1. Click here to read a short essay on Steinbeck. Write a thesis statement that encapsulates the author's thesis statement. Yup, a thesis analyzing a thesis. (15 minutes)
2. Click here to build some context. In bullet form, submit 5 factoids that resonate after reading. Defend your selections. (12 minutes)
3. Visit the Poetry Foundation and browse the poems, searching strategically for a poem to pair with The Grapes of Wrath. If you prefer another message of searching, feel free to employ it. Avoid Googling "poem to pair with Grapes of Wrath;" any duplicates will not be considered for the grand prize (see below). Perhaps the poem may parallel the qualities of a character or contain Steinbeckian images of the Midwest. Compose a point-dense essay- yes, an essay- arguing the case for your poem as a parallel to the text. I will select the best pairing to use as an upcoming assessment and the winning essay writer will be exempt, receiving an automatic A. Be sure to post the poem with your essay. (50-60 minutes)
22 comments:
Joe Maia ... DNF
Thesis
Balancing between an external landscape and an internal landscape (soul and mind) John Steinbeck incorporates an insightful characterization, ebullient imagery, and a compelling climax to vividly encapsulate the audience into reading his novels from start to finish.
5 Factoids
• “I don’t want it to go so fast for fear the tempo will be fast and this is a plodding, crawling book.” I thought this was interesting because what author does not want his book to sell well and rapidly. I wouldn’t think that it would ruin the tempo of the book
• “By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list.” I think this is interesting because after only 2 weeks it is on the best seller list. This means that Steinbeck is a compelling author.
• “Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge.” This is phenomenal because it proves that Steinbeck always tries to incorporate imagery throughout his novels.
• “It is a psychological trick if you wish but all techniques of writing are psychological tricks.” I thought this was interesting because I never thought of authors using psychological tricks to get the audience to be more compelled to the novel.
• “The San Francisco Chronicle, on April 16, 1939, listed Grapes as the number one best seller (two days after publication).” I thought this was interesting because two days after publication it is number one on best seller. That is unheard of. I’ve never heard or seen a book do that well so quickly.
Paralleling between “The Grapes of Wrath” and the “Cement Plant” both John Steinbeck, and Joshua Mehigan utilize ebullient imagery, insightful characterization, and a grim tone to illustrate the similarities between the plant in the “Cement Plant,” and the family in the “Grapes of Wrath.”
1) Detailing the timeless nature of Steinbeck, Susan Shillinglaw uses his earthen imagery, relatable characterization, and unique tone to put forth that "John Steinbeck brings together the human heart, and the land."
2) a)Written in 100 days- I thought it was important because it was inspired.
b)top bestseller in 1939- I thought it was important because it meant that it made a huge splash in the literary world.
c)was banned- I thought this was important because anything that is important socially is controversial.
d) won pulitzer prize- I thought it was important because that means it was the best book of the year.
e) translated to 43 languages- I thought it was important because it meant that the novel was important all over the world and not just in the US.
3) THE FARMERS TOIL by LI SHEN
"At noon, farmers are weeding under the scorching sun"
Their sweat dripping down onto the ground.
Each and every grain of rice in your bowl
is the fruit of the toiling farmers."
The poem "The Farmers Toil", by Li Shen parallels John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" through their agricultural imagery, their detailing of the farmer's plight, and their use of admirable characterization, to give the reader a better understanding of the hardsips of farm life, for everything we have is "the fruit of the toiling farmers."
Joe Maia
Thesis
Balancing between an external landscape and an internal landscape (soul and mind) John Steinbeck incorporates an insightful characterization, ebullient imagery, and a compelling climax to vividly encapsulate the audience into reading his novels from start to finish.
5 Factoids
• “I don’t want it to go so fast for fear the tempo will be fast and this is a plodding, crawling book.” I thought this was interesting because what author does not want his book to sell well and rapidly. I wouldn’t think that it would ruin the tempo of the book
• “By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list.” I think this is interesting because after only 2 weeks it is on the best seller list. This means that Steinbeck is a compelling author.
• “Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge.” This is phenomenal because it proves that Steinbeck always tries to incorporate imagery throughout his novels.
• “It is a psychological trick if you wish but all techniques of writing are psychological tricks.” I thought this was interesting because I never thought of authors using psychological tricks to get the audience to be more compelled to the novel.
• “The San Francisco Chronicle, on April 16, 1939, listed Grapes as the number one best seller (two days after publication).” I thought this was interesting because two days after publication it is number one on best seller. That is unheard of. I’ve never heard or seen a book do that well so quickly.
Paralleling between “The Grapes of Wrath” and the “Cement Plant” both John Steinbeck, and Joshua Mehigan utilize ebullient imagery, insightful characterization, and a grim tone to illustrate the similarities between the plant in the “Cement Plant,” and the family in the “Grapes of Wrath.”
Nicholas Cardone
10/17/12
Wednesday COW Work
English III
1) The author of the essay, “Why Read Steinbeck” points out that the reasons that Steinbeck is so famous is because he uses the imagery of the beautiful landscapes of America and the bold hearts of the people who live within them to drive his novels into the reader’s hearts. In the early 1900’s, economic failure and the looming potency of the industrial giants of the time made honoring nature a rather popular subject. Thus, Steinbeck’s analyses of nature and humanity became very famous.
2) Steinbeck loved to make his books slow and very engaging, practically forcing the reader to live with the Joads or George and Lennie whilst reading his novels, and thus allowing you to soak into the delicious and dusty landscapes spread before you, like delicious pistachio candy with a powdered sugar topping. Albeit, the pistachio candy is the suffering of humanity and the earth, and the powdered sugar topping is literary genius. His books were so popular, that they have been translated into 40 languages, burned and banned several times, and have sold millions of copies.
3) The poem, ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’, nearly perfectly integrates with ‘The Grapes of Wrath’, as it details the oppression of Americans under the British, just as the Joads suffer under the heel of the banks.
Within the poem, the divinity of America is often discussed, as in the book, in which the Joads see all of the west.
Here, is the poem:
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
Thesis:
Showing how Steinbeck’s novels have affected everybody, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw utilizes a persuasive tone, barren imagery and a relatable characterization to show how “John Steinbeck brings together the human heart and the land”.
Part 2:
• “It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted. Slow, but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges.” (June 10, 1938) This is an important fact because this is what the author wants people to come out with when they read one of Steinbeck’s novels.
• By May 6, two weeks after the publication, it was at the top of the best selling list. This shows that his book became a top selling novel and so many people read it.
• In the 1990s, The Grapes of Wrath sold 150,000-200,000 copies in the US annually. People were touched by The Grapes of Wrath and told other people to read it.
• By the Kansas City Board of Education (August 1939) from schools. Schools did not like the language even though it was real life.
• Gone with the Wind opened on December 15, 1939 and John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath opened on January 24, 1940. These books became so popular they decided to make them into a movie.
Essay:
Although Steinbeck and Josephine Miles both utilizes barren imagery, ambiguous characterization, and tense tone, Steinbeck shows how hard farm life can be and how hard people work while Miles shows what happens when there is a drought in the desert.
Sarah Goldberg
After studying John Steinbeck’s writing, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw utilizes a persuasive tone and a respective mood to convey the way he uses external and internal landscapes of people’s lives and how his writing is relatable today.
1.John Steinbeck’s novel was banned from various different places. It was banned because it “offended citizenry.”
2.The novel was burned on a curb by a public library. People found it offensive so they burned it to show how they felt about it.
3.It was quickly on the top of the best seller list. Even though it offended some people, a lot of people wanted to read this novel and it became a best seller in two weeks.
4.The novel was written in 100 work days. Steinbeck was very excited about the book and had to limit himself to six pages a day so he that he did not rush the plot. He was very interested in the topic of his writing.
5.There are many layers of the novel. Not everybody can find all of the layers depending on the type of person they are.
The Farmer by W.D. Ehrhart
Steinbeck and W.D. Ehrhart form parallel topics of farming on barren land while utilizing gloomy imagery and a dreary yet determined mood.
The authors of “The Farmer” and “The Grapes of Wrath” both use dismal imagery to describe the land that the farmers have to work with. In “The Farmer,” the author describes how “nothing is growing” and “everything needs to be done.”
1. Shifting from a description of the vibrant landscapes to the deep effects on the readers’ lives, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw utilizes differing imagery, multiple allusions, and subtle personification to investigate the ways that John Steinbeck’s works encapsulate the minds and hearts of all through any of his novels.
• John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath in 100 “working days.” I thought this was an interesting fact because the novel is over 600 pages long.
• This novel was banned in three places. I thought this was interesting because it is such a widely popular piece of American literature and does not seem offensive at all.
• This novel was burned on a sidewalk and on a curb. I thought this was interesting because it seems a little extreme to burn a book that you simply dislike.
• John Steinbeck was listed as the “State Chairman” of a political organization. I thought this was interesting because I did not think that this novel would provoke any drastic changes.
• This novel was translated into 43 different languages. I thought this was interesting because it shows that it is not just an important piece of American literature but around the world as well.
3. Shifting from a relaxed scene to a nervous worrying, both John Steinbeck and Sara Teasdale utilize a naturalistic imagery, a tense mood, and a similar duality in The Grapes of Wrath and “The Long Hill,” respectively, to convey the hardships that a person endures when on the move and on a “beaten track.”
The imagery used in both the novel and the poem exploit natural scenes to the reader and captures them into the world of the characters. Steinbeck uses a vast Midwestern setting while Teasdale uses a more grassy and hilly setting.
-Connor Lynch
Krista Woodworth
Studying John Steinbeck’s excerpt, “Why Read John Steinbeck”, Susan Shillinglaw shifts from the view of the human heart to one of the land by analyzing the distinct characterization, descriptive perspective, and desolate mood in Steinbeck’s work to ensure the reader has a better understanding that “John Steinbeck’s work brings together both these landscapes in extraordinary ways, ways that may deeply affect those of us living at the cusp of a new century”.
• “The new book is going well. Too fast. I’m having to hold it down. I don’t want it to go so fast for fear the tempo will be fast and this is a plodding, crawling book. So I’m holding it down to approximately six pages a day . . . Anyway it is a nice thing to be working and believing in my work again. I hope I can keep the drive all fall. I like it. I only feel whole and well when it is this way.” Steinbeck didn’t want to take things to fast, and he believed that the more he took the time on his writing, the better result he got.
• “Throughout I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness” This shows that Steinbeck wanted the reader to be engaged in what was going on in the book. He also shows that he wants the reader to have questions about what is going on, and he wants people to interpret what he is saying in different ways.
• “the words have a special meaning in this book. And I should like the music to be put there in case anyone, any one forgets.” Steinbeck uses descriptive words, and literary devices to keep the reader engaged in his reading, and to help the reader remember exactly what happened.
• “It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted. Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges” Steinbeck uses imagery to ensure that the reader is stuck with a detailed picture.
• “You say the inner chapters were counterpoint and so they were—that they were pace changers and they were that too but the basic purpose was to hit the reader below the belt. With the rhythms and symbols of poetry one can get into a reader—open him up and while he is open introduce—things on an intellectual level which he would not or could not receive unless he were opened up. It is a psychological trick if you wish but all techniques of writing are psychological tricks.”Steinbeck utilized literary devices such as rhyme and symbolism throughout most of his novels
Shifting from the importance of landscape and nature in Steinbeck’s novels to the emotional connections that are forged between the reader and the subject matter in “Why Read John Steinbeck”, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw employs naturalistic imagery, diverse allusion and a reverent tone to explain how Steinbeck’s work is still relevant to today’s society in multiple different ways.
• “By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list. Top best seller of 1939; it was in the top 10 bestsellers of 1940.” This shows how successful it was and how even back then people recognized how good it was.
• Banned “By the San Jose Public Library (June 1939) as “unfit for patrons””, and “By the Kansas City Board of Education (August 1939) from schools.” His subject matter was a controversial topic, and the way he presented the characters in his novel was unorthodox which seemed to scare some people off; even educated people that ran schools and libraries.
• “The Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization or the John Steinbeck Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization on Housing Health and Relief for Agricultural Workers in 1938 listed on their letterhead John Steinbeck as their “State Chairman.”” This Committee named Steinbeck as one of the leaders of their effort, which shows how much his work spoke to his state of mind and how respected he was amongst his peers.
• “The Grapes of Wrath received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, May 6, 1940.” The Pulitzer Prize is only awarded to the best of the best in literature and it exemplifies how Steinbeck’s work had deeper meanings to them than what they appeared like on the surface.
• Translated “Into 43 languages.” His novel was so well-liked and important that a lot of work went into the effort to ensure that people all over the world could read and analyze his work.
Shifting from the beauty of nature and landscape to the hard work, toils and perseverance of working people in both The Grapes of Wrath and “Endless Streams and Mountains”, John Steinbeck and Gary Snyder both utilize
Lauren MacGray
When shifting from the human heart to one of the land, John Steinbeck contrasts two different primal landscapes, external and interior to interest the reading by bringing them to life and personifying them in ways that make them similar to the human heart.
• “Throughout I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness. There are 5 layers in this book; a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.” This is saying that John Steinbeck puts a lot of work and effort into his writing and puts many different layers into it to try and get the reader to understand and have their own thoughts throughout.
• ““The new book is going well. Too fast. I’m having to hold it down. I don’t want it to go so fast for fear the tempo will be fast and this is a plodding, crawling book. So I’m holding it down to approximately six pages a day . . .” Here, John Steinbeck is saying that he doesn’t want his books to be too fast and run on so he puts time and effort into his work to makes his books perfect and just the way he wants them.
• ““It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted. Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges.””John Steinbeck likes to work slowly and make sure that the reader gets a visual image of the book throughout to comprehend more of the universal idea.
• “This is one of the great songs of the world, and as you read the book you will realize that the words have a special meaning in this book. And I should like the music to be put there in case anyone, any one forgets.” John Steinbeck likes to have symbolism behind everything he writes, he wants everything to have a meaning and doesn’t want anyone to forget anything he does. He puts music in there just to get people’s attention so they don’t forget.
• The San Francisco Chronicle, on April 16, 1939, listed Grapes as the number one best seller (two days after publication). The Grapes of Wrath was a very fast selling novel in 1939, it was the best seller. The fact that it was already the best seller two days after it was publicized is very interesting.
1.) Shifting from a secondary source to her own views, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw utilizes naturalistic imagery, subtle personification, and meaningful allusion to portray that Steinbeck has a lot to teach us all.
2.) Factoids: Throughout I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness. There are 5 layers in this book; a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.” This quote shows Steinbeck’s appreciation for the work and wants to share it with. “Into 43 languages” This factoid displays how diverse Steinbeck’s fan base is and how his work is enjoyed all over the world. By the Kern County Board of Supervisors from schools and libraries (August 1939) for being “filled with profanity, lewd, foul and obscene language unfit for use in American homes. Shows that Steinbeck was edgy and controversial especially for his time. By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list. Top best seller of 1939; it was in the top 10 bestsellers of 1940. This shows how important his work was that so many people bought it to experience it themselves. “It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted. Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges.” (June 10, 1938) This shows Steinbeck’s creative process and how he didn’t worry about length or rushing the story but on details and painting the best possible landscape for the reader plodding through the pages along with the Joads.
3.) Shifting between different descriptions of nature Steinbeck utilizes a deep narrative while Wyatt Townley utilizes immersive imagery however they both portray ones searching wither it be for an item or a place to call home. Wyatt Townley “Finding the Scarf”
Thesis:Shifting from an intense well thought out analysis to an admiration of John Steinbeck in the essay “Why Read John Steinbeck”, Susan Shillinglaw depicts inspiring compassion, a detailed perspective, and a comforting solace throughout all of John Steinbeck’s novels and how “He embraces the fullness of life.”
Facts
1) In the 1990s, The Grapes of Wrath sold 150,000-200,000 copies in the US annually.
People were so interested in the book “The Grapes of Wrath” that it sold so many copies in the U.S.
2) Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath, edited by Robert DeMott tells of the March-October, 1938 writing of Grapes, a book written in 100 “working days.”
It only took John Steinbeck and Robert DeMott 100 days to write and edit “The Grapes of Wrath”.
3) By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list.
Within only two weeks “The Grapes of Wrath” was on the top best sellers list!
4) John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath opened on January 24, 1940
The book was so good that they made a movie of it a year later.
5) ABA National Book Awards for 1939 honored Grapes as “The Booksellers’ Favorite Novel.”
People were so in love with “The Grapes of Wrath” that it got voted “The Booksellers’ Favorite Novel”.
Zack Sicard
Juniors Wednesday COW work
10/28/12
1) Shifting from passages of stark beauty of the natural world to the conquest of narratives in American literature, John Steinbeck utilizes essential dialogue, specific characterization, and ebullient imagery in order to “bring together the human heart and the land.”
2)
• 1938 writing of Grapes, a book written in 100 “working days.”
- This shows the authors concern to strongly emphasize that it took 100 “working days” meaning days that were completely dedicated towards composing deeply analytical writing.
• “The new book is going well. Too fast. I’m having to hold it down.”
- This resonated with me because it depicts Steinbeck’s concern to stick to the idea that this book is supposed to be a story with a slow tempo.
• “. . . Anyway it is a nice thing to be working and believing in my work again.”
- Steinbeck has a really good feeling writing this book because he’s writing about something that he believes in. This means a lot to the reader and is clearly noticeable throughout the writing.
• “There are 5 layers in this book; a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.”
- This is really neat to think about; knowing that there are some things in this book that you will never be able to understand.
• “It is a psychological trick if you wish but all techniques of writing are psychological tricks.”
- I agree with this statement because it is very easy to relate to this when analyzing Steinbeck’s story.
3) Paralleling one another “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Aubade” both John Steinbeck, and Andrew Joron utilize destructive symbolysm,
1) Thesis:
Shifting from discussing external landscapes to internal landscapes, the author, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw, in “Why Read John Steinbeck” uses environmental imagery, specific allusion, and naturalistic personification to convey Steinbeck’s idea that these landscapes may “deeply affect those of us living at the cusp of a new century”.
2) 5 Factoids:
a) “It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted. Slow but sure, piling detail on detail until a picture and an experience emerge. Until the whole throbbing thing emerges.” (June 10, 1938)
i) John Steinbeck uses an incredible amount of imagery and detail throughout this novel and it is all necessary to paint the big picture of the struggle of American migrants.
b) By the Associated Farmers (formed in 1934): “Although the Associated Farmers will not attempt to have the book banned or suppressed, we would not want our women and children to read so vulgar a book. This is a matter for consideration by public bodies. We deny the statements in the book, so consequently if we were to seek for a ban, our motive would be attacked. . . The only inference that can be obtained from Steinbeck’s book is that he is proposing exactly the same sort of overthrow of the present form of government and the substitution of collective agriculture as did Carey McWilliams in his Factories in the Fields. (August 1939)
i) The fact that this book was condemned by the Association of farmers shows that the farmers did not agree with Steinbecks ideas; they did not want their children and wives getting ideas that there is a better life outside of farming.
c) By the San Jose Public Library (June 1939) as “unfit for patrons” By the Kern County Board of Supervisors from schools and libraries (August 1939) for being “filled with profanity, lewd, foul and obscene language unfit for use in American homes . . . It has offended our citizenry by falsely implying that many of our fine people are a low, ignorant, profane and blasphemous type living in a vicious and filthy manner.”By the Kansas City Board of Education (August 1939) from schools.
i) The fact that the book was banned shows that the Kern County Board of Supervisors didn’t see the deeper meaning behind the rough depiction of western life.
d) By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list. Top best seller of 1939; it was in the top 10 bestsellers of 1940.
i) Although the novel was controversial it’s description of harsh farm life spiked peoples interests all over the country.
e) “Throughout I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness. There are 5 layers in this book; a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.”
i) Depending on the reader, they can take many things from this novel. They could just look at the surface or find one of the many deeper meanings.
3) Comparing the harsh life of the laborer and belonging Lew Welch and John Steinbeck, In The Grapes of Wrath and “Chicago Poem” use harsh imagery, naturalistic duality, and similar characterization, to convey the harshness of the Midwest and Chicago and the feeling of belonging somewhere else.
There was not enough space in the comment for the work assigned. I printed it out.
Erin Kennedy
Shifting from a well thought out analysis to a dedication of John Steinbeck’s works in “Why Read John Steinbeck,” Dr. Susan Shillinglaw utilizes deliberate characterization, meaningful comparison, and descriptive perspective to express Steinbeck’s relationship between the “heart and the land” in his writings.
Facts:
• By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list. Top best seller of 1939; it was in the top 10 bestsellers of 1940.
o “The Grapes of Wrath” was such a wanted book for readers that within just 2 weeks of publication, the novel topped the best seller list and was marked as one of the best for the 1940’s.
• “The Grapes of Wrath received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, May 6, 1940.”
o The novel received such high liking rates that it received the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, May 6, 1940.
• “The Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization, or the John Steinbeck Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization on Housing Health and Relief for Agricultural Workers in 1938 listed on their letterhead John Steinbeck as their “State Chairman.””
o Steinbeck’s love for nature and the external landscape provoked political change that encouraged The Committee to Aid Agricultural Organization to make a difference. They pronounced him “State Chairman” for being their inspiration and leader.
• “In the 1990s, The Grapes of Wrath sold 150,000-200,000 copies in the US annually.”
o Receiving high ratings and top seller rankings, “The Grapes of Wrath” was able to sell hundreds of thousands of books annually in the U.S.
• “By the Kern County Board of Supervisors from schools and libraries (August 1939) for being “filled with profanity, lewd, foul and obscene language unfit for use in American homes . . . It has offended our citizenry by falsely implying that many of our fine people are a low, ignorant, profane and blasphemous type living in a vicious and filthy manner.””
o For its low and intolerable perspective of the farm life, the Kern County Board of Supervisors banned the novel and decided it unreadable to students.
The Professor
The Professor
By Joshua Mehigan b. 1969 Joshua Mehigan
I get there early and I find a chair.
I squeeze my plastic cup of wine. I nod.
I maladroitly eat a pretzel rod
and second an opinion I don’t share.
I think: whatever else I am, I’m there.
Afterwards, I escape across the quad
into fresh air, alone again, thank god.
Nobody cares. They’re quite right not to care.
I can’t go home. Even my family
is thoroughly contemptuous of me.
I look bad. I’m exactly how I look.
These days I never read, but no one does,
and, anyhow, I proved how smart I was.
Everything I know is from a book.
Comparing Joshua Mehigan’s Professor to John Steinbeck’s Preacher, the authors utilize descriptive characterization and ebullient imagery to portray the lives and the daily routines of the Professor and the Preacher.
Using characterization to compare the Professor and the Preacher provides like characteristics of their lives. The Professor is one who everything he knows “is from a book.” This relates to the Preacher in the way that the guide of a preacher is his bible. The Preacher is one of purity and substance; however, Steinbeck’s Preacher is one who’s “sperit” is lost and liquor is now his drink. Mehigan’s Professor attends his classes and preaches to his students with a “plastic cup of wine” in his hands.
Taylor Silver
Thesis
Shifting from an external landscape to an internal landscape comparing them to one's mind and soul, Steinbeck utilizes a comprehensive structure, a countryside imagery, and solace characterization to allow each and every reader to thoroughly interpret the deeper meaning of his novels.
Five Facts:
•"By the Kern County Board of Supervisors from schools and libraries (August 1939) for being “filled with profanity, lewd, foul and obscene language unfit for use in American homes"
-the novel was banned from schools and libraries because it was not appropriate enough at the time.
•"By May 6, two weeks after publication, it was at the top of the best seller list. Top best seller of 1939; it was in the top 10 bestsellers of 1940."
-"The Grapes Of Wrath" was ranked high for almost two years after being published and it only took two weeks for it to become popular.
•"Gone with the Wind opened on December 15, 1939 and John Ford’s The Grapes of Wrath opened on January 24, 1940"
-The hype of the book, "The Grape Of Wrath", made it so popular the book became a movie in 1940.
•"By the Associated Farmers (formed in 1934): “Although the Associated Farmers will not attempt to have the book banned or suppressed, we would not want our women and children to read so vulgar a book."
-The Associated Farmers would not have the books condemned but, they did not agree with allowing the public to read it.
•"Viking had never had sales approaching this rate; books shipped from Viking in first month."
-The "Viking" had never seen a novel become popular in such a short amount of time.
Taylor Silver
3. Exploring the countryside surroundings from both Steinbeck in, "The Grapes of Wrath", and Michael Walsh in, "Barn clothes", each author conveys rustic imagery, an understanding structure, and similar relationships to show that no matter where you're from it is hard to get away from it.
1)Depicting Steinbeck’s use of compassion, tolerance, and humanity, Dr. Susan Shillinglaw illustrates Steinbeck’s emphasis on the fullness of life to convey his connections with landscape through place, spirit, and nation.
2)–translated into 43 languages
–top best seller of 1939, top 10 best seller of 1940
–wrote approximately six pages per day
–banned by San Jose Public Library as “unfit for patrons”
–film The Grapes of Wrath opened January 24, 1940
3)Although “The Grapes of Wrath” and “The Farmer” utilize different tones, both Steinbeck and Ehrhart reveal prominent imagery and local color to convey the idea that no matter how hard you work, still “everything needs to be done”.
Steinbeck depicts the journey of the Joad family going to California in order to find work. The trek proves to be difficult, as both Grampa and Granma Joad die during the journey leading into their arrival in California. It is exceptionally challenging to find work there, however, and the family suffers from hunger due to little pay. Steinbeck utilizes local color to illuminate the conditions of Route 66 as the family travels to California, revealing the intense amount of people also trying to reach California and how difficult it will be to get there.
Ehrhart illustrates the difficult life of a dedicated farmer. The farmer each day tends to his farm yet he isn’t achieving the results he wants. He laments, “Each day I go into the fields to see what is growing and what remains to be done. It is always the same thing: nothing is growing, everything needs to be done”. The local color within the poem reveals the conditions of the farm and conveys the hard work that the farm puts in day after day, but he justifies his actions, saying “a farmer of dreams knows what it means to be patient. Each day I go into the fields”.
Both Steinbeck and Ehrhart depict the life of a hard working person or family faced with hardships. They utilize intense local color and imagery to expose the difficulty of their lives and reveal the idea that although they are working extremely hard and trying to follow their dreams, there will always be things that need to be done.
The Farmer
By W.D. Ehrhart
Each day I go into the fields
to see what is growing
and what remains to be done.
It is always the same thing: nothing
is growing, everything needs to be done.
Plow, harrow, disc, water, pray
till my bones ache and hands rub
blood-raw with honest labor—
all that grows is the slow
intransigent intensity of need.
I have sown my seed on soil
guaranteed by poverty to fail.
But I don’t complain—except
to passersby who ask me why
I work such barren earth.
They would not understand me
if I stooped to lift a rock
and hold it like a child, or laughed,
or told them it is their poverty
I labor to relieve. For them,
I complain. A farmer of dreams
knows how to pretend. A farmer of dreams
knows what it means to be patient.
Each day I go into the fields.
MIKE TRAVERS
Differentiating between two different landscapes John Steinbeck utilizes parallel characterization, an intense plot , vivid imagery and relatable situations to compel readers to purchase his literature and in turn bring him to the top of the best seller lists.
1.) the book was finished in "100 working days" this is interesting because the book seems to drag on and is hard to believe someone took 100 working days to complete a 600 page book that is so long and packed with interesting plots.
2.) Steinbeck felt as if he was writing the book too fast he felt as if the book was long and drawn out so writing it should be a long drawn out, time consuming process.
3.) “It must be far and away the best thing I have ever attempted." this is extremely interesting because it shows the very high expectations that John Steinbeck had for this book he knew that this was going to have to be the greatest thing he has ever attempted and it would indeed end up being one of his finest books
4.) "There are 5 layers in this book; a reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.” I find this quote extremely interesting because Steinbeck wrote this book knowing that if the reader does not have it in themselves then they will not understand the true meaning of his novel
5.) The book was banned from numerous establishments i find this very interesting because it showed how the constitution was violated Steinbeck was expressing his simple right of freedom of speech
The Farmer
by: Watie W. Swanzy
The sturdy farmer awakes at morn
His laggard boys with a blast from the horn,
That aroused them from their late morning nap
Like a loud Olympian thunder-clap.
He looked on life as the time to achieve,
And so he taught his two sons to believe
That practical knowledge is better far
In the battle of life as well as in war.
"To the ploughs, to the ploughs! No lagging now!"
Oh, well do they know the frown on his brow;
"For," he cried, "the sun is already up,
Has drunk the fresh dew from the flower-cup."
The boys turn them out, passing down the stair,
Both carelessly smoothing their rumpled hair.
Straight to the trough by the well do they go,
No daintier bath did they ever know.
One lowered the bucket deftly adown
The mossy well, then raised it dripping and brown,
Where, perched on the curb, each one took a quaff;
Then pouring its contents into the trough.
They lave their ruddy brows, their hands, their feet,
Breathing the perfume of morning so sweet,
When, the curling locks of youth flinging back,
Seek quickly the kitchen towel-rack.
The mother looks up with pride in her eye
As their brave young forms pass hastily by
With a nod and smile and innocent jest,
Called forth by a wish her love to test;
But before their frugal meal they partook,
The farmer would read from the Holy Book;
And kneeling upon the white sanded floor,
The sun streaming in through the open door,
With his faithful wife's hand within his own,
He thanked the good Lord for rich blessings shown,
And prayed in his bluff but honest way
That he would kindly keep them through the day,
And teach them while ploughing and sowing the seed,
Not to forget that their own hearts might need
A similar breaking of fallow ground,
That seeds of truth might spring up and abound.
Just as soon as their simple meal was done,
To the barn proceeded father and son;
While they bid the youngest one of the three
Bring the water-jug from under the tree.
Then each vaulted upon his steed's broad back;
And with the loose harness' clatter and clack,
Wearing wide-brimmed hats their brows to shield
From the sun's hot rays, they start afield.
Out through the broad gate, left standing ajar,
And over the hill-top swept from afar
By the south-blowing breeze, that brings again
Blossoms of spring and the wood-birds sweet strain.
Shifting from a routine day in the life of a farmer to the monotonous rigors of the everyday life of the farmer Watie W. Swanzy utilizes intense imagery ,a curious rhyme scheme and effective repetition of the monotonous daily routine of farming to convey the tough challenging life of farmers much like the Joads in Steinbecks the Grapes of Wrath.
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