The Grapes of Wrath - 19

Naturalism can mean being caught in forces bigger than yourself. If you use that definition of naturalism, then there certainly a lot of naturalism in the book The Grapes of Wrath. The entire novel deals with the Joad family fighting naturalism and trying to press on and push forward to their future.

In the early parts of the book, a man tries to explain to the Joad family why the bank is taking away their land. The man says, "well, it's too late. And the owner men explained the workings and the thinkings of the monster that was stronger than they were. A man can hold land if he can just eat and pay taxes; he can do that." (Steinbeck 32) He later goes on to say "The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, yet the bank does it. the bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it." (Steinbeck 33) This is a perfect example of naturalism and how people get caught in forces that are bigger than themselves. People created the bank, but then it became something that nobody could stop. People were caught in it and there was no way to stop it. That is a great example of this kind of naturalism.

A small farm owner said to Ma Joad, "A little fella like me can't do anything." He was referring to the price at which the farmers pay the workers who pick their cotton. He says that he cannot choose what price to pay the cotton pickers, the The Association sets the rate. (Steinbeck 421) This is also an example of naturalism. The farmer was caught in a force greater than himself, which was the Farmer's Association. Earlier in the book, another farmer comments that the bank of the West owns the Farmer's Association and he also has no control of what he pays his workers. He too is caught in a force greater than himself. (Steinbeck 294)

Naturalism is seen throughout the entire novel. Naturalism is a problem in this book and it is a force that the Joad family was up against many times. From this novel we learn that something like naturalism cannot be faced alone. Just like when the people at the government camp stuck together and the police officers could not defeat them, if people stand up against naturalism they cannot face it alone if they want victory. Tom also realizes this and at the end of the book leaves the family to form unions so that he does not have to face the greater forces alone.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.