In 1936 Steinbeck was commissioned by a San Francisco newspaper to write a series of articles about the migrant farmers who had lost the land they had worked on in the region of the Dust Bowl and who therefore came to California to find work and to start a new life. Steinbeck travelled to the region and witnessed the hardships those farmers had to endure with his own eyes. He was deeply moved by their fate and wanted to help them. Interestingly, he decided that instead of writing newspaper articles about them, he was going to write a novel. Steinbeck thus chose a fictional medium over a documentary one to inform the public about a highly topical subject. His novel The Grapes of Wrath was made into a film only one year after it had been published in 1939. The movie, which carried the same title, was immensely successful and won the director John Ford an Oscar Award. Thus Steinbeck succeeded in drawing attention to the hard lot of the migrant farmers. “What becomes of history?” is the first part of the title for my paper. I take this to refer to the relationship between historical reality and its depictions in literary an cinematic works of art (and not to a mere tracing of historical details in an otherwise fictional piece of art). I think I am justified in doing so, because that seems to be the striking particularity of the book’s creation: Steinbeck obviously thought the novel, which is usually associated with fiction, to be a better medium to convey historical reality than a classical medium of documentary nature like a news article in a newspaper. The same particularity applies to the movie, which is not a documentary. Since success proved both, Steinbeck and Ford, right, the interesting question is: How and why can works of art convey historical reality and how is this done in the movie The Grapes of Wrath? In order to answer this question, I will briefly recount in the first chapter the historical events Steinbeck’s book and Ford’s movie are based on. I will then proceed in the second chapter to give a summary of the plot of the movie that is set in the historical reality described in the first chapter. Also in the second chapter, there will be an analysis of the movie in terms of saga and then epic saga as well as a discussion of how its main theme human endurance is borne out. [...]
Table of Contents
0. Introduction
1. The historical facts the movie is based on
2. Summary of the plot and characterization of the movie as an epic saga of human endurance
2.1. Summary of the plot
2.2. The movie as a saga
2.3. The saga as epic
2.4. The theme of the movie: human endurance
3. Assessment of how historical reality is present and presented in the movie
3.1. The immediate historical level of reality
3.2. The exemplifying level
3.3. The symbolic level
4. The (in)validity of the representation / interpretation distinction and the power of art
4.1. The power of art
4.2. The (in)validity of the representation / interpretation-distinction
5. Conclusion: What does become of reality in The Grapes of Wrath?
6. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines how John Ford's film adaptation of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" conveys historical reality through artistic narrative techniques rather than mere documentary reproduction. The research explores the intersection of historical truth, cinematic representation, and the enduring human struggle during the Dust Bowl era.
- Analysis of the film as an epic saga of human endurance.
- Investigation of narrative levels including the immediate, the exemplifying, and the symbolic.
- Evaluation of the tension between objective historical representation and subjective interpretation.
- Discussion of the transformative power of art in capturing the human essence of historical events.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4 The theme of the movie: human endurance
After having analysed the movie as an epic saga, an open-ended family story that is being narrated, the final question of this chapter is the theme of human endurance. It is the central theme of the movie and has two aspects to it: firstly, human endurance as endurance or survival of humans; and secondly human endurance as survival as humans.
The first, survival of humans, refers to the need for people to earn money in order to live. The whole movie is a story of a family trying to find work in order to be able to eat and have a roof over their head. Extreme hardships are undergone to that end, because indeed the very preservation of life depends on its success. In the first camp the Joads stay overnight at there is a farmer returning from California and he tells how his children literally died of hunger. There can be no doubt that the danger to starve is real for the Joad family.
The second, survival as humans, refers to the attempt to stay human, to preserve one’s moral values and dignity, while being engaged in the battle for survival. One figure to embody this aspect is Ma Joad. She is concerned that her family and especially Tom does not become “mean-mad” because of the hardships they have to undergo.
Summary of Chapters
0. Introduction: Outlines the shift from journalistic observation to fictional narrative in Steinbeck’s work and defines the paper's central question regarding how art conveys historical reality.
1. The historical facts the movie is based on: Provides the socio-economic context of the 1930s Dust Bowl and the subsequent migration of tenant farmers to California.
2. Summary of the plot and characterization of the movie as an epic saga of human endurance: Summarizes the Joad family's journey and analyzes the film's thematic structure as an "epic saga" focused on survival.
3. Assessment of how historical reality is present and presented in the movie: Distinguishes between immediate, exemplifying, and symbolic levels of depicting historical reality.
4. The (in)validity of the representation / interpretation distinction and the power of art: Argues that artistic re-creation provides a deeper truth than documentary fact by capturing the human essence of historical experience.
5. Conclusion: What does become of reality in The Grapes of Wrath?: Confirms the film's status as a truthful portrayal of the human condition, validating its interpretive approach to historical events.
Keywords
The Grapes of Wrath, John Ford, John Steinbeck, Dust Bowl, historical reality, human endurance, cinematic narrative, epic saga, representation, interpretation, migrant farmers, Joad family, social documentary, art, human dignity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this academic paper?
The paper explores how the film adaptation of "The Grapes of Wrath" represents historical events of the 1930s Dust Bowl and whether artistic media can effectively convey historical truth.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The main themes include the nature of historical representation, the cinematic concept of the "epic saga," and the dichotomy between biological survival and the preservation of human dignity.
What is the research goal of this document?
The goal is to determine how and why artistic works, specifically film, can capture the essence of historical reality better than mere documentary accounts.
Which methodology is employed in the analysis?
The author uses a qualitative analysis approach, examining narrative structures, symbolic motifs, and character arcs to evaluate the film's fidelity to both historical facts and the human experience.
What aspects are addressed in the main body?
The main body moves from historical context to a detailed literary and cinematic analysis, concluding with a philosophical debate on the distinction between representation and interpretation in art.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Keywords include historical reality, human endurance, cinematic representation, The Grapes of Wrath, and social commentary.
How does the author define the "exemplifying level" of reality?
The exemplifying level refers to how specific characters, like the Joads, serve as prototypes that represent the broader experience of all displaced migrant farmers during the Great Depression.
What role does Ma Joad play regarding the theme of human endurance?
Ma Joad serves as a central figure who embodies "survival as humans," focusing on the preservation of moral values and family unity amidst extreme adversity.
How does the paper analyze the camera as a narrator?
The author discusses the camera as a mediator that influences the audience's perception through perspective shifts, lighting techniques, and the deliberate selection of visual scenes to evoke empathy or reflection.
- Quote paper
- Martina Kästner (Author), 2006, What becomes of history: the movie "The Grapes of Wrath" as epic saga of human endurance, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/64686
