Literary Lens
What literary lens is this quote and why?
"The people in flight from the terror behind--strange things happened to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever."
Biblical, it evokes spiritual testing and renewing of faith.
What is Route 66?
This road is described as "the mother road", symbolizing both hope and hardship.
What are the inter chapters?
The narrator shifts away from the Joad' story in these chapters to describe the collective migrant experience
What literary lens is this quote?
"Watch the valve caps. Steal them if you can."
Marxist lens, it reflects how economic hardship drives people to desperation
What is the family car?
This broken-down item represents the struggle to keep moving forward despite constant setbacks.
What is the critical tone describing?
The owners and their fear of rebellion
What literary lens is this?
"Behind the fruitfulness of the earth, the men behind the plows were silent, watching the tractor go by."
Naturalism, it emphasizes humans powerlessness against impersonal economic and environmental forces.
Who is Grampa Joad?
This characters death shortly after leaving home symbolizes the deep connection between identity and land.
The narrator compares tractors to insects, revealing this attitude toward industrialization
What literary lens is this?
"The quality of owning freezes you forever into 'I', and cuts you off forever from the 'we'"
Marxist lens, it criticizes individualism and private ownership, suggesting true power lies in collective identity.
What is the tractor?
This symbolizes industrialization destroying the rural lifestyle
What is simplicity or realism?
The use of repetition and plain diction reflects the quality of the narrator's voice, connecting the reader to the working class.
"The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one. And from this first 'we' there grows a still more dangerous thing: the movement."
Marxist lens, it emphasizes the power of worker unity and the threat that solidarity poses to capitalist control.
What is the theme of unity vs. isolation?
This repeated contrast between "I" and "we" symbolizes the conflict between individualism and collective power.
What is a Marxist perspective?
The narrators comment on property being "taken away" reflect this perspective on social inequality