Final Opinions on The Grapes of Wrath

I finally finished The Grapes of Wrath, and I must say I did enjoy it. The novel finally picked up near the end, and I was able to finish it quickly. However, the novel was exceptionally depressing and sad. The one thing I did not like was the ending. I found it just sort of came to an end and I was left thinking "that's it? What happens to the family now?" I assume they were all able to find work and "live happily ever after" so to speak. I was a bit surprised that Rose of Sharon baby was born stillborn. However, the baby could be symbolism to the novel, and symbolize evil. Because, when the Joad family was staying at a "good" camp, a woman came up to Rose of Sharon and asked if the baby had been conceived out of sin. Rose of Sharon got herself all worked up over what the woman had said just because Rose had done some sort of dance that was considered inappropriate.

I also found the end ironic. At the beginning of the story, the Joads have to leave because there is no rain and all their crops have dried up, which does not provide income. Then, at the end of the novel, it is constantly raining. It rains so much that it floods where the Joads are staying in California and they are forced to build a sand bag wall to stop the flooding. I just found that ironic. My favorite thing about the novel was the descriptions. Steinbeck made the book extremely easy to understand, and gave very clear descriptions. I could understand most of the novel just by the descriptions Steinbeck gave. Like I have said previously, I can really tell Steinbeck lived during the Dust Bowl migration. He really made the novel emotional, and made me realize just how lucky I am. So, this book definitely made me think and gave good insight to life in the 30's.

I must say the turtle was never mentioned again. I think maybe the turtle was symbolism for how weird and misplaced the Joads felt throughout the novel. Because, how often is a turtle seen in a dry, sandy place? Therefore, the turtle was just out of place, and probably symbolized the Joad family and how awkward they felt.