Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

The turtle represents resilience and a will to survive. The turtle has a home wherever it goes as it carries its home on its back. This is a direct representation of the migrants and their behaviors. The turtle’s treacherous journey across the road directly parallels the migrants’ journey on the road to California. The turtle faces challenges and obstacles that he must overcome just as the migrants do. Eventually, he reaches the other side of the road for the better or for the worse, just as the migrants eventually reach California.

Most people see bugs as dirty and disgusting pests. This is also how the Californians saw the migrants. It is as if California has an infestation of migrants because there are so many and they cluster together. Their strength in community is threatening to the other inhabitants in the state. Steinbeck implies that the migrants could be a powerful group because of their numbers, but also like insects, their status in the world is too low to seriously make an impact.

The migrants head southward to California like the ducks. The ducks are seen as “dinky,” to Pa, an outsider. Likewise, the migrants are seen as weak to the Californians. In actuality, the migrants are very strong and resilient; they seem only seem weak to those outside the flock.

The ducks specifically represent migrants from Oklahoma because ma remembers seeing the ducks in Oklahoma. The blackbirds and doves represent migrants from other states.

There are many migrants in California and they are crowded and “settin’ so close together.”

The giant V of ducks points the direction Pa and the other migrants follow and travel.

Steinbeck uses the comparison of the migrants to animals to reveal major characteristics of the migrants and reinforce major themes of the novel. Animalism in its most basic sense is used to show the values of the migrants as having been driven to a focus solely on obtaining food and shelter. The forced migration of the migrants is also shown through the various migrating animals. The bug and bird analogies specifically show the where number of migrants and imply power in numbers. This power in numbers is used to show the theme of socialism and the community. The animals are also, as primal creatures, used to show the cycle of life theme that permeates through the novel.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH ANIMAL ANALOGIES

“The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and then took the migrant way to the West. In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward, and as the dark caught them, they clustered like bugs near to shelter and to water.”

“I seen the ducks today” he (Pa) said. “Wedgin’ south- high up. Seems like they’re awful dinky.”

Ma smiled. “Remember?” she said. “Remember what we’d always say at home? Winter’s a-comin’ early, we said, when the ducks flew…”

“I seen the blackbirds on the wires,” said Pa. “Settin’ so close together. An’ the doves.”

“…Pa strolled away, and his eyes followed the giant V of ducks down the sky.”

"I seen the ducks today," he (Pa) said, "wedgin' south- high up. Seems like they're awful dinky."

“Now the going was easy, and all the legs worked, and the shell boosted along, waggling from side to side. A sedan driven by a forty-year-old woman approached. She saw the turtle and swung to the right, off the highway, the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust boiled up. Two wheels lifted for a moment and then settled. The car skidded back onto the road, and went on but more slowly. The turtle had jerked into its shell, but now it hurried on, for the highway was burning hot.”

Most people see bugs as dirty and disgusting pests. This is also how the Californians saw the migrants. It is as if California has an infestation of migrants because there are so many and they cluster together. Their strength in community is threatening to the other inhabitants in the state. Steinbeck implies that the migrants could be a powerful group because of their numbers, but also like insects, their status in the world is too low to seriously make an impact.

“The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and then took the migrant way to the West. In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward, and as the dark caught them, they clustered like bugs near to shelter and to water.”

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi