Symbolism Essay

The Grapes of Wrath is highly distinguished from other novels for its forceful symbolism. Steinbeck imbues deeper meanings and universal truths in different characters and events to support the themes of his book. One of the most powerful and overarching symbols of the book is Rose of Sharon’s baby which represents the Joad family’s hope for a new life in the West.

From the beginning of the book, Rose of Sharon is pregnant. She and her husband are ready to make the jouirney west in hope of a new life, and together they dream of their own house with a room dedicated for the new baby, a studying job for Connie, and all the ice they could ever desire to cool them in the heat. The baby in Rose of Sharon represented this hope. There was life in Rose of Sharon, and it was a new life. This baby was going to change their future, and so was the journey west going to change their future.

As hardships mount for the Joad family, Rose of Sharon becomes more protective of her baby. The grandparents die, Noah and Connie abandon the family, and things are looking bleak in the west. Rose of Sharon desperately clings on to her last thread of hope which is her baby. She is determined to see the baby survive, and she is determined to become a mother who nurtures her children. As long as she had her baby, Rose of Sharon would continue to press on and continue the journey. The baby was the symbol of hope.

However, Rose of Sharon’s world crumbles down in the last chapter of The Grapes of Wrath. Her one hope in life is taken away from her when she gives birth to a stillborn baby. The death of the baby symbolized the desperation of the Joad family, and all the migrants in general. Things were getting from bad to worse: No jobs were to be found, the pay was not enough to sustain the family, and the fierce rain was doomed to destroy them all. It seemed to the family that things could not get any worse, and there was no hope to live for. People were left to steal, and if they were shot at, “they did not run”; if they were hit, “they sank tiredly in the mud.” People were tired of this miserable life, and the promises of the west were dead. But it was not the end.

The symbol of the baby serves one last purpose in the novel. Uncle John was given the task to bury the dead baby. He put the baby into an apple box and set it in the rising stream as the rain continued to pour. Uncle John said fiercely, “ ‘Go down an’ tell ‘em. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell ‘em that way. That’s the way you can talk.’ ” The dead baby was to become a symbol of hope again for the migrants. The baby would drift into a town, and many people would begin to realize the desperation of the migrants. The baby was their last chance and last gleam of hope, and it could relieve the migrants’ misery.

Steinbeck uses Rose of Sharon’s baby to symbolize hope throughout the entire novel. The baby was the promise of “the golden time in the West”, and people held tightly to that one promise. The people would not break as long as they still had this one hope. When their hopes were dashed, and things looked dismal, the baby would be their hope one more time – the messenger of the migrants’ grief and sufferings to the landowners, law enforcers, and uncompassionate people. Steinbeck uses this baby to powerfully emphasize the migrants’ plight.

Who is to Blame?

We can speculate on Mercutio’s death and ask a series of “If only” questions all day, but to me, it is obvious that it is Mercutio’s own fault that he died. True, it is Tybalt that actually stabbed Mercutio, but Tybalt did not intend to duel with Mercutio in the first place. Tybalt had his own matter with Romeo that he wanted to resolve, but Mercutio got in the way. Appalled at Romeo’s apparent cowardliness, Mercutio insults Tybalt and challenges him to “pluck [his] sword out of his pilcher by the ears”. Tybalt, who anticipates any sort of duel, takes up the challenge. Mercutio could have been phlegmatic to the entire fray as this fight had nothing whatsoever to do with him (for he is neither a Capulet nor a Montague), but Mercutio clearly was not thinking straight. Romeo begs for peace, but it is too late: Tybalt thrusts his sword into Mercutio - leading to his own-caused death.

If only Mercutio had been wise, and thus silent, he could have lived to see the end of the story.

The Death of Tybalt Capulet

Tybalt Capulet, 24, died November 18, 1303, in Verona, Italy, after being stabbed in the chest by a Montague teenager.

Though he was known for his hotheadedness, Tybalt was a respectable man who spent much of his days fighting for his family’s honor against the Montagues. Unfortunately, this has cost him his very life, but his valor will forever be known in the history of Capulets.

Tybalt was a member of a fencing club and a dancing club, and he enjoyed going to festivals, going to church, and going to sleep. His uncle said of him, “Tybalt was a good, young lad who was either in the midst of some fray or dancing with some young damsel. We will sorely miss him.”

A service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, November 19, at Verona Catholic Church, 4612 S. Main Avenue.

Free Response: Romeo and Juliet

Act II, Scene ii, one of literature’s most well-known scenes, illustrates the beautiful archetypal love story of two youth coming from two rival families. In this early exchange between Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare succeeds in revealing and developing an atmosphere of passion and secrecy, but at the same time checked by caution and concern. Shakespeare reveals this aura of forbidden love by using diction, various sentence structures, figurative language, and foreshadow of the consequences of this secret love affair.

Carefully choosing his diction, Shakespeare heightens Romeo’s passionate love for Juliet. Romeo uses extravagant, poetic words in an effort to express his feelings toward Juliet: “Stony limits cannot hold love out” and “what love can do, that dares love attempt”. Again and again, Romeo repeatedly uses the word “love” which enhances the power and impact of his passion for Juliet. This passionate love is intensified by a mood of forbiddance, as the Capulet’s house is a dangerous place for Romeo, a Montague. Shakespeare demonstrates this risk by using diction such as “the place death”, “murder”, “peril”, “enmity”, and “hate”.

Shakespeare also makes use of the two character’s syntax to develop the mood of this scene. Juliet’s words are characterized by many short questions which is direct and concise, whereas Romeo’s is characterized by long, flowing, poetic sentences. This reveals to the audience that Juliet is hesitant and afraid that Romeo will get caught, again stressing the secrecy of this meeting. She is worried and pragmatic, asking “how cam’st [Romeo] hither” and how Romeo “founds’t…out this place”. However, Romeo’s long, poetic lines show that he is too much in love to worry about getting caught. Indeed, he says that Juliet’s “kinsmen are no stop to [him]”. Though Juliet is concerned, they both use blank verse which reveals the dynamic and passionate dialogue between the two lovers even in this dangerous situation.

Another way Shakespeare adds to the romantic atmosphere he has created, is by utilizing figurative language such as metaphors, personification, and similes. The metaphor Romeo uses, “with love’s light wings did [he] ‘o’erperch these walls”, reveals Romeo’s feeling of euphoria and light-headedness of seeing Juliet. Love is given the ability to “prompt” and “lend counsel”, and Shakespeare gives night the ability to “hide” Romeo from Juliet’s family. Romeo uses similes to express that he would travel as far as the “farthest sea” to see Juliet.

Shakespeare also uses foreshadow to develop the secrecy and danger of their love affair. Romeo says that he would rather die by their families’ hate rather than live longer, “wanting of [Juliet’s] love”. This secrecy and forbiddance mood is so heavy with Shakespeare’s inauspicious diction and powerful emotion that Shakespeare makes clear that something devastating will happen to the two lovers. This passionate love cannot last while their two families are in conflict, and fate will have it that they will both perish in love.

Shakespeare creates a beautiful scene of two lovers locked in intense passion and love in the midst of danger and forbiddance. Alone in a secret garden with “night’s cloak” to hide them, Romeo and Juliet pour out their love and concern for each other. This mood of passionate love is conveyed through Shakespeare’s use of diction, syntax, figurative language, and foreshadow, developing the impact of this scene in the overarching play.

THE LAND OF PROMISES... ...MADE TO BE BROKEN

Do you find pleasure in a hard day's work?

Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for your family?

In California, You Can Do All These Things!

* Work is plenty! And we have no discrimination against the weak!
* We promise to pay you as long as you work hard
* Lots of community!

BY: Andrew Blythe and Julie Ahn