In the novel The Grapes of Wrath the tone is set early on when the Joads, a migrant family is forced to move out of their home. As one can imagine this will be depressing and a struggle for the family. When all of the main characters are introduced, we have a typical family with a few exceptions. Tom Joad, Ma Joad, Rose of Sharon and Pa Joad are the migrant family but early on in the novel Tom meets an ex-preacher who he becomes friends with. The group’s journey is like a rollercoaster with very little ups but many downs.
We first met him when he was deciding that he didn’t want to be a preacher anymore. He was sleeping with women from church, didn’t believe in what he was preaching and he believed that the holy sprit is found split up equally between the people. J.C., these initials demonstrate power and the strength of an individual. Throughout the novel Jim Casy is the leading figure that reflects Jesus Christ. In the novel we see the Dust Bowl in the perspective of a migrant family. Steinbeck describes a time of unfair poverty, unity, and the human spirit. Early in the novel we meet Jim Casy, "A man sat on the ground, leaning against the trunk of the tree. His legs were crossed and one barefoot extended nearly as high as his head." At this point of the book we meet a calm relaxed ex-preacher. Shown through different forms Jim Casy is seen as Jesus Christ.
When Ma Joad is introduced in the novel, she jumps right out as one with high sprits. She is one to think about others before she thinks about herself. In the middle of the book when the Joads are traveling to California Grandma dies and without question Ma takes matters into her own hands and doesn’t tell anyone so that they can make it through the checkpoint with the excuse that grandma was very sick and they needed to get her to the hospital soon.
A setting of poverty is a constant through out the whole book. Steinbeck makes it more obvious when family members and friends start dying. The novel starts out with two men driving in a old run down truck and one of the men is hitch-hiking, this means that the man was too poor to have is own car or pay for his own ride and this event sets the tone for the entire novel with it just getting worse and worse. Once the family leaves to head to California the setting starts to get bad, we read about the car salesmen who rip people off, we read about the gas station owner and how the Joads are trying to get gas from him for free and we hear about grandma and grandpa dying. The setting was never exciting of pretty; it would either be ugly (hoovervilles) or gross (the crops being sprayed with poison).
In conclusion, the characters grew closer progressing through the novel, yet the setting grew more depressing. This goes to show that the tone set, was not done by accident, but to prove a point, that nothing went well during this time, and i how shitty life can get.
