Essay | The Grapes of Wrath: Capturing the Era

It is one thing to tell a story, but it is another thing to capture the essence of the environment in which it takes place. John Steinbeck accurately captures the era of the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. Using figures of speech, illustrating the hopes of the people, and including historical content, Steinbeck captures an accurate impression of the period.

Steinbeck's vivid use of figures of speech in his descriptions of the environment of the depression grasps the atmosphere of living during that time. In his descriptions of the surroundings, Steinbeck artistically weaves images that consist of colorful use of metaphors and similes. The people's almost futile struggle against the dust is exemplified in his narration of how "houses were shut tight, and cloth wedged around doors and windows, but the dust came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled...
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