"Grapes of Wrath": Perhaps what sustains us to live strong is just a humble hope

"Grapes of Wrath" is the masterpiece of the famous American writer and Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. The novel tells the story of a large area of Oklahoma's farmland that was ravaged by sand and dust during the economic depression in the United States in the 1930s, and the drought was long without rain, and the crops failed. The land of the sharecroppers was confiscated by companies and banks. They have lost the land on which they depend and have been forced to leave the homes founded by their ancestors. The impoverished Jodd family is one of them. They became sellers at low prices and drove their dilapidated cars to the golden west of California, in search of the legendary beautiful home.

During the long journey, The Jodd family slept in the open, day and night. Tired of choosing water on the side of the road, setting up tents, collecting firewood and cooking. On the way, they often encountered the same displaced people who had fled the wilderness, all from different places, going in the same direction - the west. They travel together or stay together, caring for and helping each other. Sometimes, homeless people returning from the west are also encountered, telling Jod some bad news. The Western hired workers who were spreading around were nothing more than a beautiful trap. Bourgeoisie attracts a large number of job seekers to achieve the purpose of driving down wages. Jodd, who had been poured cold water, held on to the hope of luck and moved on, because they had no way back.

On the way, Joey's grandparents died of illness. The eldest son, Noah, left alone, looking for another way out. The son-in-law also quietly fled because he could not bear the hardships of the journey and was pessimistic about the future, leaving his newly married and pregnant wife Rosasha. The miserable Rosasha collapsed.

During one of the stops, a policeman used the excuse to cause trouble and clashed with the displaced people, and Jodd's son Tom was not accustomed to the arrogance of the police. Attacked the police and injured them. One of the priests who fled with The Kidds was a priest named Casey. In return for the Joey family's kindness to him, Casey is willing to suffer for Tom and is taken away by the police car.

The dilapidated truck carried the Jodd family on a difficult journey, climbing mountains and mountains, through the desert, to the plains. Finally to beautiful Dacafornia. It is full of fertile orchards and flourishing crops. The fruit is fruitful and the cotton bells are in bunches. The farm has signs for hired workers. It all looks good.

The Jodd family settled in and looked around for work. But the wages found were pitifully small. Even so, a large number of displaced people lined up to do it. The whole family went to war, worked hard for a day, and could only eat half full. In sharp contrast, the land-owning bourgeoisie earns a good harvest and has room to sit idle, but they are doing their best to squeeze the wages of the laborers. If their crops are not sold at a high price, they will be discarded or left to rot, and the hungry displaced will not be able to eat them. The injustice of reality, the crisis of survival, aroused the strong anger of the displaced. A burst of anger was like a ripe grape, weighing heavily on their chests...

At the picking ground, Tom accidentally meets Casey, who has been previously arrested by the police. The old people were very happy to meet each other. During a conversation, Tom learns that Casey is organizing a labor strike. At this time, the farm overseer led someone to arrest Casey. Casey angrily rebuked the other side for his sins. Killed by the other side. An enraged Tom was injured in the counterattack. After escaping, Tom hides in stealth. Soon, he was told by his young sister that he had missed the wind. Jodd's wife panicked and quietly approached Tom and asked him to leave immediately. Tom took the opportunity to tell his mother his intentions, saying that he wanted to learn from Casey, join the Red Party, and fight to change the lowly life like a pig.

Jodd's daughter Rosasha gave birth in a state of depression, giving birth to a dead baby. The family was heartbroken and reluctantly asked Uncle John to help deal with the dead baby. John threw the box containing the dead baby into the torrential rain, hoping that the dead baby would drift along and let the world see the child who died of hunger...

The harvest period is over, and the displaced people are facing unemployment again. With no land, no income, no shelter, their lives seem to have walked into a dead end, with no way out. The family frowned. Nevertheless, Jodd's wife encourages everyone not to be discouraged, believing that the days will always change and that all the sufferings experienced are meaningful.

Displaced displaced people face not only hunger and disease, but also natural disasters. A torrential rain, flooding, flooded the parking lot where Jodd lived. Rising water levels approached truck cars, and in times of crisis, Jodd's wife resolutely led her family to find another place to shelter from the rain. The family was running dazed on the road, and the heavy rain hit and ran into the old barn next to the road. Meet a father and son in the barn. The child said that his father, who was lying on it, was starving to death because his father always left him what little food he had, and the father himself had not eaten for many days.

Everyone looked helplessly at the poor man. Chord's wife expressed deep sympathy and a plan, and made brief eye contact with her daughter Rosasha, who nodded in agreement. Everyone walked away, and Rosaxia slowly walked over to the hungry man and fed this strange father on the verge of death with her breasts... A mysterious smile appeared on the face of the kind woman.

A little personal opinion:

Judging from the plot, the twists and turns are fascinating, and very interesting. The structure of the text is very clever, the previous chapter describes the present moment, and the next chapter talks about the background. And so on. The jumping style is very rhythmic. In addition, the author's brush strokes are delicate, depicted in detail, scenes or characters, dynamic or static, written very expressive, very situational, making people feel as if they are in it, becoming a member of the Jodd family, and their fates fluctuate.

Jodd's wife is one of the most prominent characters in the whole story. She is thrifty, kind and tolerant, and helps the weak. She always inspires the people around her with a strong and optimistic attitude towards life. She has insight into the world, and her words are inspiring. She said: When the poor encounter difficulties, they go to the poor to help, and only they are willing to help. He also said that men live in the changes of the world and cannot help but strike. And women live in hope, like flowing water that does not stop. It won't be crushed. Even if life changes a little, the good guys are always moving forward. She is the spiritual pillar of the whole family.

Pastor Casey, who could not help evil thoughts during his mission, hated his hypocrisy and resigned as a pastor. From introspection and repentance, to suffering for Tom, to finally heroic sacrifice. He achieved soul redemption. He said that the soul of the individual is small, and that what is connected to everyone is noble. The power of the individual is meager, and only by uniting more people can we form a powerful synergy.

Tom is a young man of pure nature. He experienced the hardships of life and saw clearly the dangers of the world. He was deeply touched by the spirit of resistance of the pastor and understood that to live a dignified life, he would have to rely on more toiling masses to fight.