The Grapes of Wrath - 8

John Steinbeck is the author of the novel The Grapes of Wrath. He uses many techniques to engage the audience and to make the story more effective. Engaging the audience is important in a book, especially one that has so many life lessons as this book does.

In the novel, Steinbeck tells the story of the Joad family in every other chapter. In the opposite chapters, Steinbeck gives details and background of the time period in which the next chapter on the Joads will tell of. This method helps the reader stay focused, by switching gears back and forth between both so they do not got bored of one or the other. This also makes the story of the Joads much more effective, because the reader receives background information on the time period, before the read about what happens with the Joads.

Another technique that engages the audience is the very realistic viewpoint that Steinbeck writes the novel in. He shares many details that sometimes are downright sickening. But it is those details that keeps the reader engaged and focused on the book. An example of that is chapter twenty five. The whole chapter tells of the surplus of food that the rich farmers have. They get rid of the food so that the price of it will go up, while there are people that try to get to the food but can't and they starve and die. Another example is the last scene of the book. The last scene is very graphic and quite disturbing, but it clearly gets the message across to the reader.

The language used in the novel The Grapes of Wrath is the language that the people in the story would have actually used. Much of it is very improper grammar, but that is what gives it character and makes it more realistic. It also paints a more vivid picture of what the people were like and it helps the reader understand them more and it is more engaging to read.

The author also depicts things quite dramatically. That may seem like an annoyance, but actually it helps point out the true irony of many things in the story. The Joad family has to make many life altering decisions in the book, each one which directly changes their life drastically, depending on what they decide. That also gives the book a more engaging component to it.

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