... , Tom Joad becomes a symbol of the Biblical theme of growth in the novel. Tom also develops the idea that the continuation of life requires rebirth and that all people have the potential for rebirth in The Grapes Of Wrath. In the beginning of the novel, Tom Joad has just been released from prison. Tom makes a journey back to his father's farm in Oklahoma, where he finds a deserted wasteland. In these first chapters of the novel, Tom Joad is ... a very selfish and individualistic character, even though the reader can obviously ... ...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In his article "Dust Bowl Blues", Peter Monro Jack says that The Grapes of Wrath is written in "superb style, one marvelous short story after another, and all melting into this long novel of the great trek." The reader strongly agrees with Jack's comment. The use of interchapters greatly adds to the understanding of the background of the novel. This technique provides a broader picture of what is happening to these migrant farmers as they give up ... . In the eyes of the farmers, they are not comfortable with the inanimate tractor. The chapter also summarizes the situation of the migrants who...

• Word Count: 646
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... are difficult structures to maintain without losing the reader in a mass of explication at the beginning, or through the confusion of attempting to sort out the various plot lines unaided. On the other hand, when the interweaving of the stories is skillfully managed by the author, the reader's experience is enriched by the contrast of a global and a particular viewpoint, for example, the alternating chapters in Moby Dick and The Grapes of Wrath. In the novel, The Blind Assassin, Margaret Atwood certainly experimented ... in several novels with tales within tales, supposedly factual acco...

• Word Count: 988
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School