Journal #2

A long time ago, when animals had not been tainted by humans and ran rampant, there were a bear and a rabbit that were enemies. The bear and the rabbit had never gotten along, for the bear had eaten the rabbit's whole family. The rabbit was very scared of the bear, but at the same time, he was very angry at the fate of his family. One day, the bear needed somewhere to go, because humans had come and had driven him away from his home. The bear was afraid of humans, because humans had done to the bear what the bear had done to the rabbit. The bear quickly ran away, with the fear that the humans would follow and hunt him. The humans followed for a short time, but the bear soon had lost them. The bear had nowhere to go, because he knew if he went back to his house, the humans would be there waiting for him and would capture him like they had the rest of his family. The bear went to many people to try to find a place to stay, but since many of the animals were scared of him and his reputation of eating animals, many of the animals would not even answer his knock on their door. The bear finally made it to the rabbit's house. The bear was very slow to get there, because he had eaten the rabbit's family. The bear felt bad about it, but he knew that he had nowhere else to turn to. The rabbit answered his door, and when the bear very repentantly asked to stay with the rabbit, the rabbit immediately wanted to say no. He thought back to his family, and while he was thinking, he recalled his mother saying that he should always help others if he could, for that is what made a rabbit good. The rabbit consented and let the bear in. The bear almost did not fit, but the bear and the rabbit worked together to widen and deepen the rabbit's hole. They both eventually made it into the house, and they lived happily ever after in harmony as friends.

Journal #1

Native American Culture is very complex and complicated to understand. I do not comprehend very much of it at all, but what I do know is that they have many different ways that they believe that they are connected with animals. They have many different theories about how the world was formed, but they all involve nature, the sun and moon, or animals of some sort. They love storytelling, and they orally passed on their stories through many generations. They thought it was easier to remember them if they were passed on orally, so they had to tell the stories to each generation and make sure they had memorized them. They did this for hundreds and hundreds of years, because was they only way that they knew of that let them pass down their beliefs and culture for so long. They believed that one should only take what one needs from the earth, and to not kill or take from the planet any excess. They also thought that once one took something from the earth, they should use all of it and not waste anything. They used everything that they took, by making utensils from the bones, tents or clothing from the skins, and fires from the fat. Many of the Native Americans were nomadic, and they moved from place to place to follow the animals or to find grains and plants for food during the different seasons. They were a simple people, and while they played games and told many stories, they also worked incredibly hard for what they got. They were very giving, because they understood that when a person lends a hand to another person, they often will have that help returned when they need it. They were also trusting, because many of them had not met people that would play tricks on the Native Americans to get what they wanted. They were used to people that just asked for what they needed. The Native Americans were a very kind, trusting people, with a culture that is very complex and remains a mystery to many people to this day.

Symbolism Journal

There was quite a bit of symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath. Each character symbolized the rest of the world that was in the same situation as them. Ma and Pa were the parents around the United States, Rose of Sharon symbolized the young mothers everyone, and Ruthie and Winfield were the children. It symbolized what happens to people when they do not work together to do good for the world. It showed the chaos the ensued and the pandemonium that happened. The Grapes of Wrath had many symbols, and while some were not obvious, others were.

Gains of Conflict in "The Catcher in the Rye"

Once the conflict in The Catcher in the Rye had begun, it just kept on building and growing until it had almost become unbearable. In the book, conflict was gained in many different ways. Once Holden had started the ball rolling, it started more and more conflict to arise through many people and situations. Once Holden had left Pencey Prep boarding school, conflict was gained by just about everything that he did. Conflict was gained when he boarded the bus, because he could have easily been caught. The conflict grew even more when he interest the hotel, and when he left for the bar. There was much conflict as he was leaving the bar, because he was drunk and he started doing dumb things, such as calling Sally Hayes in the middle of the night. Since a lot of conflict had begun on Holden and Sally's date, there had to be a lot of conflict gained as well. Conflict was gained when they started to argue with each other about little things that did not really matter at all. They yelled and screamed, and even more conflict was gained when Holden told Sally that she was a real pain in his rear end. She got incredibly upset, and even started crying. Conflict had also been started when Holden had decided to leave New York, and also when he told Phoebe of his plans to hitchhike away. Conflict was gained when Phoebe decided that she would go with Holden. Holden did not take well to this idea, and he refused to let her even think about it. He said she needed to stay home with their family, but she would not let him leave without her. She had been crying, so to appease her, he declared that he would not leave New York and their family. There was much conflict in The Catcher in the Rye, and all of the starts and gains of the conflict centered around Holden Caulfield.

My Opinion on "The Old Man and the Sea"

The Old Man and the Sea is a very different book than both The Grapes of Wrath and The Catcher in the Rye. The Old Man and the Sea was a much shorter book, and I also enjoyed it a lot more than the other two. It made a lot of sense to me, and I really liked the lessons that could be learnt from it, such as patience, bravery, and heroism. The heroism was phenomenal in the book, and it made me wish that more people were like the Old Man. I thought it was very interesting how the Old Man knew all about the ocean, its patterns, the fish that swim in it, where those fish would be, the fishes' patterns, and weather patterns. He knew exactly what was going to happen, and the only thing that he could not know is whether or not the fish would bite his bait that day. He was a good man through conflict and trouble, and many people loved the Old Man because of how kind and gentle he was, no matter what happened to him. I did not like that the people in the story did not always like the Old Man, because he was obviously always nice and kind to them all, and he had never done anything against them. It made sense to me that they had not for a while, though, because if they had always liked him, then the lesson of perservering would not be so deeply ingrained into the story. It also made me upset that the Old Man could not bring the live fish in, because it only seemed fair that after he had done so much he would have been somehow rewarded. The Old Man was an incredible character, and I loved learning so much about him while I was reading the book. The Old Man and the Sea was a very good book that I really enjoyed reading, even if I did not like everything in it.

My Opinion on "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath was not a book that I enjoyed very much. I found it boring. I also thought it was odd that only half of the chapters were about the Joads, and that the other half were about other things. While the other chapters did tie in to the story, it would have made more sense to just explain what had happened to the Joads, and not the rest of America. The chapter about the turtle in the beginning threw me for a loop, because I was expecting the whole book to be about one family, like all of the rest of the books I have ever read. I also think that the characters should have all been developed equally, because some were developed more than others. The people that I was the most curious about were the ones that were not as developed. I would have liked to see their whole personality, not just how they act in one situation. It would have been more interesting to see Rose of Sharon while she was happy at one point instead of just always being upset. I also would have liked to know more about Ruthie and Winfield. There was not very much about them, because they always ran away. It seems like the author wanted to keep them away during the book because he did not want to have to explain them or write much about them. In my opinion, if the author did not want to include Ruthie and Winfield very much, then it may have just been easier to exclude them from the book. I did kind of enjoy The Grapes of Wrath, though. It showed how life was during the Great Depression and explained what the farmers and their families had to go through. It was also nice to see the individual struggles of everyone in the family. While The Grapes of Wrath was a decent book, I did not really enjoy it and I thought the ending was not satisfying at all.

My Opinion on "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye is not an incredibly long book, but it gets its message across just as well as a book that is twice its length. I thought the book was pretty good, and it was not something that I minded reading. The Catcher in the Rye did not have an obvious message, and it took me some time to try to dig deep and figure it out. It was a message that one must interpret, and it can be interpreted in many different ways. I took it as saying that people should stay in school and work hard to keep their grades up so they will do well later in life. The characters in the book were kind of flat, because there was not much explained about them. There was no information into their pasts, and one did not get to see many sides of their character. When one saw a character, one only saw a portion of how they act and how they react to different situations. The setting was also very different than most of the other stories that I am used to reading. I am not used to reding stories about boarding schools, and it would have been more interesting to me to read more about them. I also would have liked to know more about what the people liked to do then and how they lived. It would have been fun to read about New York back then and to find out if it was the bustling city that it is now. It was interesting to find out what a teenage boy thought about in those times, and it was funny to read about Sally. Sally was funny to me because she showed that people have been like that since the beginning of time and they will never stop being like that. The Catcher in the Rye was overall a decent book, but it did not go very deep into the character and the ending was very abrupt.

Losses of Conflict in "The Catcher in the Rye"

There was a lot of conflict in The Catcher in the Rye, and the majority of it came from Holden Caulfield. There was no conflict that Holden stumbled upon and had happen to him. Holden brought it all upon himself. Eventually all of the major conflict was resolved, but it took a lot of time and effort. Holden had a lot of conflict when he left Pencey Prep boarding school, but at the end of the book, he decides to go home, so everything is fixed on that account. There was conflict about Holden failing four of his five classes, but one can only assume that he was sent to a different school and gets a fresh start. There was conflict between Sally Hayes and Holden, and while the conflict was not resolved while they were together, it is resolved before the book is over. Holden called Sally and she answered and talked to him and they were friends again. There was conflict when Holden snuck into his house while his parents were not there, because they came home and could have found him. The problem was solved when Phoebe covered for him and he snuck back out of the house after his parents had fallen back asleep. There was also conflict between Holden and Phoebe after he had told her of his plan to leave New York. She really wanted to go with him, but he would not let her, and this upset her greatly, bringing her to tears. Holden fixed everything and appeased Phoebe by changing his mind and not leaving, and letting her skip school for the rest of the day and taking her to the zoo, which she loved greatly.While one does not find out exactly what happens to Holden Caulfield at the end of The Catcher in the Rye, one can still speculate and guess at what happens to him. All one knows is that all of the major conflict throughout the book had been resolved.

Causes of Conflict in "The Catcher in the Rye"

There was quite a bit of conflict in The Catcher of the Rye. It came in many different forms, but it was constantly there. The first main cause of conflict was Holden Caulfield leaving Pencey Prep boarding school. Nothing else in the rest of the story would have even happened if Holden had not left Pencey, so that is the main cause of all of the conflict in the book. Holden was a very curious boy, so he did not necessarily enjoy staying put. Holden would have been going home on Wedsnesday anyway, but he decided that he did not want to wait until then. He decided that he was going to leave Pencey Prep boarding school earlier than he was supposed to, becasue he thought it would bring him much more enjoyment. Holden Calufield always caused a lot of conflict when he left anywhere. When he left Pencey, he caused conflict as to where he would go, what he would do, how he would keep away from his parents, and how he would stay hidden from the people that should not know he had left school early. When he left the bar drunk, he caused conflict about having nowhere to go and trying to find somewhere to go while still being able to stay hidden. He caused conflict when he decided to leave New York, because when he told Phoebe that he was leaving, she decided to come with him. Holden was also another main cause of conflict. Everything that he did caused some chain of events to happen that brought quite a lot of conflict to everyone that was associated with him. Holden did many things without thinking about anyone but himself, and because he did not think about anyone else, quite often those other people were joined into the conflict he brought to his everyday life. Many people do not have very good luck, but not many do bad things to themselves and the others around them. Holden Caulfield brought conflict to everyone and everything around him, and J. D. Salinger chronicled that in The Catcher in the Rye.

History Reflection in "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye reflects history very well. It explains how boarding schools were and how boys reacted to them. The book exposed the life of boys living in boarding schools everywhere. The Catcher in the Rye showed how miserable it can be in boarding schools and how some people really can not handle being alone with all of those boys. This book also describes the activities that were enjoyed during the time period. People went to shows and movies, but the movies were very short, and the shows were of an older time period. It talks about ice skating and how women could rent shorter skirts because they would not have had a skirt short enough for ice skating at home. At the same time, women still enjoyed being fashion forward and having the best, newest things, just as they do today. It is easy to see that this book reflects history in the way that it explains the boarding schools. At the boarding schools, they enjoyed going to town for fun and just being with girls. The faculty did not worry or think about where the children went, they were more worried about themselves and what they had to do, which is historically accurate. They also were out and about and more social. Another reason that you can tell that The Catcher in the Rye is historically accurate is because they did not care much about the drinking age. If one looked old enough and the bartender was in a good mood, they would give them the drink. Now, bartenders are more cautious and check for ID more often, because they do not want to be sent to jail for serving alcohol to a minor. 289 It is made obvious by this book that while some things are still the same, time has changed many things, and for the most part has left them better. The Catcher in the Rye is an incredible glance into the past.

Supporting Characters in "The Catcher in the Rye": D. B.

D. B. was an important character in The Catcher in the Rye. Even though he never actually showed up in person throughout the course of the book, he was still very influential. D. B. was an author who had turned into a playwright. He had moved out to Hollywood before The Catcher in the Rye began, but Holden still kept D. B. very close to his heart. D. B. was an incredible author, and had written a book of short stories entitled The Secret Goldfish. It had become popular, and Holden loved it. D. B. never appeared physically in The Catcher in the Rye, but he still was constantly on Holden's mind. Holden had always wanted his brother's approval, and even though he had failed out of Pencey Prep, none of that had stopped. Holden often thought about how D. B. would think this was cool or think that was amazing. Holden really looked up to his older brother, and he wanted to please D. B. the most. He would rather have pleased D. B. out of his whole family than anyone else. He even would rather have pleased D. B. over Phoebe, who was also constantly on his mind, but since D. B. was his older brother, Holden looked up to D. B. more. Holden always wanted to see D. B., and he wondered what Hollywood was like. He enjoyed the jaguar that D. B. had bought for quite a bit of money. He found it fascinating how fast the car could go. D. B. had sort of become Holden's idol, and Holden often though about how famous and known and awesome D. B. had become. Holden basically thought that D. B. was as incredible as the stars in the sky, and nothing could change his mind. Many people can be idols in someone's life, but it goes to a whole new level when that person talks to one as if they were equals. While D. B. was never physically apparent in The Catcher in the Rye, he was as important, if not more important, than some characters that are more evident in the book.

Supporting Characters in "The Catcher in the Rye": Mr. Antolini

Mr. Antolini was very important to The Catcher in the Rye. He added a lot to the story, and taught another lesson that would be good to take away from the book. Mr. Antolini had been one of Holden Caulfield's professors at a different school that he had gone to previously. Mr. Antolini taught English, and since Holden was good at English, Mr. Antolini knew how much potential Holden had. He was very welcoming when Holden called him in the middle of the night, and he had no problems letting Holden spend the night after Holden had told Mr. Antolini his predicament. When Holden arrived at his house, Mr. Antolini began to discuss with him school and his potential and what would happen to him now. He was glad to find out that Holden had not failed out of English, but he was still upset with Holden for not applying himself to school. He lectured Holden on the importance of school and how hard it would be for Holden to make something of himself if he did not apply himself to his schoolwork. Mr. Antolini was not afraid to be frank with Holden, but he often used words that Holden did not understand, so some of his speech was lost on Holden. Soon, they both went to bed, Mr. Antolini in his room and Holden on the couch in the living room. When Holden woke up in the middle of the night, Mr. Antolini was laying next to him, stroking his face. Mr. Antolini jumped up, obviously embarrassed, and tried to erase the tension from the situation. Holden quickly left and never went back. Mr. Antolini may have been a good teacher, but it seemed like he had ulterior motives for being around all of the young boys. This is a good way to quickly learn the lesson that one should not stay with anyone that they do not know very well, no matter how kind the other person seems. While Mr. Antolini was not in the story for very long, he still added greatly to Holden Caulfield's experiences in The Catcher in the Rye.

Supporting Characters in "The Catcher in the Rye": Sally Hayes

Another very important character in The Catcher in the Rye is Sally Hayes. Sally was important to the story because she had dated Holden Caulfield off and on for quite some time. When Holden came back to New York, he called her up one morning because he was bored and wanted some company. He ended up meeting her for a show, which he paid for. He had never liked shows or movies, but he knew that she would really enjoy seeing the show, so he went ahead and bought tickets for it anyway. He was right, she did really enjoy the show, and he suggested that they go ice skating. She agreed, for ice skating was something else that Sally really enjoyed. They went ice skating for a while and had a very good time. Soon they went inside and started talking. Holden became extremely animated, and Sally did not like that very much. Holden then started talking ridiculously, and he asked her to leave New York with him and eventually marry him. Sally did not take to that idea very well, and Holden and Sally started arguing. He called her a pain in his rear end, and she started crying. She wanted nothing to do with him after that, and after apologizing for a long time, Holden finally left. Sally Hayes was the kind of girl that is used to getting what she wants. She is overly dramatic, and will cry at the smallest things. She is also pretty simple-minded and does not always think very hard, but since she is pretty, she gets away with quite a bit. She would be more of a trophy than a girl to have an intelligent, stimulating conversation with. She seems more like a stereotypical blond that likes to keep up with the latest fashions but is not always worried about everything else. While Sally Hayes was not the smartest girl in the book, she was still a very important character in The Catcher in the Rye.

Supporting Characters in "The Catcher in the Rye": Phoebe

There are a great number of characters in The Catcher in the Rye, and they are all incredibly important. Perhaps one of the most important characters in the book is Phoebe Caulfield. Phoebe is Holden Caulfield's younger sister, and she is incredibly important to him. If he did care about anyone besides himself, it would be his sister Phoebe. Phoebe also cared a lot about Holden, and she proved it by how she acted. Phoebe showed how much she cared because she lied to cover the fact that he had snuck into her room even though he was still supposed to be at school, she always wanted to see him, and she wanted to go with him when he wanted to hitchhike away from home. Holden snuck in Phoebe's room one night before he was supposed to be home, because he really wanted to see her. She was overjoyed when he appeared, but still got upset when she found out that he had failed out of four of his five classes. They talked for quite a long time, and Phoebe was very excited to find out that Holden would be home soon and was staying close to her. When their parents got home, Holden hid in Phoebe's closet, and she covered for all the cigarettes he had smoked. He then left. Soon after, he decided that he could not stay in New York, and when he let Phoebe know what his plan was, she decided to go with him. She packed all of her belongings and met him where he had said, but he would not let her go with him. He was very upset with her, but when he realized that his yelling at her made her cry, he made it up to her by taking her to the zoo and letting her skip school. Phoebe Caulfield was a girl that cared very much about her family and always wanted the approval of her brothers, and she was a very important character in The Catcher in the Rye.

Timelessness of "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye is a timeless book with a timeless message. There are many reasons people still read this book today. A few of these reasons are the lessons they can learn from it and the excitement they can feel while they read it. Many people can feel excitement while they read The Catcher in the Rye, because it is easy to get caught up in Holden Caulfield's adventures. Holden travels all over the city doing whatever he wants to do. He pays attention to no one except himself. He also constantly comes close to being caught, so there is consistent fear of being found out. The Catcher in the Rye, since the lessons that can be learned from it are so important. It shows that while bullying has been going on for a long time, it really needs to be stopped. Bullying took a young boy's life in the book, so it proves to the world that bullying is incredibly harmful. Bullying can become all that the bullied person thinks about, and it become so intense that the bullied person wants to take their own life. Bullying only hurts people, and The Catcher in the Rye shows how bad it can really become. Being out of school really hurts people in the long run, because it prevents them from learning the things that their future employers would be looking for. It also gets more children on the street with nothing to do, so there is a greater chance of vandalism happening. Children not being in school makes them ignorant, which causes bad things to happen, because those children do not know anything different. Children being out of school will just hurt them in the end, because they will be behind everyone else that stayed in school and will just have a harder time finding a good job. The Catcher in the Rye is a timeless book that has a message that should be read by everyone.

Human Nature in "The Catcher in the Rye"

J. D. Salinger understood quite a bit about human nature, and he proved that in writing The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger shows that he knows how teenage boys act and think and how they are wired. He shows how selfish people are and how desperate they are to not get caught. Holden Caulfield is extremely selfish in The Catcher in the Rye because he only thinks about himself. He thinks about how his actions will affect him and how much he wants to see his siblings. He also thinks about how nice it would be to leave everyone and everything that he knows without warning. He does not think about how it will affect his family and friends. He is too worried about his feelings and his reactions. Holden Caulfield is also incredibly desperate to not get caught. He will do almost anything so his parents will not find out. He spends quite a bit of money on a hotel room, which he does not even stay in for the full time that he paid for. At one point, he stays at the house of an old professor of his. The professor and his wife were very generous in letting him stay, but he becomes nervous so he quickly leaves their house also. He stays one night on a bench because he can not stay in the hotel and was kind of creeped out by his former professor. He still refuses to go home, though, because he does not want to be caught. He keeps all of his things in suitcases and checks them into a luggage check. He does eventually go back to see his sister, but he sneaks in so no one can hear him. When his parents do come home, he hides in her closet and she makes excuses for him, because she wants to protect him too. J. D. Salinger understood human nature very well, and he showed that to the world in the way that he crafted his characters in The Catcher in the Rye.

Hero in "The Catcher in the Rye"

Holden Caulfield was the hero in The Catcher in the Rye, and he stood for many things. He stood for perseverance and hope, but most of all, he stood for love. Holden showed that he stood for perseverance in how he never gave up on anything that he truly, deeply believed in. He followed through on his plan to escape from Pencey early. He also persevered through all the hardships that hit him while he was in New York but unable to go home. Holden also stood for hope. He showed how hopeful he was in many different ways. Holden never gave up the hope that he would not get caught in New York before he was supposed to be there, and he also continued to hope that he would see his sister. He always hoped that he would see and get to talk to his sister, and after he had, he still hoped that he would be able to see her very soon. He hoped that his parents would not be too upset with him and that they would accept him back into their home. Holden Caulfield stood for love more than anything else. He stood for love the most because, while he did not care deeply for a great number of people, those he cared about he cared very, very deeply for. He cared a lot about his sister, which is shown in the way that he constantly thought about her. He always wanted to see her and protect and make sure that she was okay. He cared about his parents, even if he did not always show it, but he never wanted to hurt then. When he did hurt them, he was upset with himself and really wanted to fix it all, even when he was not sure how to. He cared a lot for his older brother, and he showed it through how often he talked about his brother. He constantly wondered what his brother was doing and he always wanted to make his brother extremely proud of him. Holden was very heroic in The Catcher in the Rye, and he stood for many good things.

Influences on "The Catcher in the Rye"

J.D. Salinger could have been influenced by a great number of things for his writing of The Catcher in the Rye. He could have gone to a boarding school when he was a young boy. While he was at that boarding school, he may have seen a boy escape. That boy may have lived in the same dorm as Salinger did. He may have even been Salinger's roommate. Salinger could have tracked down that boy later and found out what had happened to him. He also could have just seen the boy leave and them made up the rest. Maybe Salinger was the boy that had made the daring escape. He could have wanted to write down his adventures so he could tell his children and grandchildren the story without forgetting a thing. He could have left his boarding school, but wanted to embellish his story a little. He may have wanted to add some details to his story so he seems more adventurous. He could have been writing about himself to a girl, so he wanted to appear better or more dangerous than he really was. Salinger may have even been an adult and drawn on none of his experiences from his childhood in the process of writing The Catcher in the Rye. He may have found a teenage boy on the streets and asked him about his story. The boy may have explained everything in the book. He may have only told portions, leaving Salinger to fill in the holes, or he may have just told of his escape from his boarding school, letting Salinger's imagination do the rest of the work. Salinger could have been inspired by his personal childhood experiences, a boy that he knew from school, a boy that he met later in life, or he may have just made everything up. What influenced J.D. Salinger to write The Catcher in the Rye, the world may never know. All we know is that his book has been read by generations of people.

Setting of "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye is an average sized novel in which everything throughout the course of the book happens in a matter of a few short days. The events of this book took place in New York in the late 1800's or early 1900's. Holden Caulfield, the main character, is at Pencey, a boarding school relatively close by in Pennsylvania. Holden soon leaves Pencey and takes a bus to New York in the middle of the night. He arrives in New York and quickly finds a hotel that is opposite the side of town that contains his home. The hotel is not a grand place and it is not necessarily on the good side of town, but somehow it is exactly what Holden is looking for. Holden goes to a number of bars trying to get a drink, and it takes quite a few until he finally finds a bar where the bartender does not pay attention and just does not really care. He gets extremely drunk and wanders around for quite a while. Sometimes he stays in his hotel, but the majority of the time Holden is out wandering around New York. One day he calls up a girl that he had previously dated on and off. They went out together and saw a show, which he hated, but she loved. After the show, they went ice skating, where they got into a horrible fight and he left without her. He also snuck into his house at one point just so he could see his sister. He thought his parents were there, but they had gone out for the night. While he was still there, his parents came home, and he was almost caught. He hid in his sister's closet until his mother left the room. He then stayed in his sister's room until he thought his parents were asleep. He then snuck back out of the house and wandered around some more. Holden was an adventurous young boy that traveled all over New York.

Lessons Learned from "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Cather in the Rye is not a very long book, but it still has lessons that everyone should learn. The book shows that bullying is bad, and that people need to work hard in school if they want to go far and do well in life. The Catcher in the Rye describes how bullying took the life of a young boy at the Pencey boarding school. There was a small young boy who was constantly bullied and picked on by two older, bigger boys who thought that they ruled the school. They thought making fun of others made them appear cooler. They consistently bothered this boy until he was finally ready to snap. One night, the bullies went into this boy's room. They tried to force this boy to give them what they wanted. They yelled and screamed at him, but tonight, unlike the other nights, the boy screamed back. He threatened to kill himself, but like most other people, the older two boys did not believe him. He did follow through on his threat, though, and when they would not stop making fun of him, the boy jumped out of a high window. He was killed on impact, and everyone was shocked. There were many witnesses to his fall and death, and for quite a while, no one moved. A teacher finally came and picked up the body. The bullying from the older boys caused that one young boy to take his own life. People should not bully others, because they do not know the affect that their words and their actions will have on others. People should also work hard at school; Holden provides a great example of why. Holden Caulfield did not work hard in school, and had flunked out of numerous schools. His old professor told him that he would make nothing of himself if he did not work hard in school. This has been proved true through many life situations. Bullying and slacking off in school are bad, as is shown in The Catcher in the Rye.

Holden Caulfield in "The Catcher in the Rye"

The Catcher in the Rye has many, many characters in it. The most important character, who also happens to be the narrator, is Holden Caulfield. Holden Caulfield begins his story by explaining that he is only going to tell a small portion of his life. He is at a boarding school, where he flunked out, and he decides to leave early. He takes all of his savings, packs his belongings and leaves in the middle of the night. He takes a cab into town, finds a hotel and starts wandering around. He has a great many adventures, and ends his story before he explains what decision he will make about going home or going elsewhere. Holden enjoyed getting drunk, even though he was extraordinarily young. He was only able to get drinks because he was very tall, and many people did not check IDs. Holden was not a very responsible boy. He did not enjoy doing what he was told, and many times he did not. He found school extremely boring, and since he was not interested, he did not apply himself. He only had five classes, and he failed our of four. He did not fail out of English, because he had already had all of that material elsewhere. He paid attention somewhat, but he did not do his homework and he did not try hard on his test. If Holden had applied himself to his schoolwork, it seems like he would have done very well. It appears that he was an intelligent boy, or at least could have become one very quickly. Holden was also pretty street smart, but at times he could be very stupid. He was a reckless teenage boy that did not always know what was too far. Holden Caulfield could have been an extremely intelligent boy, had he applied himself, but let his teenage masculine hormones take control of him and his actions. Holden has much to learn as he gets older.

Chapters in "The Grapes of Wrath"

There are many chapters in The Grapes of Wrath, for it is a long book. The chapters are of all lengths, but every other chapter is much longer than the other half. All of the longer chapters, which are about half of the book, are about the Joads. The longer chapters chronicle first Tom's, and then the Joads' journeys. Tom's journey home starts the book, but it is quickly changed into the Joads' journey to California. The other chapters seem to have nothing to do with the Joads, but one eventually understands the chapters are all related. The shorter chapters, which make up the other half of the book, give some background information on what could be happening to the Joads, and is happening to the rest of the United States. One chapter that sticks out is one close to the beginning. The chapter was all about a turtle and its journey up a hill and across a road. This chapter ties in to the story because Tom eventually picks up the turtle to give to Ruthie, his sister. Another chapter discusses how hard it was to buy a car, because people knew that everyone was almost out of money, so they made sure that people paid a ridiculous amount of money for whichever car they bought. The cars were often not in good shape and needed many repairs. Yet another chapter talks about the cars driving and the main routes used. It explains all the different towns that were along the way, and the mileage used up in going from place to place. There were a ton of chapters in The Grapes of Wrath. While some made sense, quite a few of them did not. The Grapes of Wrath could not have become so popular without all of the chapters. John Steinbeck must have known what he was doing when he wrote his book, because it became very popular and is still read in schools today.

More Heroism in "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath has a lot of heroism in it. The heroic actions of Casy were already talked about, but many people besides Casy were heroic. Rose of Sharon was heroic, but most people would not have guessed it by the way she acts for most of the book. For the majority of the book, Rose of Sharon sits around and mopes or whines and complains. She is not a very remarkable person throughout the book, and there are probably quite a few people that did not like Rose of Sharon much at all when they read The Grapes of Wrath. Rose of Sharon does show her worth at the end of the book, though. She had just given birth to a stillborn baby and was grieving for it when she and her family, besides Al, all had to leave the boxcar they had been living in because the river they were near had flooded it. They made it to a barn on top of a hill, where they found a boy with his starving father. The boy's father could not eat any solid food, because he had been without for so long. He could only have soups or other things that were liquid in form. Since Rose of Sharon had just given birth, she had breast milk, and she agreed to let him drink it. Ma made everyone get out of the barn, which left the man and Rose of Sharon. She let him drink her breast milk. People must assume that he gets well, but no one will ever know, because the book ends there. Rose of Sharon showed a lot of heroism in helping that man, becuase many people would not have helped him. Many people showed heroism in The Grapes of Wrath, and while Rose of Sharon's deed may have gone unnoticed, it was still incredibly important to the story, and the book could not have been finished without it.

Importance of the Truck in "The Grapes of Wrath"

While people sometimes realize the importance or convenience of some of the items that they use, many times they do not acknowledge their car as one of those items. We take cars for granted and do not always realize how important they can become. The Joads, however, understood exactly how important a car was. During the Great Depression, good cars were hard to come by, and even harder to find for a reasonable price. Pa, Al, and Uncle John went to buy a car, and they understood how difficult it would be to find a car with good parts. Luckily, Al had worked with cars before, so he knew enough about cars to find one with good parts for as good of a price as they could get. They all took it back to Uncle John's, where all of the Joads were staying. They fitted the back of the truck with wooden planks so everything would fit better and began packing. Soon, they had put everything they could in the truck and headed out west. The Joad family had to live in their truck the whole way out to California. They stopped to sleep, but for the most part, they were in the truck all day, everyday. The truck was extremely important to the Joads, because it carried all of their belongings out to California. It was their only source of transportation, and without their truck, the journey would have taken much, much longer. The Joads did have some small troubles with their truck, but those problems were quickly and easily fixed by Tom and Al. The Joads heavily relied on their truck to get them out west, and they probably would not have made it to California without their truck. People take many things for granted today, cars included, but during the Great Depression, many families like the Joad family learned that one should not take things for granted, because those things can quickly be taken away.

Lessons Learned from "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath has many lessons that can be learned from it. It shows one to not take things for granted and to always lend a hand. People should not take things for granted, because those items can be taken from them very quickly and easily. This is easily shown through the Joads. The Joads had a farm and all the things necessary for farming. They lived comfortably in their farmhouse. While they were not wealthy, they were happy and thankful for what they had. Before they knew it, a man on a tractor came and told them that they needed to leave their land. They refused, but when he "accidentally" hit the edge of their house, they realized that he meant business. They gathered as much as they could and moved to their Uncle John's house. While they were there, they all decided to move out to California, because they had heard of work there. While they were packing, they had to leave even more of their possessions behind. Before they knew it, they were down to almost the bare minimum. Before the Great Depression, the Joads had plenty, but when it hit, they quickly lost quite a few of their possessions. Lending a hand is also very necessary. No one ever knows when they might need a favor, so if one lends a hand, they are more likely to have more people willing to lend a hand and help them out. The Joads shared their supplies with the family that they shared the boxcar with. They gave of their possessions and of their time, so when the Joads needed a hand, the other family was willing to help. When Rose of Sharon was giving birth, the other family came and helped both Ma and Rose of Sharon get through it. She also helped dispose of the child after it had been stillborn. As shown here, not taking things for granted and lending are important life lessons shown in The Grapes of Wrath.

Heroes in "The Grapes of Wrath"

There were many heroes in The Grapes of Wrath. Tom was a hero, Al was a hero, Ma, Pa, and even Rose of Sharon were all heroes. But perhaps the biggest hero of all was Casy. Casy had previously been a preacher, but determined that he was not sure religion was the right thing to follow. He decided that he would just wander around until he knew the answer. He did not figure it out, but he was in the process of doing so when he ran into Tom. Tom guided him to a few places, where they eventually met Tom's family, the Joads. The Joads are going to California, and they agree to let Casy tag along with them. They get to California, and try to find work so they can all earn enough money to eat and buy the supplies that they desperately need. They all end up finding a Hooversville to live in, but just until they find work or a better place to live that they can afford. Soon, there was a sheriff that came and told everyone living in that Hooversville needed to pack up, because if they did not, all of their belongings would be burnt that night. Tom and another guy became angry and knocked the sheriff out, but neither of them could go to jail. Casy had done nothing wrong previously, so he volunteered to take their spot, saying he had done it himself, keeping Tom with the rest of his family. Casy went to jail to prevent others from having to go, and that is very heroic. He could have sat back and watched it all happen and not even done anything, but he decided to try to keep the Joad family together, so he took their place. 297 While there were a great number of heroic people in The Grapes of Wrath, Casy stands out as the most heroic person in the book because of all the incredible things that he did for others.

Timelessness of "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath is a timeless book, which is why we still read it today. It conveys an incredible message that everyone needs to hear and learn from. The Grapes of Wrath explains how hard things are sometimes in one's life and how people need to work together. People should lean on each other and give a hand when someone needs something. Situations often turn out better when a number of people are working together to fix one specific problem instead of a number of people doing different things to try to solve the same problem whatever way they think is best. The Grapes of Wrath shows many people working together during the Great Depression and lending a hand to their neighbors without expecting anything in return. For instance, the Joads shared a boxcar with another family, and they shared food and supplies with each other all of the time. They especially shared supplies after Al got engaged to Aggie, who was that family's daughter. Both families working together managed to have better things than each family separately had, because they brought different things to the table. Groups work well because of that fact that every person brings different ideas and opinions, and often the compromise that happens at the end brings a better result than either group could have ever achieved by themselves. Things can be extremely hard for people at any point in their lives, but every once in a while, things are hard for a big group of people all at the same time. It is often very tragic when these things happen, but it is something that can not be prevented. People's character is often formed during the hard times and how they act during them. The Joads reacted well, and so it is obvious that they have good character. The Grapes of Wrath is a timeless book, and it gives many lessons that people can, and should, learn from and put into practice.

Human Nature in "The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck understood a lot about human nature, and he shows it in his writing in The Grapes of Wrath. He understood that fear can easily be planted in the hearts on people that do not know what is happening, and he understood that once planted, fear spreads quickly to the rest of one's family, to the town, county, state, nation, and world. People will be afraid of just about anything if it is portrayed correctly, or if it is unknown. Ignorance leads to fear, because most people are afraid of the unknown. People are afraid of what will happen to them, especially in uncertain times. Steinbeck understood that people are willing to do a lot to stand up for what they believe in, and for who they care about. If people see something that is unjust or unfair, they are often willing to stand up for the just side of things. For instance, if people are being bullied by others that are higher up on the ladder of life, the peers of the people being bullied are oftentimes willing to stand up for that person. They are willing to stand up for that person because they realize that they would want others to stand up for them if it would happen to them. They are also willing to do a lot for the people they care about, because that is wired into human nature. People want to protect the ones they love, because they do not want to be without those people. They will steal to get food for their women and children, they will beg to get supplies so that they can move on, and they will take the blame for others to protect them. They will take the blame for things to keep people from going to jail, like Casy did for Tom in The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck understood quite a bit about human nature, and he let the world know through his book The Grapes of Wrath.

History of "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath reflects history very accurately. It tells what happened to the poor, innocent farmers and their families during the Great Depression. It descriptively explains how hard it was for everyone during that time period. It tells how some people still managed well, and how their businesses stayed the same, or even expanded during the Great Depression. It explains how some people could not even make ends meet, and there were quite a few people that died from starvation, malnutrition, or just from being beaten by people that did not want them there. There was a lot of fear during the Great Depression. Many people did not know where they needed to go, whether or not they would find work, where they were going to sleep for the night, or even how they were going to find enough money to get food for the night. A lot of people did not know what they were going to eat, or even if they would eat that night and the next morning. There was fear because people could easily and quickly be burnt out of their homes. They could lose all of their possessions in the blink of an eye, and they could be attacked and beaten for no reason at all. People were very prejudiced about others, and oftentimes made judgements and decisions about those people before they got to know them. If the original residents of California found someone that they did not like, they could beat them, as long as they did not get caught. Oftentimes the sheriffs and deputies were on the Californians' side, so the Californians could get away with a lot. The people that moved to California all banded together, though, because they did not really have anyone else to depend on. They had babies in other tents, and even sometimes died in someone else's blankets. They drew from the strength of others, and even used the supplies of others. While the Great Depression brought trying times, it also brought a nation together.

Influences on "The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck probably had many influences for writing about the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. He was living during the Great Depression, so most of his inspiration probably came from his experiences. He was probably greatly influenced by what had happened to him during that time period, and what his family had to go through. He also may have talked to other people to see what had happened to them during that time. He may have had friends that were from some of those camps with him, and The Grapes of Wrath may have come from one of those stories. He may have been trying to find work and lived in a Hooversville for a point of time, and seen sheriffs come trying to scare people out of them. John Steinbeck may have even been burnt out of a Hooversville at some point, and it is very likely that he drew part of his story line from everything that happened to him during the Great Depression. If he had a wife, he may have been kind of like Rose of Sharon and Connie, and he may have even been expecting a child. They might have had a child that was stillborn and caused them both much grief. He may have wanted to leave his wife, and that could be why he wrote that Connie left Rose of Sharon. A different way to take it is that his wife may have been like Ma. She may have wanted the power in the family, and she may have even threatened Steinbeck to get it. Steinbeck may have not even had anything to do with finding work. He may have been a resident of California before the Great Depression even started, and he may have even been a part of the burnings of the Hooversvilles. 304 John Steinbeck may have had many possible influences on him writing The Grapes of Wrath, and we may never know what exactly made him write his book. We do know, however, that he wrote The Grapes of Wrath, and that it is still influential enough that we read it today.

Symbolism in "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath was a pretty literal book, but there is some symbolism in it. Most of the symbolism is about the people that are involved in the story. Ruthie and Winfield symbolize all of the children that just wanted to fit in. They were starving and did not have much of an idea of what was going on, but, after some complaining, they did what they were told and helped the family. Al symbolizes all the of the teenage boys across the nation. He was more worried about the girls along the way than he was about the predicament his family was in. Their situation was in his mind, but he did not think about it all the much, he concentrated more on the girls. Rose of Sharon and Connie symbolize a young couple struggling through the Great Depression. They had just been married, and while they were full of ideas, they could not put them into action. They had none of the supplies needed to fulfill their plans, and ended up not even being together at the end of the book, because the pressure had been too much for Connie. Ma and Pa symbolize a typical family during the Great Depression. Ma decided that she had been listening to Pa for too long and that her ideas were better than his. She started gaining power in the family, like the rest of the women did around the country. 241 Tom and Noah symbolize typical young men, because they understood the gravity of the situation their family was facing, but they show the two different things men could do. Tom stayed with the family through thick and thin, even though he eventually had to leave to keep everyone safe. Noah bailed when they were almost there, because he did not think he could make it with the family and he thought he would do better alone in the wilderness. The Joads were a typical family that symbolized the rest of America during the Great Depression.

Theme of "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath is trying to show the world how difficult it really was for the farmers during the Great Depression. The farmers, if they could not pay for their crops and the mortgages that they had to take out on their houses, were kicked off of their land so the bank would be able to make money. The farmers would not want to leave, but the tractors would come and bump the edge of the house so that it would partially fall down. After their houses were partially down, the farmers had to move so they could survive. There were fliers being circulated saying that there was plenty of work in California, so all of the farmers went out there. Since all of the farmers were moving to California, what little work there actually was was quickly taken. Everyone else need work also, though, so oftentimes the others would offer to do the work for less than the employer had been paying. Some people would be cheated out of jobs, because they could not feed their family on whatever amount the others were offering. Work was extremely competitive then, and many people were easily upset because they could not find enough work to earn enough money to feed their families. They had to move from place to place either to find work, or because the Hooversville they had previously been living in had been burnt down by the people who lived in the actual town nearby. All the people that had been in California before the Great Depression were very upset that all the farmers moved out there, because they thought there were too many people in California now, and they also had a harder time finding work. Some of them were also the business owners that were ripping people off with the extremely low rates of pay, and they were afraid that a rebellion would be started and that they would not have any workers after the rebellion. Farmers had an extremely hard time during the Great Depression, and many did not survive it.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Casy

Casy is very important to The Grapes of Wrath. Casy was formerly a preacher, but is now unemployed, that meets Tom on Tom's way home from jail. He follows Tom home, and finds out that Tom's family has moved to their Uncle's. They both go to Tom's Uncle's, and when they arrive, they find out that Tom's whole family is moving to California to try to find work. Casy realizes that he has no work either, so he asks if he can join them. They agree, and he moves out with them. Casy is a philosopher. He is constantly thinking and talking about his thoughts about God, sin, the world, and everything in between. He often digresses into long monologues that are extremely hard to follow. He sometimes has half a mind listening to what one says, but oftentimes he does not pay attention to what other people are saying. If he does listen, he adds that into whatever he is saying, and adds his opinion to it. He is a very opinionated person, but his opinions are not very solid. He wavers between ideas quite a bit, as if he is never sure what is the right thing to say. Casy seems like the kind of person who just goes with the flow, and does not really worry about what will happen. He is not afraid to take the blame for others he cares about though, as is shown when he took the blame for Tom knocking out a sheriff in the first Hooversville they stayed in. He knew that if Tom was caught and taken in to jail, they would look up his record and send him back to Oklahoma, which would devastate Ma. Casy had no problem with going to jail, because he had nothing that would get him in worse trouble. 305 Casy is a very easygoing guy, although he talks quite a bit, and he is extremely likable as well. He is important to the story, and he saved Tom from being sent all the way back to Oklahoma.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Connie

Connie was a very small character in The Grapes of Wrath, but he was still important to the story. He is vital to everything that Rose of Sharon goes through, and he helps to shape her life and her character. He was Rose of Sharon's husband, and he had gotten Rose of Sharon pregnant. He cared greatly about Rose of Sharon, and he was extremely excited about becoming a father. He followed Rose of Sharon and the Joads all the way out to California. He traveled halfway across the country just to stay with Rose of Sharon. He has huge dreams and plans for himself, Rose of Sharon and the baby when they get out to California. He is going to find nice work and get a steady income, while taking study courses at night so he can have an even greater income. Then, they would have a beautiful white house with a picket fence and plenty of clothes and furniture for themselves and the baby. He kept going on and on about all of his grand plans and got Rose of Sharon extremely excited about how great their house would be and how wonderful it would be for their child. It would be so great for their child because it would have everything it wanted, let alone needed, and they did not have that when they were growing up. The want their firstborn child to have absolutely everything they can give it. Eventually, Connie buckles under the pressure and leaves all of the Joads, which breaks Rose of Sharon's heart. Connie represents the dreamers of the world. He had great plans, and means of reaching his dreams. The only thing left for him to do is put his dreams into motion, but that is half the battle. It is much easier to plan something than it is to put it in motion. Connie, while a great person, was not strong enough to follow through with all of his plans.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Pa

Pa was a very influential character in The Grapes of Wrath. He was the man in charge, and he made the decisions for the family. He was very powerful, and the family depended on him to tell them where to go and what to do. He was heartbroken when he lost the farm, and it just tore him up inside. He knew that he had the burden and the responsibility of providing for everyone that was with his family, because he needed to be hospitable. He had to decide where to go, he looked for work, and he tried to work as hard as he could at everything that he did. Quickly, though, he loses his place of authority when Ma makes everyone do things her way. She threatens to hurt them if they do not, and since she has weapons in her hand, they all believe her. They quickly learn to submit to her authority. Pa may have suggestions, but he no longer has final say on what everyone does. Pa likes to be in control of the situation, so he has a hard time giving the authority in the family over to Ma. He oftentimes picks what he thinks the whole family should do. Sometimes Ma listens to what Pa has to say, but sometimes she completely ignores him and does whatever she thinks everyone should do. Pa is willing to sacrifice his body, mind, and soul to protect and provide for his family. Now that he has lost his farm, the only thing he has to live for is his family. They are the most important thing in his life, and he does not have anything else on his mind. All in all, Pa is a pretty simple-minded man, but he is willing to fight fiercely for his family, and he relies heavily on the ways of the old and his loving family.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Ruthie and Winfield

Ruthie and Winfield are very similar in The Grapes of Wrath. They are the starving children. They have a hard time helping with the work, because they are not accustomed to doing anything except for school and play. Sometimes it is necessary for the children to work because that is the only way that the family can get enough money to survive. They are good children, but enjoy tattling on each other. They want to do everything right and have their whole family approve of them and be proud of them. They do not think much about the circumstances which brought them to California, they just go along with anything their family decided to do. They were not necessarily happy about having to move halfway across the country, but they had no choice in the matter. They complained quite a bit because it was something that they did not want to do, but they quickly learned that complaints got nowhere with their family and it was pointless to whine. Ruthie and Winfield want the all of the children, everywhere that they go, to accept them. They are willing to do just about anything. They will play games, tell stories, or even try to scare the other children just so they will be accepted. They are not always the best at keeping thier mouths shut, but since they are children, they are quickly excused for their absence of thought. Ruthie let slip the fact that Tom had killed the man that killed Casy, which made the whole family have to move to a new place, so Tom would not get caught and have to go all the way back to Oklahoma. Winfield was the one that told Ma, because he wanted to see Ruthie get in trouble. Ruthie felt awful, so she was not punished for it. Ma was too concentrated on getting everyone out of that place to punish Ruthie, but Ruthie had punished herself enough. The children complained a lot, and talked more than they should have, but they were still pretty innocent and did not always know what they were doing.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Al

Al is important in The Grapes of Wrath for many different reasons. He was one of the two people in the Joad family that is able to drive the car. Al, as a person, was pretty average. He was pretty unnoticeable and did nothing remarkable. He liked to be looked at with pride and he never wanted to fail his family. He would even go so far as to blame things on other people just to not have failed. He was a teenage boy that was head over heels into girls. It was all he thought about, and he was constantly with different girls. He helped drive the whole family halfway across the nation, and he did that work that was necessary from him. He did not complain, he just made sure that when anything was his fault, he did not get blamed for it. He would blame it on anyone else around that could have possibly done it. He had a hard time in California, because he could not find hardly any girls. Everywhere he went there were barely any girls and he needed to devote his time to either working or finding work in the first place. In the government camp there were some girls, but the pretty ones were all taken. They also did not stay there long enough for him to find any girls that really struck his fancy. When they moved into the boxcar, though, he had a much easier time of finding someone that he liked. The family that the Joads shared the boxcar with had a girl that was the same age as Al. Her name was Aggie, and Al and Aggie were constantly together when the work was finished. Eventually, they ended up getting engaged. They would have done anything for each other, and he did not want to ever leave her side. Al was not an influential character, but he showed the mindset of teeange boys during this period of time.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Uncle John

Uncle John is a very important character to The Grapes of Wrath. He provides insight into the poor people that have breakdowns. He had some trouble before The Grapes of Wrath with a young pregnant wife. She had been feeling sick, but he did not want to pay for a doctor. He told her to just take some medicine and suck it up. She obviously had been more sick than either of them had any knowledge of, because she died the next day. He thought it was all his fault and blamed himself for the rest of his life. It caused him much grief and guilt, and from then on he tried to be perfect. He fasted constantly, had no beer, and gave all he had to the less fortunate. He relapsed all the time though. He would binge on food or beer, but after he was finished, he immediately felt worse and even more guilty than before. He tagged along with the rest of the Joads to California, but his heart was not in it. His heart had been taken from him along with his wife and their child. He tried to restrain himself from binging, but he declared that his "sin" in not taking his pregnant wife to the doctor and having her checked out, overpowered him and he needed to have some drinks. He had some money that he had put aside in case it would happen, so he went to the nearest store and bought as much liquor as he could. He got totally drunk, so that Tom had to carry him to the truck so that the Joads could move. He kept claiming that his "sins" made him do everything and affected everything that he did, even though his "sins" were only in his mind and no one else put any faith in that theory. Uncle John was not an influential character, but he was still important to The Grapes of Wrath.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Ma

Another extremely important character in The Grapes of Wrath is Ma. She plays a vital role in the book, because she is the center of the family, and she helps make a lot of decisions. Ma is a very strong woman, because she basically carries the household. She keeps everyone happy and makes sure everyone has what they need. Everyone in the household relies on her to keep them calm, relaxed, and comfortable. If she shows that she is upset, everyone else in the family will become upset as well. In the beginning of the book, Pa is the main decisionmaker, and while he looks to Ma for affirmation, she still does not do as much of the decisionmaking as she could. When the family makes the decision to move west, she becomes a lot more vocal about her opinions, because she does not always believe that the family is making good decisions. She becomes more aggravated and makes everyone listen to her and follow her orders. She interrupts Pa, does not let him give orders to the rest of the familiy, and basically beats him, through her words, into submission. She is willing to do just about anything to get what she wants or needs. She is prepared to steal, harm, or even kill to give her family what it needs. She wants to keep her family together because she believes in numbers. She also believes that if she keeps the family together, they will all be stronger and have much better chances at staying alive and well. Ma will not let her children get away with everything though. If anyone in her family whines or complains, Ma immediately reprimands them. If they do anything wrong, she will punish them and make sure they learn their lesson. When the family is falling apart, Ma is always there to fix everything and put it all back together. Ma is always there for the family, and she is a very strong woman.

Setting of "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath had quite a variety of settings. The Joads travel halfway across the country just looking for work so they can earn some money. The book begins with the Joads in Oklahoma, where they have lived for generations. They have a quaint little farm that the whole family loves. No one wants to leave, but they must. The bank drives them out because they can not pay the mortgage. They move to Uncle John's for a while to try to get back on their feet. Uncle John's farm is a pretty dreary farm that they do not all fit in and have a hard time staying in. Soon they realize that they need mone, so they decide to move west because they had heard that there was work out there. They prepare all of their family and their belongings, and head to California. They live in tents and under a tarp for the next few weeks. They are all extremely crowded and do not like staying as close together as they must, and their roofs leak, but they have learned to deal with it and not complain. They live in their tents and under their tarp until the Hooversville they had been staying in was burnt. The Hoversville was not really a town at all. It was a group of shcaks and tents decently close to a source of water. There were not sanitary conditions, but no one seemed to care, because no one can do anything about it. After the Hooversville, they moved to a government camp, which had much better conditions. They had toilets, showers, sinks to wash clothers in, running water that could be made hot, and dances. The government camp was governed by the people in it, and they did not allow police officers in. Soon, though, they needed more work, so they had to leave the government camp. They moved to a boxcar that was more like the Hooversville they started in. They were just closer to the river and were elevated above the ground, which helped them greatly. They only disadvantage was htat htey had to share the boxcar with another family, but they quickly got over it. The book ends with them in a barn getting shelter from a storm. There are many settings in The Grapes of Wrath, and they are all interesting.

Plot of "The Grapes of Wrath"

The Grapes of Wrath is a pretty long book, so many things happen through the course of it. The main thing John Steinbeck is trying to convey is how difficult it was for the poor people during the Great Depression. He describes how the Joads, a poor farming family, are kicked off their land in Oklahoma because they did not have a big enough crop to pay the bank, whom they had mortgaged their house to. They had received handbills saying that there was work out west, so they decided to head to California to find work. There were thirteen people going west: Ma, Pa, Granma, Grampa, Uncle John, Casy, a preacher, Noah, Tom, Rose of Sharon, who was pregnant, Connie, her husband, Al, Ruthie, and Winfield. They sell most of their possessions so they can buy a car and still have more money for gas and supplies on the way. They get the supplies they need, hurriedly pack up, and head out. They run into car troubles along the way, and Grampa dies, because he is heartbroken about leaving the farm. They camp on the side of the road wherever they find someone else. The night before they reach California, Ganma dies. She had been sick and delirious since Grampa died, and she had no chance of getting better. Noah, who Pa had dropped on his head as a child, left them right before they reached California, because he believed he could make the most of his life by staying in the wilderness. When they get there, there is no work, so they get to a Hooversville and stay there until the Hooversville gets burnt down. While there, there was an incident with a sheriff that Casy took the blame for, so he went to jail. Connie left at that point, because the pressure was too much for him. After that Hooversville was burnt down, the Joads moved to a government camp. They had work for a few days, but quickly ran out of food and money, so they had to leave to find work. They found work picking cotton, but soon all that cotton was gone. They stayed living in the boxcar that they had been in, but found more work. Tom left then, because he had found Casy. Someone killed Casy, so he killed that man, and had to disappear. Rose of Sharon worked, which made her sick, so she had her baby early and it was stillborn. Al got engaged to Aggie, the girl whose family shared the other end of their boxcar. It started pouring, and did not stop until it overflowed the bottom of the boxcar. Everyone went to find shelter except for Al. They found a barn, and when they got there, they found a boy and his starving father. He could not have any solid food, so Rose of Sharon and Ma kicked everyone out, and Rose of Sharon breast-fed him. That is how the book ends.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Rose of Sharon

The next character in The Grapes of Wrath is Rose of Sharon, or Rosasharn, according to the accents of the rest of the family. Rose of Sharon tries to be a strong girl, but as she is pregnant, she is very hormonal and struggles to suppress her emotions. Rose of Sharon helps her family move out west and her husband Connie comes along. Connie and Rose of Sharon plan to have a nice house with Connie having a steady job so their baby will have a nice life. Soon though, the pressure becomes too much for Connie and he leaves the Joad family. Rose of Sharon has an incredibly hard time with this, because his leaving breaks her heart. Her family is the kind of family that does not show emotions, so they do not like the fact that she is so willing to cry and show how upset she is about her husband leaving her. They let it go, but only because she is pregnant so they do not expect much out of her. She complains a lot and whines about the fact that he has left. She constantly is asking for milk and bothering her mom about getting some because that is what a nurse told her that she needs. She does not like doing anything and just wants to be able to sit around being waited on. With her family in trouble, she works one day, which cause her to be sick and give birth to her baby early. The baby is stillborn, which causes Rose of Sharon even more emotional turmoil. She curls up in a corner and just lays there crying for an extremely long amount of time. She does help out in the end though, as the man in the barn needed milk and that was what she had to offer. In The Grapes of Wrath, Rose of Sharon is portrayed as an extremely emotional woman that wants everything to go her way and struggles when her life is not stable.

Characters in "The Grapes of Wrath": Tom

There were a number of characters in The Grapes of Wrath, so it is very hard to discuss them all in just a general overview. This blog will be about Tom. Tom's story begins the story of the Joads. He was on his way home from jail when the book starts. He was in jail because he had killed a man, but he only did it in self-defense. Tom was a very strong character in The Grapes of Wrath, but sometimes he was a little bit reckless and fearful. He was more knowledgeable since he had been in jail and had learned things there, but he was still mildly naive about some of the ways of the world. He had learned to be strong from his jail time, but he also learned to be strong throughout the story. He learned throughout the story because he was one of the two people in the family that knew how to drive and he was also one of the main providers for the family, so he learned to be strong through the responsibilities that he had to take on. He was somewhat reckless in that before he went to jail, because all he was worried about were the girls in his life and who he wanted to mess with at the moment. He did not worry very much, he just liked to have fun, like many teenage boys. The only difference was that one of the nights that he was having fun turned into a nightmare that got him sent to prison. He was fearful because he got out of prison on bail, and if he left Oklahoma, he would be breaking it. He family needed him, though, so he went with them to California. As long as he did nothing wrong and was not caught for three years, it would not matter, but until then, he needed to lie low. He was fearful that he would be caught and sent back to Oklahoma, away from his family, to finish his jail sentence. While Tom was pretty simple-minded, he was still a very central part of the Joad family.

Supporting Characters in "The Old Man and the Sea"

The Old Man and the Sea has very few characters, but there is one main character, one supporting character, and a few other characters that were mentioned in passing. The main character is the Old Man, whom the story is centered around. The supporting character is the Boy, whom helps out the Old Man quite a bit. Some of the characters mentioned in passing are the Boy's parents and the crew of the new ship that the Boy was forced to fish on. The Boy was very supportive of the Old Man. He helped out the Old Man every chance that he got, and did everything in his power to show his loyalties. He drank with the Old Man at the bar, took him back to his house and even brought him supper. He carried half of the Old Man's supplies to and from the Old Man's ship, bought him some bait, and made sure that he got plenty of rest. The Boy was very loyal to the Old Man and had faith in him even when no one else did. The Boy's parents and the crew of the new ship that the Boy had been forced to fish on were only mentioned in passing, but they were still important to the story. The Boy's parents did not believe in the Old Man, along with the rest of the villagers, so after a long period of time when the Old Man did not catch any fish, they made the Boy fish with another ship. The other ship steadily brought in fish, so the Boy's parents made him fish with them, because they wanted the Boy to have a steady income. By catching more fish, the Boy had a more steady income and he also had a greater income. While The Old Man and the Sea had very few characters, the book was still very good, and it worked out well that the book had a very small number of characters, because the book ended up better that way.