Running Head: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE GRAPES OF WRATH

A Comparative Analysis of The Grapes of Wrath: One Story, Two Storytellers

Anand Kumar Siththaranjan

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

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A Comparative Analysis of The Grapes of Wrath: One Story, Two Storytellers

The Grapes of Wrath is a highly-acclaimed text by John Steinbeck published in 1939

that tells the the story of the Joad family, who after being forced from their homes travel to

California in hopes of fulfilling the American Dream. It was later adapted into a film in 1940,

directed by John Ford. Based on the text by Steinbeck, they share the same basic story, yet they

both have unique treatments of moral and economic themes that reflect the ideological

differences between Steinbecks socialism and Fords conservatism.

Steinbeck was a lifelong Democrat that made his socially progressive values clear within

his seminal work The Grapes of Wrath. He was a self-declared agnostic, interested in the belief

that man was meant to be part of a greater chain of being (The Politics, 2017). Having

depended on welfare prior to becoming famous, this shaped his ideological views as a socialist.

As a professional author, he joined the League of American Writers, a communist

organisation, in 1935. His work largely dealt with the poor and downtrodden, and often

espoused his political viewpoints, and was thus looked upon both positively and negatively

throughout the United States. As a testament to his work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in

Literature as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the Democrat President Lyndon B.

Johnson. However, many did not agree with his communist ideas of collectivism and welfare,

seeing them as harmful to capitalist ideals and the American Dream. Amidst anti-communist

sentiment that only continued to heighten after the text was published, his work divided the

nation. Because of Steinbecks experience reporting on the hardships of soldiers in the Army

during World War II as well as his own dependence on social security, it was this that

developed him into a writer that preached communist values such as collectivism and the

empowerment of the lower socio-economic classes, themes which can be seen throughout the

The Grapes of Wrath and his other literary works.

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Ford chose to direct a film based on Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath, which was

unexpected due to his known conservative values being ideologically opposed to the socially-

conscious ideals upheld by Steinbeck. He was a member of the Republican Party and the

Catholic Church (The Politics, 2017). In his career, he served the Navy by making

documentary films during World War II, and later became an admiral. This military history

suggests that he was patriotic and pro-government. After transitioning into Hollywood, he

became close friends with many conservatives such as 20th Century Fox head Darryl Zanuck

and actor John Wayne. He was later awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard

Nixon, a Republican president. His history shows that he held religious and political views

often commonly associated with conservatives, views that were likely to influence his work.

Many of his films in fact dealt with rugged individuals enduring the conditions of harsh

landscapes, and he chose that same approach in his adaptation of Steinbecks novel on the

class struggle between the rich and the poor.

This decision by Ford gave rise to a host of conflicting views in each work, such as the

role of the family unit as compared to a message of community amongst the poor. Though in

both the film and book there is an element of working together to overcome hardship, the film

focuses on rugged individualism and family bonds whereas the book highlights working as a

community.

The concept of working together as a larger community was introduced in both the film

and book by the character Jim Casy, the former reverend. Casy is shown in the book as a

spiritual figure, with an extended metaphor of Casy as Christ being used. This is apparent with

details such as Casy spending 40 days in the wilderness, in parallel to Christ who chooses to do

the same, and his initials being J.C.. As well as this, his conflict with authority later in the book

and his choice to sacrifice himself by giving himself in to the police is similar to Christs

decision to die for everyones sins. His death is similar to that of Christ, where he exclaims that
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You don know what youre a-doin (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 265), similar to Christs final words

prior to his crucifixion, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing (Luke

23:24, The New International Version). Even more, Casy makes a disciple of Tom Joad, who,

in the book, vows to spread his message of social justice and community. This point of an

oversoul, the idea that everybody is part of the same spiritual soul, is important in the book as

it seeks to establish a theme of community. Casy explains this concept by saying that 'maybe

it's all men an' all women we love; maybe that's the Holy Speritthe human speritthe whole

shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 17).

Though in both mediums Casy discusses the idea of an oversoul, the film discredits

Casy by portraying him as somewhat out of his mind. This is primarily evident by the initial

scene where the viewer meets Casy, who re-enacts a moment of Tom Joads baptism by

jumping over fence, falling flat on his face. He acts childish, speaking with great inflection in his

crazed voice.

The film further tries to not present an emphasis on community by removing the pig

slaughtering scene that was in the book. By having different members of the family, Casy and

Muley work together to slaughter the pig and prepare the food, it shows people contributing a

little bit each for a common goal. Even more, Ma Joad was initially against the others helping,

though after convincing by Casy she relented and allowed help. This shows an ideological shift

in the thinking of Ma Joad, who moves from an individualistic thinking common in traditional

conservative societies to a more liberal and community-conscious view. Whereas the book talks

about the twenty families [becoming] one family (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 131), a community

forming out of a common struggle, the film chooses to show that rather than trying to help the

other hungry children, the family first needs to tend to themselves before they can help others.

The film tries to stress the importance of the family unit, as evident by the lack of portrayal of

other migrant families, such as the Wainwrights and the Wilsons, which places more emphasis
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on the Joad family. Though a small part of the film, Tom Joad leads a harsh rebuke of the

children, and as the protagonist and one of the leaders of the family, this carries weight in its

message that family comes first.

The book ends with Rose breastfeeding a starving man after birthing a still-born child.

This startling imagery was used to show that we need to share our resources and come together

as a community to support each other. It is symbolic of the ideological change from family to

community-centric views, and is indicative of how the country as a whole can benefit from this.

As the book is written with the intention of critiquing the socio-economic state of the United

States, it uses this controversial scene to encourage discourse. However, the film chose to not

show this scene, and rather it ends upliftingly with the Joad family looking hopefully towards

their future. This is epitomised by Ma Joads final words in the film, Were the people that

live. Cant nobody wipe us out. Cant nobody lick us. Well go on forever, Pa. Were the

people. This serves the purpose of not only appealing to a general audience, as successful

movies aim to do, but to also promote the American Dream. Rugged individualism supports

this idea that with enough hard work we all may one day succeed, and as such this is a

conservative value.

The struggle faced by the working class, as shown by the challenges confronted by the

Joads, is why Steinbeck encourage the uniting of the poor against the rich. Made in the

background of the Dust Bowl, Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath heavily features clashes

between socio-economic classes. In the text, he portrays businesses as enemies of the people.

One of the first instances of this is when Tom Joad interacts with a truck driver. Having asked

for a lift from the driver, who says that he is not permitted by his company to do so, he seeks to

appeal to the humanity of the driver. The truck driver relents, having thought that If he

refused now, not only was he not a good guy, but he was forced to carry a sticker, was not

allowed to have company. If he took in the hitch-hiker he was automatically a good guy and
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also he was not one whom any rich bastard could kick around (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 6). This

theme of working as a community, especially against the upper class, continues with the

numerous interactions that the characters had with businesses. The book describes banks,

indicative of the larger notion of capitalist businesses, as monsters, such as in The bank the

monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the

monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 22). Later the text

further shows the Joads interactions with small businesses like pawn brokers and car salesman

who consistently take advantage of their leverage over the migrant farmers and under-pay or

over-charge them. Goin' to California? Here's jus' what you need. Looks shot, but they's

thousan's of miles in her, explains one duplicitous car dealer (Steinbeck, 1939, p. 44). This is

an example of the deceitful nature of a car salesman who overstates the ability of his vehicles

and tries to take advantage of farm families with little knowledge of automobiles. However, it is

not just the people who are affected by this, as the book shows that even small businesses like

gas stations are being forced out of business by even larger corporations.

As opposed to the book, the film chooses not to show any scenes with the pawnbroker

or the cars salesman, nor does it portray the banks as metaphoric monsters. There is no

explanation as to how the Joad family get a car, and as such there is no explanation of the

struggle the Joads face interacting with businesses. When it comes to the interaction that the

farm families have with the bank agent, the film chooses to instead portray the bank agent as

helpless against the unseen forces that have caused the families to be evicted. As the head of

one of the farming families begins to threaten the people responsible for their eviction, the

agent continuously defers responsibility, saying that the bank chairman isnt at fault as he has to

report to stockholders and that there is no single person to blame, rather it is the broader

economic collapse that is at fault. This kinder approach to businesses is a reflection of Fords
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pro-capitalist ideals, as opposed to Steinbecks socialism that place businesses second to the

concerns of the people.

Within the struggle between classes are those who seek to change the status quo.

Described as reds by Steinbeck, these are communist sympathisers who are trying to change

the capitalist structure of America. The book portrays them as seeking social change for the

greater good, and though in some instances as troublemakers, it is largely a positive message

towards making change. The film takes a different approach when portraying the class

differences. There is only a single mention of reds, that being when Thomas reads from a

newspaper, Citizens, angered at red agitators, burn another squatters camp, warn agitators to

get out of the county. Though it does not lay blame directly on the reds, it portrays them as

agitators that cause trouble, affecting innocent others. Thomas refuses to explain to Tom what

reds are, saying that I aint talkin about that, one way or the other. By barely mentioning

these communist sympathisers, the film shows them to have not done much for social change

and that they have instead angered people.

Steinbeck and Ford will go down in history as two famed storytellers, and their work

will leave a lasting impression on the dominant political ideologies in the United States.

Steinbecks socialist agenda set forth in The Grapes of Wrath, as well as his other work,

established the notions of collectivism as means by which the poor may overcome their social

and economic burdens. On the other hand, Fords conservative views, as seen in his adaptation

to film of Steinbecks work, helped to further invigorate the American Dream. He emphasised

hope in ones self and the importance of the family unit as means by which one can succeed.

Though they believed in opposing philosophies, they both tell a similar story of the Joad family

in the midst of the Dust Bowl. They also provided ideas that are relevant even in this modern

day, and as such both versions of The Grapes of Wrath are everlasting works in their own right.
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References

Steinbeck, J. (1939). The grapes of wrath. New York, NY: The Vikings Press.

Johnson, N. (Producer), Zanuck, D. F. (Producer) & Ford, J. (Director). (1940). The grapes of

wrath [Motion Picture]. United States: 20 Century Fox.

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The politics of Steinbeck, Ford, and Zanuck. (2017). R1A F17 U6 L1 class notes. Retrieved

from https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/courses/1465513/files/folder/Class%20Notes%20(ge

neric)/Unit%206%20class%20notes?preview=72123220