Why does steinbeck call the country of Oklahoma red and gray?
Why does steinbeck give so much detail on the setting in the first chapter?
Why does it not say the time or date in the beginning of the story?
Was this the time of the great depression
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ReplyDeleteThe Grapes of Wrath was during the time of the Great Depression, a worldwide economic depression preceding the Second World War,because it was during the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl was a time when many American farmers moved towards the West, especially California, most commonly using Route 66. Many farmers decided to leave because they wanted to escape the spiral of debt and seek greater opportunities.
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ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, there is not a specific time or date placed because Steinbeck gives his audience, later on, various clues and indications that reveal the novel's time frame. An example would be the character's heavy accents and the agricultural stock market crash that happened during the Great Depression.
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ReplyDeleteJohn Steinbeck gives a copious amount of detail of the setting in the first chapter of the novel, because he wants to give his audience a visual representation of life in the Midwest during the 1930s. During that time frame, there were many serious droughts that decreased America's agricultural economy tremendously. That was clearly depicted in chapter one, and it gives his audience an effective reason of why the Joad family set out for California.
1. JESSICA PHINSAVANH (mynamesaysUNKNOWNidkwhy)
ReplyDeleteIn Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck calls the country red and gray to signify that the countries are becoming weak. Weak as in no crops are growing and when they did grow, they would suddenly die again due to weather conditions happening during that time in Oklahoma. He also indicates that "the gray and the dark red country began to disappear under a green cover..." meaning the land is worthless without crops because without crops there wouldn't be any food to provide and that's when people become in debt.
2. I agree with Candida, the author incorporated plenty of details to make sure the reader will have a great visual representation of the setting he's describing in the 1930s. This lifestyle wasn't fit for the family because their crops couldn't grow successfully due to the drought caused in the country.
ReplyDelete3. The time and date is not specified because the author wants the reader to figure it out ourselves by reading in between the lines and visualizing the many details he gave along with clues. There was archaic language written in the dialogue of the characters as well, which is a clue Steinbeck gave the readers. The way the characters spoke was obviously not from the present time period, but somewhere in the past around the 1900s. Also, the characters were drinking whiskey, and what I learned in history was that whiskey was more popular in the olden days which mean the setting takes place in the past.
ReplyDeleteThe Grapes of Wrath was the time of the Great Depression because the author wrote how the families had to go through not being able to plant crops due to the drought, and also dust in the morning as well as hot stinging air. Men were trying to figure out what they had to do to get away from this, which in this case ties back to a time in history which was the Dust bowl.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica that the author used "red and gray" to vividly describe the environment of Oklahoma during the time period of the Great Depression. He used it to emphasize that the land has turned from fertilized soil to useless dirt from the drought. He is also eluding to many families leaving the mid-west because without fertilized soil there are no crops, and without crops there is no revenue for the agricultural farmers.
1.) I believe that when Steinback begins his book with the red and gray Oklahoma it refers to the good and bad part of Oklahoma, meaning that the red signifies the brightness and positive outcomes of the land since red is a bright color that is automatically noticeable. On the other hand, the gray Oklahoma can represent the negative and miserable events that will soon come when the rain season is over and the drought begins, since the color gray refers to sadness and gloomy days.
ReplyDelete2.) Steinback gives a long, but clear overview of the setting because he wants the audience to picture the setting in their mind very clearly just like Candida mentioned above. The surroundings and characteristics that make up the environment are key to the plot of the book, so he had the obligation to describe the setting fully without leaving any details out.
3.)Not including the time and date was a great strategy that the author used because he did not want to give away this information directly; he wanted to find a usage for all his description of the setting. He provided copious details which practically gave away the basic information of the time period.
4.) Yes, this indeed was the time period of the Great Depression because, like I mentioned in my research overview, the farmers were directly affected by the struggles of the U.S. economy.
Well, as my fellow group members have discussed, Steinbeck calls Oklahoma red and gray as way to describe the current state of the region. The storyline does take place during the Great Depression, and at this point in the book, the Dust Bowl is taking place, as well therefore we can assume that gray and red represent the poor condition Oklahoma finds itself in. However, adding on to what Whitney said about the color Red, I happen to think that it could also represent something negative due to the fact that sometimes Red is associated with blood and anger.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Steinbeck gives so much detail in the first few chapters of the book with the intention of giving the audience plenty of information regarding the conditions in which the setting of the plot is going to revolve around, same as what both Candida and Jessica stated before that the author gives ample detail in order to give the readers a better image of the setting.
Even though the author does provide sufficient detail, he does not mention the time frame because it serves as a way to engage the audience into the story. By not giving the date or time in which the story is following, this allows the reader to play closer attention to detail for example like Candida alleged, the character’s accents. Later on, with this information the audience can piece together the clues and figure out time story’s time frame.
Great discussion!
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