Blog Topic #4: Text Connections
Text-to-Text: Colors play an imperative role in describing the setting or the tone of the story. John Steinbeck uses many colors to convey the moods of the setting and of the people. Gray is the most common color used because of the stress and frigid tone. Also in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, the colors that the main character, Janie, wore reflected her mood. During her marriage to Joe Starks, she often wore pale and dull colors, but while she was married to Tea Cake she was always dressed in a bright blue dress of some sort. Through out The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck includes many long sentences. This is similar to the Scarlet Letter because Nathaniel Hawthorne used many dashes to elongate the sentence and to add as much detail as possible.
Text-to-World: In The Grapes of Wrath, there is a town described in which several farmers lose their privileges to the land they work on. A similar crisis is happening right now, many families are being forced to move out of their homes by the bank/government. In a way the economic crises that this country has experienced is simply in a reoccurring cycle in which every financial issue will eventually happened again.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Syntax
Blog Topic #3: Syntax
• “and every day the earth paled”
• “And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men- to feel whether this time the men would break (3)”
• “’ My dogs were pooped out’ (8)”
• “the yellowness was disappearing under the gray dust (17)”
• “’Got drunk together ever’ chance they got.’ (28)”
• “on both sides, dusty and dry and dark green. (28)”
The overall tone of The Grapes of Wrath is the forced contentment of the people and an undertone of hopelessness. John Steinbeck clearly displays this tone by describing many colors such as red and yellow, are being covered by a shade of gray, which parallels the emotions of the people. All of the other emotions they are supposed to be feeling, such as happiness and love, are being covered by despair and hopelessness. Steinbeck’s simplistic style is reflected in his use of very simple and short words. Once again he relates people to simple animals; this comparison simply reiterates how large the difference is between the simple acts of animals to the now difficult decisions of people. Steinbeck conveys the idea that the males have the deciding voice in whether the family will move or stay. This creates a sense of dominance for the males, and in most societies the male is seen as the dominant and confident member of the family, and Steinbeck repeatedly explains the difficulty of deciding the family’s fate; which even further conveys the idea of hopelessness, when even the confident male figure is having doubts. Steinbeck constantly explains the conditions of the “paling earth,” which conveys the purpose of describing the hardship and despair of the time.
• “and every day the earth paled”
• “And the women came out of the houses to stand beside their men- to feel whether this time the men would break (3)”
• “’ My dogs were pooped out’ (8)”
• “the yellowness was disappearing under the gray dust (17)”
• “’Got drunk together ever’ chance they got.’ (28)”
• “on both sides, dusty and dry and dark green. (28)”
The overall tone of The Grapes of Wrath is the forced contentment of the people and an undertone of hopelessness. John Steinbeck clearly displays this tone by describing many colors such as red and yellow, are being covered by a shade of gray, which parallels the emotions of the people. All of the other emotions they are supposed to be feeling, such as happiness and love, are being covered by despair and hopelessness. Steinbeck’s simplistic style is reflected in his use of very simple and short words. Once again he relates people to simple animals; this comparison simply reiterates how large the difference is between the simple acts of animals to the now difficult decisions of people. Steinbeck conveys the idea that the males have the deciding voice in whether the family will move or stay. This creates a sense of dominance for the males, and in most societies the male is seen as the dominant and confident member of the family, and Steinbeck repeatedly explains the difficulty of deciding the family’s fate; which even further conveys the idea of hopelessness, when even the confident male figure is having doubts. Steinbeck constantly explains the conditions of the “paling earth,” which conveys the purpose of describing the hardship and despair of the time.
Diction
Blog Topic #2: Diction
• “; and every day the earth paled (1)”
• The reoccurring “dust”
• “, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country, and white in the gray country. (1)”
• “Inside a screened restaurant a radio played, quiet dance music turned low the way it is when no one is listening. (5)”
• “Lighted it (11)”
• “ the yellowness was disappearing under gray dust. (17)”
• “a snowball’s chance in hell (22)”
• “same on both sides, dusty and dry and dark green (28)”
• “He ate without relish (36)”
John Steinbeck’s use of diction creates a tone of contentment but he includes an undertone of hopelessness. Steinbeck creates the content although hopeless tone by explaining that all of the more vibrant colors are still present, but they are being covered by a shade of gray. When Steinbeck describes a small diner in the town, he mentions the volume of the music that is coming from the radio. The music is explained as a quiet dance song that no one is listening to, this even further conveys the tone of hopelessness and despair because it reflects the uncaring emotions of the town. The tone of the people also reflects the overall tone such as “he ate without relish,” which symbolizes that the people’s lives are becoming dull and unflavored, this implies that the mood of the people is reflected upon the land.
• “; and every day the earth paled (1)”
• The reoccurring “dust”
• “, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country, and white in the gray country. (1)”
• “Inside a screened restaurant a radio played, quiet dance music turned low the way it is when no one is listening. (5)”
• “Lighted it (11)”
• “ the yellowness was disappearing under gray dust. (17)”
• “a snowball’s chance in hell (22)”
• “same on both sides, dusty and dry and dark green (28)”
• “He ate without relish (36)”
John Steinbeck’s use of diction creates a tone of contentment but he includes an undertone of hopelessness. Steinbeck creates the content although hopeless tone by explaining that all of the more vibrant colors are still present, but they are being covered by a shade of gray. When Steinbeck describes a small diner in the town, he mentions the volume of the music that is coming from the radio. The music is explained as a quiet dance song that no one is listening to, this even further conveys the tone of hopelessness and despair because it reflects the uncaring emotions of the town. The tone of the people also reflects the overall tone such as “he ate without relish,” which symbolizes that the people’s lives are becoming dull and unflavored, this implies that the mood of the people is reflected upon the land.
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