s father, Cholly Breedlove, goes through humiliatedRead MoreThe Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison1044 Words   |   5 PagesIn the novel The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison confirms the existence of racism within the African American community. Unbelievably, many African Americans suffer from what is termed internalized racism. Internalized racism produces the same effect as racial racism: feelings of worthlessness, inferiority, and unattractiveness. In addition, the effect can produce the opposite feelings: superiority, hatred, and feelings of self-worth. Pecola, an 11-year-old black girl, desires to have the physical characteristics

Irony in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essays

Irony in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour A very dull and boring story can be made into a great story simply by adding in something that is unexpected to happen. When the unexpected is used in literature it is known as irony. An author uses irony to shock the reader by adding a twist to the story. The author of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is Kate Chopin. Her use of irony in the story is incredibly done more than once. Irony is thinking or believing some event will happen but in return the unexpected or opposite occurs. Kate Chopin uses two types of irony in this short story. Situational irony refers to the opposite of what is supposed to happen, and dramatic irony occurs when the audience or reader knows something that the rest of the†¦show more content†¦Then the best usage of irony occurs. The reader sees the first reaction of Mrs. Mallard’s husbands death. Josephine would tell her the news and Mrs. Mallard takes it pretty hard. The author Kate Chopin lets us know that she seems to take Brently Mallards death pretty hard by the words â€Å"She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister’s arms.† (157) They see that she is weeping and she wants to be alone because she storms off to her room alone. (157) But then the reader reads â€Å"But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.† (157) This is telling the reader that Mrs. Mallard feels something that is coming to her. Then Mrs. Mallard says softly â€Å"free, free, free!† (157) This event could be both dramatic and situational. It could be dramatic because only the reader or audience knows the true feelings Mrs. Mallard has for her husband, while all of the characters are not in the room with her and do not know her true feelings. This excerpt of the small story could also be situational because most people would think that when a spouse would die, there would be grief and pain felt rather than joy of being free from her husband. Only the reader knows that this is not the case for Mrs. Mallard because she is feeling freedom and has her own soul back whichShow MoreRelated Irony in Kate Chopins Story of an Hour Essay796 Words   |  4 PagesIrony in Chopins Story of an Hour    Irony is a useful device for giving stories many unexpected twists and turns. In Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour, irony is used as an effective literary device. Situational irony is used to show the reader that what is expected to happen sometimes doesnt. Dramatic irony is used to clue the reader in on something that is happening that the characters in the story do not know about. Irony is used throughout Chopins The Story of an Hour throughRead More Contrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour1411 Words   |  6 PagesContrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopins use of irony in her short story, The Story of an Hour, stands in direct contrast to the subtle manner in which she tells the story. Strong use of irony in a short story yields more honesty in a character. She achieves this quality by immediately setting the premise, that Mrs. Mallards fragile health would ultimately lead to her demise, upon receiving the news of her husbands death. Before an immediate assumptionRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour And A Pair Of Silk Stockings By Kate Chopin1057 Words   |  5 Pagesliterary repertoire, or style, to appeal to the audience in which they are writing to. Kate Chopin is a well-known writer, known for her works that mainly focus around women and their expected roles in society. Chopin’s writings are often based on the effect that the turn of the century had on women, which she best expresses in her two short stories â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"A Pair of Silk Stockings†. In both of the stories previousl y stated, the author gives the audience just enough background on theRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin862 Words   |  4 PagesFiction Analysis: The Story of an Hour Kate Chopin’s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, is about one married woman’s true hidden feelings of being married in the 19th century. The story was published in 1894, a time where it was unacceptable for women to express their wants and needs as a woman. Women were not seen equal to men and did not have the same privileges as men such as voting. Therefore, some of her literary works were considered controversial. It wasn’t soon until the late 20 centuryRead Moreexemplification essay653 Words   |  3 PagesEssay Types of Irony Is it strange how love can be a source of happiness, but also cause a lot of pain? Yet people tend to search for love, and once these people find love it comes with both pleasure and ache. Irony plays a role in love because love is what people perceive as joy but also causes hurt, yet people still search for love. In Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour, there are different forms of literary, situational, and dramatic irony used. The first type of irony which Kate Chopin uses isRead MoreThe Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin632 Words   |  3 Pages The term â€Å"irony† is not easy to define perhaps because it is largely misunderstood. For instance, there are some people who use the term â€Å"irony† interchangeably with â€Å"misfortune† or the term â€Å"ironic† with â€Å"cynical.† Oftentimes, literature is an excellent teacher about what certain terms mean. Indeed, Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and Edward Arlington Robinson’s â€Å"Miniver Cheevy† seem to provide excellent insight as to what â€Å"irony† truly means. In addition to these, scrutiny of Lawrence Berkove’sRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour Analysis1120 Words   |  5 Pagesuntil death should be a reaction of hurting and a change in the way one views the future. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour.† Kate Chopin’s makes use of irony to show how sometime s people do not show what they truly feel because most of ones feeling or reactions have already been predicted by others. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† the readers are introduced to a woman named Louise Mallard, which Kate Chopin’s informs over her â€Å"heart trouble† in the beginning to make the readers understand the position Mrs.Read MoreSymbolism In Kate Chopins The Story Of An Hour1013 Words   |  5 PagesWhile most of Kate Chopin’s short stories were well received, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† was originally rejected by publishers until 1894 when Vogue decided to publish the short story. However after her death most of Chopin’s work was forgotten, that was until the 1950s when her work again was recognized as insightful and moving, setting into motion a Kate Chopin revival which was both successful and remarkable (Biography). â€Å"The Story of an Hour† focuses on the liberation and new found freedom of a newlyRead MoreLouise Mallard’s Demise in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin600 Words   |  3 PagesLouise Mallardâ₠¬â„¢s Demise in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin Kate Chopin’s short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, is about a woman, named Louise Mallard, in the late 1800s who is told that her husband, Brently, has died in a railroad accident. Initially, Louise is surprised, distressed, and drowned in sorrow. After mourning the loss, the woman realizes that she is finally free and independent, and that the only person she has to live for is herself. She becomes overwhelmed with joy about her newRead MoreThe Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin Essay1528 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin is very intriguing, not only because of the emotional change Louise Mallard goes through the hour after her husband’s tragic death but also the way Chopin uses irony in the story. During this analysis of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† we will discuss the summary, plot, setting, tone, theme, point of view, emotions of Louise Mallard and other characters involved in the story. Chopin’s story uses the feelings of a married woman

Collaboration and Argument free essay sample

Boothe Collaboration and Argument Collaboration is defined as working collectively with others or concurrently to achieve a goal especially in a creative attempt to put together the right elements of success implemented to accomplish something. Argument is defined as controversy or the implication of expression through opinions for an effort to persuade; for the submission that provides support or is in contrast to some idea. Robert Ennis defines an argument as an attempt to support a conclusion by giving reasons for it. (Critical Thinking, 1995) Irving M. Copi, in his Introduction to Logic, defines an argument as a group of propositions of which one, the conclusion, is claimed to follow from the others, which are premises. Collaboration changes the research process because it is a group ideal instead of an individual ideal. Collaboration gives each individual on the team the ability to share creative and innovative thoughts and interact with others by sharing ideas through critical thinking, preparation and work practice with individuals in defined areas which provide an opportunity for each team member to strive for higher standards within the group. Collaboration can be an incentive for the better-prepared students to provide assistance and encourage the members of the team who are most likely not going to meet the goal, and the less-prepared students are likely to work harder so as not to disappoint the other team members. By having a team leader it shares the accountability for student success through frequent use of collaboration as an approach to improving instruction for an effective use of common planning time. Collaboration encourages diversity with a social support system in a more personal environment that will aid in the development of skills, time management and problem solving that can be used on the job and beyond. Collaboration can actually make it easier and harder when having to evaluate sources. The goal is find a way to get knowledgably team members to be productive an establish a formal process to perform work, develop distinct purpose, and assist in the process of better connections among team members. As a group you have to think as a group with one ideal and be able to comprehend and engage structure collaboration process while maintaining a strong affiliation among teammates. Provided that a time line has been created the work load should be evenly distributed for all of the team members and information should be shared willingly. Communication is very important so that all members can equally speak whether positively or negatively about the topic as well as listening to all of the group members. By analyzing different types of collaborative tasks each member can interoperate what is relevant by their own learning skills, strategies and personal experiences that would encourage conversation within the group that provides feedback and encourages questions, negotiations and open mindedness with the differences of each person’s creative and innovative ideals which will generate a good argument. In order for a group to produce their ethos for a team paper it is important that each member knows the definition of an ethos. Ethos, or a reputable position, is a matter of gaining the confidence of the audience by either the character or the author. Respect and trust are both valuable traits that are needed from your audience therefore giving you the authority on your topic so that the group is able to persuade their audience that their ideas are credible, or more credible than someone elses. The ethos for a team paper is produced as a group within the quality of the produced product. With the blended combination and disposition of the group they must be believable or convincing and be able to characterize the differences between fact and opinion based on sound logic and solid evidence that encourages trustworthiness or credibility prototypes within the group and while persuading your audience. Papers that are written collaboratively are created in a different form then papers that are written by an individual due to the fact that collaboration means to work with another or others on a joint project while individual means working independently. Collaborative writing refers to organizing and the planning of shared written documents during the process of team building. As a team you also have more members that can get the job done faster and even sometimes better. Collaboratively written papers start with preliminary discussions of an ideal then on to brainstorming as input is divided into sections so that participation can be achieved by each team member with open channels of communication within the allotted time line so that the assignment can be assessed by the group to provide the final draft. The independent working individually creates their papers differently by doing all of the work on their own with full control of their time limits, methods, process and style. They are responsible for their own argument. The downside is that they are not able to collaborate and get ideals from others and time restraints can be a factor on large tasks and when something becomes too difficult to handle there is no one to assist you. Collaboratively and individually arguments are written differently on the account of facts and opinions that are researched as a group and the individual argument is researched solely by the individual. The members of the group decide on which activities are to be completed as a group and which one should be completed by individual group members. Deliberation improves critical thinking by providing a constant consideration and synthesis of other viewpoints. These issues become the argument for the group. With respect for the other team members opinions will continue to simultaneously push the boundaries of the other team members’ experiences which will create a new mode of thinking, analyzing, criteria and judgment that often reveals new and unique approaches. Team members benefit from reflection and by verbalization. The peer coaching helps all the members, both the high and the low achievers, to become actively involved with the material. When it comes to independent study there is no one else that can incorporate other viewpoints into their own opinions nor or they able to incorporate communication or listening skills, but they are able to avoid conflicts enhance their own effectiveness and efficiency. When writing collaboratively, an argument that is determined by one’s own position should be decided by which side of the issue they are willing to take on or if they are prepared for both sides by matching up each team member’s ability and talent no matter what their strengths or weakness may be. When determining the fundamental quality of an argument it gives the team member the ability to understand the arguments of others and evaluate the quality arguments used to improve their skills. The person who represents knowledgeable information is factual and some team members may have difficulty evaluating arguments on the basis of their quality. By explaining skills that are important to overall argument and by the use of an evaluation the team may show an increased performance by the immediate feedback. By giving the team members the tools to evaluate the production of their own individual work could enhance their ability to find their position. It is also important that the individual who has his own argument is being respectful and open minded so that the team member has the ability to persuade and influence others on similar subjects and while gaining additional information from their team. When a team member supports an argument that they find not to be creditable the reason for that could be the disagreement of opposing viewpoints due to the lack of interest in the topic or a similar subject in which the member is not convinced of the views causing the team member to reject information that is incorrect or irrelevant. In order to avoid conflict within the team, the team member suspends judgment and avoids new solutions that may hinder statements that are not supported by research that could weaken the final paper. Individuals often have a strong emotional connection to the positions they argue in essays because of the all of the challenging research work that they have done to find credible resources. The individual could educate the other team members about their own experiences of encouragement, awareness and understanding of the argument. Depending on the position of each member f the team the discussion of the topic may not all be shared by the same similarly intense connection therefore the role of the team should be a peer review that encourages and contains constructive criticism; this method is used to improve one’s project and not to shoot down anyone’s work. Two common peer review methods are the inspection method and the walk-through method. Work is heavily analyzed throug h the inspection method. As each individual puts in their input and guides the conversation. Each peer then provides comments to help improve the quality of work. Constructive and respectful criticism provides useful feedback even though the team member may show strong emotion on the argument. The best methods of peer review used for evaluating the quality of an argument in a paper is more of a conversation designed to give constructive criticism through discussion and communications. Using groups to give feedback to other group members on specific questions about their own papers that they would like reviewed. Members are encouraged to write down questions at the beginning of the peer review and ask peers to take these questions into consideration while writing their review. This is feedback encourages students to have their work analyzed through questions and deliberations of their own. Advanced peer reviews encourage paper writing as a mode of conducting peer reviews. Self-Evaluations is the assessing one’s own work. When writing collaboratively, the best processes for making sure sections of a project written by different team members are logically consistent is to make sure that the directions are clear, uncomplicated and easy to understand in order to be rational. Write a short introductory paragraph that would introduce the reader to the topic and explain what it is and how it should affect people and also provide a brief history of the issue. The process for evaluating a team paper for plagiarism differs from the process of evaluating ones work is that group writing represents an exclusive challenge because each person has their own different passions, opinions and backgrounds towards writing. Whether the members of the team are not able to make the time lines and strive for the easiest route or intentional or unintentional copy an author’s work the team’s work could suffer. The team should be educated about plagiarism either by self detection or software programs. The team writing process that would produce the strongest arguments would be an argumentative paper that argues for a particular side that has opposing information or opinions that are debatable issues. In order to be most persuasive, understand both sides of the issue by having at least three reasons that support your point of view and two reasons that support the opposing viewpoint and it is important that the paper has a strong thesis statement and strong support for the position. Counter argument for why they are not valid reasons. The topics that are selected for individual argument papers differ from those chosen for team papers because a decision is made within the group on which person will do what work as an individual, but other factors should be considered such as time and how well the assignment can be completed. All team members have a vested interest in understanding the appropriate response. Conclusion Today’s research and teaching is no longer performed independently or in seclusion. Research and teaching shows that both collaboration and argument work hand and hand and can benefit others and help to address problems when we work in collaboration with those whom we research with. Collaboration provides specific guidelines that help all diverse backgrounds come together with ideals and experiences for solutions and understanding and that argument assists in providing the best reasoning to distinguish between facts and opinions through detailed observation.

Steinbeck’s novels Essay Example Essay Example

Steinbeck’s novels Essay Example Paper Steinbeck’s novels Essay Introduction This essay will develop the thesis of how Steinbeck’s novels integrate the life of the working man like no other modern novel. The novels that will be discussed include Cannery Row, and Grapes of Wrath. The writing of the working class struggle brought forth a consciousness to the country of the plight and dangers involved in poverty. A brief look at poverty in the country will also be discussed as inclusive examples supporting Steinbeck’s novels and the concept of the working class.Steinbeck’s Cannery Row introduces the reader to Mack and the boys. In the cannery district known as Monterey California are vagabonds, urchins or general destitute people. The object of the novel centers mainly around the boys getting Doc something nice, or doing something nice for him since he is the general care –taker of cannery row (albeit Steinbeck does not only focus on this story but introduces subplots in vignettes in which the theme is central to violence, destitution , and despondency towards the state of life in Cannery Row).The boys succeed in their party, but due to timing Doc arrives late and discovers a mess in his house; the juxtaposition of this event with the epidemic of influenza as orchestrated by the author are telltale signs of personal identity and its leading evidence as to social maturity and identity through culture as concurrent themes. The party eventually does take place this time inclusive of Doc and the novel ends with a classic Steinbeck reflection of life and identity through culture (Benson 132).Identity as portrayed in this novel is subject to the whims of circumstance in which the characters are either presented as flawed because of violence prevalent in their society or else as in Doc’s character, their identity is strengthened in such circumstances as it affords the character a chance to improve on himself and create around him a more trusting atmosphere. The character of Lee Chong is in direct opposition to Do c. Lee Chong can best be described as a surly man, a miser really whose obsession with perfection and misery allow for Doc’s character to be perceived as more virtuous in comparison.Thus, individual identity is affected by society and culture and circumstance but the prevailing message offered from Steinbeck is that there is still individual choice as to the performance and mutation of that identity even with economic struggle. Therefore the novel presents extremes of personality each created through similar environments in order to prove the progressiveness of choice in forming identity despite socio-economic circumstances.In Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, the reader is introduced to the Joads family. This family goes through a type of Odyssey from one end of the country to California searching for a way of living after having been kicked off their farm. They travel and try to make it as a family but on each part of the trip one family member seems to wander off, die, o r just lose hope. This is the pinnacle example of the working class struggle as it is seen through the Joads family (Hicks 22).Steinbeck does not only limit his example of struggle for the family through economic upheaval but also natural disasters†66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from floods that bring no richness to the lnad and steal what little richness is there.† (p. 150). The family survives a great flood as well as fire, which only heightens the sense to the reader of how very desperate the family is in their current situation. The outcry of this family is only seen more clearly as in the novel, or along the journey of the Joads’s, the reader is also introduce to a population of characters who are faced with the same struggles, crimes, and poverty (Pizer 85). This was the testament to economic depravity which are thematic through Steinbeck’s novels â€Å"So you’re lookin’ for work. What ya think ever’body else is lookin’ for? Di’monds? What you think I wore my ass down to a nub lookin’ for?† (p. 312). The fact that the reader is not only given a single story of poverty through the characters but the characters introduce the reader to a population ranging into the thousands of people who are in the same situation emphasize Steinbeck’s expression of the working poor.It is in the disparity of the poor that Steinbeck rests his theme of the book The Grapes of Wrath. The struggle of the Joads is meant to convey a story of everyman, as in Greek plays, in which the main character is easily identified with the audience. The point of issuing in a variance of characters is so that Steinbeck may introduce those who succumb to the struggle, those who walk off during the flood and are not found again, those who stay behind with shotguns on their porch es ready to kill the bank man or themselves, and the Joads are a complete representation of the entire state of the poor. As a family, the Joads realize that they must depend on their neighbors to some degree, on the kindness and directions of strangers. One very striking moment in the novel is when the Joads witness the site of the homeless people spread across the countryside, in makeshift tents, in cars, in their blankets and the police brutality executed on them, for simply being poor, and without land as Steinbeck writes,There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trucks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificates — died of malnutrition — because the food must rot, must be forced to rot (3 48-9).This is the contradiction of the novel, or of the economic situation; the fact that most of the families had land, but that land was confiscated by the bank or the government despite generations having owned and lived on it, so the government forces them off their property and thus begins the great migration west to find a better life, only there are too many people searching for the same thing and the surplus is daunting and the government’s inability to realize the cause and effect nature of their actions leads to this type of economic stress. This example is not only in accordance to Steinbeck’s writing of the novel but may also serve as a social commentary for today with homelessness, the working poor, and welfare, as Cunningham writes,The conditions for agricultural laborers were as bad or worse as those for southern tenant farmers and sharecroppers. While there were small permanent workforces on California farms, the vast majority of the labor was needed at harvest time, and was performed by migrant laborers who followed the crops as they matured over a six-month harvest season. By the 1930s, the pay and working conditions had both been terrible for at least sixty years. Migrant workers had few possessions, lived in substandard company housing or in makeshift camps, and had to provide their own transportation — usually ancient â€Å"jalopies.† Their children had limited or no access to schools, and they had little healthcare, making malnutrition and preventable diseases common (2002).Steinbeck introduced his audience with the idea of cause and effect, and these notions are still in accordance to modernity.It is in the travels of the Joad’s that the reader is introduced to the situation in the country or foreclosures, outdated mortgages, repossessed property, in every stop that the Joads take on their travel out west on route 66, the reader is introduced to some situation of poverty. Steinbeck uses a cunning exampl e of poverty and the working poor in a diner; a man is paying for his meal and two kids are eyeing pieces of candy; their eyes like gumdrops knowing that to possess the candy is an uncertainty and yet, they want it nonetheless.Due to the children’s own desire, and the desperation felt in the country by every working person for their fellow man, the lady behind the register grants the kid’s their wish, and gives the pieces of candy to the two children despite the fact that the man, the father is unable to pay for such a luxury. The woman says that it doesn’t matter. In the eyes of the two children, and their desire met in the form of candy, Steinbeck is relating, not the act of charity in the woman giving the kid’s their candy, but the act was one of hope, and of slight desperation. If the children of the country are suffering in the simplest form of not having candy, then the country is indeed doomed. However, if children may still enjoy life, still recei ve candy then there is hope. This tiny pit stop Steinbeck takes in the novel is a way station of hope for the reader, the children, the father, the waitress who gave the candy to the kids in the first place.The entire country in Steinbeck’s novel Grapes of Wrath seems to be homeless, or else living on communal government property, or else simply traveling with their families in constant movement in order to find a home. The economy is a character of its own in Steinbeck’s novels. He created a sense of urgency, or failure as well as hope through his stories â€Å"Goin’ away ain’t gona ease us. It’s gonna bear us down.They was the time when we was on the lan’. They was a boundary to us then. Ol’ folks dies off, an’ little fellas come, an’ we was one thing – we was the fambly – kinda whole and clear. An’ we ain’t clear no more.† (p. 500). It was through this recognition with the characterà ¢â‚¬â„¢s of the reader that a sense of social struggle became a historical marker. It is important that Steinbeck wrote about the struggle of the working class, because otherwise, the cause and effect of job loss to homelessness would have been an equation with no solution, no connection, as Cunningham writes in critique of The Grapes of Wrath,The critique encourages the middle-class reader to move beyond sympathy for those more exploited and to a solidarity based on experiences within the same system. The reader is encouraged to care about the Joads and is simultaneously shown that, as society’s unit of economic survival, the family is inadequate, the product of an outmoded social order. The novel relies on the ideological notion of the self-contained family to win the reader’s concern for the Joads, and then argues for the necessity of communal, rather than familial, welfare (Cunningham 2002).With the reality and the story of the Joads’s as well as the facts o f Cannery Row that the reader may better recognize how the struggle of the working class is in direct correlation with the struggle of the entire country, and thus, the equation may be solved. Steinbeck’s emphasis on the working poor, and of the poverty level of the country can best be described as an attributing factor of the plight of the working poor and his recognition of it is surmised to the rest of the country for them to understand the issue of cause and effect.Although Steinbeck’s use of the everyman may be considered to be anachronistic in the form of outdated material of the Okie, and the farm worker, such relevant places in society are still struggling with the same economic and social issues. This testament of the prevalence of such issues relates back to the importance of Steinbeck having written Cannery Row and Grapes of Wrath since both novels portend to the same issues in today’s society. The clever nature of the write alludes to the fact of tim elessness, despite the fact that in this case the timeless issue is that of poverty, the relevance is that the same issues that drove the Joads and most middle America west are still in the same crisis. Steinbeck’s novels Essay Thank you for reading this Sample!