2.+Literary+Analysis

Literary Analysis **S** ubject- The Great Depression and the journeys these families take as they travel west to California are the main subjects in //The Grapes of Wrath.//


 * O** ccassion- The book takes place in the late 1930's and spans from Oklahoma to California.


 * A** udience- The book is written for an audience that is willing and wants to learn about hardships, struggles, injustice and conditions that normal people faced, and learned to overcome.


 * S** peaker- The speaker is an outside viewer who knows all emotionally, historically and is very considerate to the poor, the migrants, and the workers. The point of view, however, seems to change throughout the novel. In certain chapters the narrator may be an individual in the scene, but in the Joad family chapters, it is more of an outside voice looking in.


 * T** one- The tone of the story is hindering and futile.


 * D** iction- Steinbeck used very short, easy words. The simplicity in the words he used allowed the reader to gain the level of illiteracy that the characters in the novel were at, and helped stregthen that connection with the readers.


 * S** yntax- Similar to the diction, Steinbeck uses short, simple sentences to tell his story. This as well allows the reader to put himself or herself directly in the shoes of the characters.