Different Styles in the Grapes of Wrath
Essay title: Different Styles in the Grapes of Wrath
Different Styles in The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck used a lot of different styles in The Grapes of Wrath. He liked using language that was in keeping with his characters. He was also really big on symbolism. Steinbeck also used intercalary chapters to provide some of the background information.
John Steinbeck must have loved using slang and natural dialect. All of his characters spoke with a very heavy accents. “Tell em ya dongs growed scence you los your eye.” (P. 180). Granted, this does add some realism. But sometimes, its just a little too thick. This can make the book harder to read (as if it really needs any help in that department). That style of writing is very useful when working on something that is going to be heard, but it doesnt work quite as well when it is read, I have noticed. Slang is also another element that can both help and hinder a book. Some words change meaning in time. A good example would be “cool”. 100 years ago, if someone were to say that the clothes were cool, people would think “I should wear those during the summer, to stay cool”. Some other words just dont have any meaning now. The phrase “tom-cattin” was used to describe Al. That term is rarely, if ever, used today. The only reason that you can tell what it means is by its use in the sentence.
Another style that Steinbeck used was symbolism. Practically everything was a symbol for something. There was a chapter that had a turtle trying to cross the road. The turtle then got hit by a truck, the driver of which tried to hit the turtle. Some people