The ending of The Grapes of Wrath is not one that ties up any loose ends or makes you feel like everything will end well for the Joad family. In the end the camp that has been very reliable for them throughout the cotton picking season fails them when the water gets too high and floods the box cars. I think Steinbeck puts this at the end of the book to show that the Joads will continue to face these problems in the future. Although you know there will be problems you can also tell that mostly because of Ma, they will get through them and keep going. Throughout all the probles thus far Ma has been the one to take control and make the decision that is besrt for the family as a whole. Because of this, the reader can assume that even though the family will face these terrible problems like the ones they have already encountered, they will be able to get through them and move forward with whatever is left of their life.
I think that today's society can learn a lot about the life of the lower class from this novel. The Joad family was full of hard workers and when they moved to California they assumed that because they were so willing to work, getting a job and keeping it wouln't be a problem. Although they had these qualities the Joad's couldn't get a job when they arrived due to the amount of other people just like them who were doing the same thing. Throughout the novel you see their situation worsen until the end when they have no money and have reached the winter, the time of the year when there will be little to no jobs. I think that this situation should never happen to people like the Joads and government programs should be in place to a least help people living like this find a job. These people started out as a normal family and because of the bad economy, were forced into the situation they ended up in. With today's economic situation, this many families who are doing okay today could end up in the same situation as the Joads. By remembering this family, we realize that we don't want this to happen again.
I definitely agree that there was a lot of loose ends, this however can be a good thing because you can assume that Tom went on to do great things and the Joads finally find a home. I also think it was huge that Ma was in charge as she is a woman in a time where they normally just sit back and take care of the family. I agree that the Joads did not deserve this kind of hardships as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the ending of this book did not tie up any loose ends but it does leave you with sense that whatever else the Joad family has to go through they will face each challenge and survive as a family. Our society can also learn a lot from this book, I like the fact that it is still relevant to our time period. There are a lot of good themes in this book that we can use in our life with our economic situations and a lot of people living in poverty. Overall I thought it was a very good book.
ReplyDeleteI think the Joads will keep doing what they did to survive as well. I don't think they will become successful anytime soon but they definitely do not lack the streets smarts to get by.
ReplyDeleteI think after the incident with the boxcars and within the barn it can be considered the calm after the storm... i think this is one last event that will keep the Joad family together, and they will make it to a steady home front and find good jobs to live their American dream. While the Joad's may not have deserved the type of hardships they had to encounter, at least they could handle them as a family, and get through them. They set a good example for Americans today who rely too much on technology and other such amenities that we don't know what they hardships entailed for those who survived through the great depression.
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