Emily Case- the Grapes of Wrath

I can honestly say that when I went to choose my summer reading book for this class, I knew none of the titles, as well as nothing about them. I ended up choosing the Grapes of Wrath purely because I was intrigued by the title and was curious about whatever "grapes of wrath" were. However, upon reading the novel, I found that it is much more than just an interesting title.

John Steinbeck, the author, does a brilliant job of including vibrant details in his writing. You can vividly picture each scene in your head, and much of the language he uses is beautifully strung together. An especially detailed chapter happened to be the 3 page tale of a turtle crossing a road. At first, I was incredibly confused as to why the turtle chapter was included-turtles do not have any further significance throughout the story. After reading on though, I realized it carries heavy symbolism to the Joad family and their difficult travels.

Something else that I thought was interesting was the way Steinbeck changed his writing style every chapter or so. Chapters that deal directly with the Joad family and their story are written in a "normal" style. However, there are also chapters scattered throughout the book that are more general, and apply to the mass of families that were displaced by the industry. These sections are written in a different style, and don't use quotations. To me it implies a sense of chaos and hurry, something that the families deal with.