Throughout the novel Grapes of Wrath, the author, John Steinbeck, does an excellent job of depicting the struggles of life during the Dust Bowl. There were many reasons for these problems, including the stress of having to leave one's home country to seek work and maintain a successful lifestyle. These problems were very difficult for any family member to deal with, but they were especially severe for parents and elders in the family. Children were also affected, but not as much as parents. Perhaps the most significant theme of The Grapes of Wrath is the extreme struggles a family faces when they leave their family land and migrate to find work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The family's struggles are presented in the first chapter of Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck presents the setting of the novel as taking place in the Midwestern United States. The dictation throughout the novel's early chapters uses dark phrases and dark word choices that depict depressing images of the struggles encountered during the Dust Bowl. These images are particularly present when Steinbeck writes: “People came out of their houses and smelled the hot, pungent air…. » This depiction of polluted air and its effects on the people of this place foreshadows the problems that are yet to come in the rest of the novel. It also connects the relationship between humans and nature. These relationships will be shown in every aspect of the rest of the book. The intense descriptions set the stage for the sad situations many families experience in the dust bowl. When the family decides to leave and head to California, it is extremely difficult for everyone in the family. Pa Joad was perhaps most affected by the move to California. He had never been anywhere other than the family land and the connection with the land was extremely strong. Pa Joad had grown up on this piece of land since he was young. It was very difficult for him to pack his bags and leave permanently. He raised six children on this land and grew up farming the same land. Expecting him to give up everything he grew up with and the life he built is a lot to ask of a person. Before the family left for California, Dad was in a field looking at the land. This scene was one of the few times we see Pa express extreme emotion. This event proves how important land can be to someone. These struggles continue to culminate in the first chapters of the novel. Just after the Joads leave their homeland, Grandpa dies and must receive a proper funeral. It was very difficult for the family, especially for Dad, because grandparents play an important role in holding the family together. Later in the novel, when Grandma Joad dies, some other family members had begun venturing out on their own, leaving the safety of a family. These two significant scenes in the novel reflect the idea that grandparents are essentially the glue of the family and that once grandparents are gone, it is much more difficult to bring a family together for reunions. The connections between humans and nature are evident throughout the novel. the novel. One of the key points of this phenomenon appears in chapter 10, when Steinbeck writes: "And the family still stood there like dream walkers, their eyes fixed panoramic, seeing no detail, but all the dawn, all the land, all the texture of the country to..