Mans Relationship to the Land in John Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath Essa

Mans relationship to the reason undergoes a transformation throughout John Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath. Initially, back in Oklahoma, each family feels a tender attachment to the land because the ancestors of these farmers fought and cleared the Indians out of the land, made it suitable for farming, and worked year after year in the fields so that each generation would be provided for. Passing down the land to successive generations, the farmers come to realize that the land is all that they own. It is their familys source of sustenance. However, the strong bond between humans and the land is upturned when the bank comes to vacate the tenants during hard times. The tractors hired by the bank literally tear down the bond between man and the land. Due to the eviction, the farmers are obligate to move to California, where work is supposedly in demand. As each family takes off for California, it no longer feels a company to the lands through which it is traveling. Once it reaches California, it feels no connection to its land. For the first time, it is forced to be dependent on somebody elses generosity in distributing jobs, and most importantly, somebody elses land. Thus, in California, the relationship between man and land is not as strong as it was in Arkansas and Oklahoma. The change in this relationship is due in part to the mercilessness of the bank, and in the end, man loses because its connection to the only significant thing it has ever owned is gone. Once the families travel to California, each family members soul stays back in Oklahoma, making it problematical to adjust to working on lands that have not been cultivated by their own family for generations. The land of each generatio... ...job, but instead, little is offered, because of the numbers that they are orgasm in. Ultimately, one must conclude that no matter how poor a family may be, without land, all is lost in pursuit of a replacement of the inheritance that ha s been destroyed by a superior power. Works Cited and Consulted Conder, John J. Steinbeck and Natures Self The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck, Modern Critical Views. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 125-140. French, Warren. John Steinbeck. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1975. Levant, Howard. The richly Matured Art The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck, Modern Critical Views. New York Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 35-62. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York Penguin Books, 1978. Wallsten, Robert and Steinbeck, Elaine. Steinbeck A Life in Letters. New York The Viking Press, 1975.