분노의 포도에 나타난 아메리칸 드림

Abstract

ABSTRACT

A Study of the American Dream in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

Oh Cho-rong Advisor: Prof. Choe Han-yong, Ph.D. Dept. of English Education Graduate School of Chosun University

This paper is an attempt to discuss how the American Dream is shown in The Grapes of Wrath. This paper consists of four parts: Chapters Ⅰto Ⅴ. In Chapter Ⅰ, the introduction focuses on the aim of this paper and how Steinbeck's life experiences shaped his philosophy and literary themes. In chapter Ⅱ, I deal with the social environment of America in the 1930s. In chapters Ⅲ and Ⅳ, I comment on the religious and literary concepts of the American Dream; in particular, I will discuss Steinbeck's characterization of the American Dream. The themes in Steinbeck's novels range from love and the toughness of life to science. Although he talks about different themes throughout his novels, each novel covers similar themes. For example, his novels are based on non-teleological ideas, naturalism, humanism and Emerson's over-soul. The Grapes of Wrath also includes these concepts. Steinbeck explores these themes by dividing the Grapes of Wrath into two sections: the main story chapters are interleaved with the general story of farm migrants during The Great Depression. He provides extensive details about the situation during The Great Depression in the inter-chapters. Although The Grapes of Wrath is a novel, he did not ignore historical facts. Because he was born and raised in California, he had lots of opportunities to see the lives of migrant's workers up close. Thus, he was able to reveal the reality of people's lives in a realistic style. Just as the Jewish people in the Old Testament were searching for The Promised Land, so were the migrant farmers moving west. California is a metaphor for "the land of milk and honey" from The Old Testament. The Grapes of Wrath can be viewed in several ways: the humanity among the characters as well as the story as a biblical metaphor of the Jews wandering in the desert in search of the promised land. Steinbeck shows how the concept of the American Dream changes over the course of the whole novel. In essence, the American Dream is the hope for a better life. In the beginning, everyone who migrated to California had hopeful dreams. Even though they were not successful in their past lives, they thought that they could find new jobs and new lives in "the Promised Land." The Joads had hoped their dreams would come true. At the end of the novel, the Joads' circumstances were not any better; however, they kept fighting to overcome. Casy said "maybe all men got one big soul and everybody's a part of it," and Rose of Sharon demonstrates this at the end of the novel when she breastfeeds a starving old man. Steinbeck wrote the Grapes of Wrath based on migrants' real lives in California. Throughout his novel, he shows that no matter how awful the reality was, the Joads did not give up. They were discouraged, but they kept getting on with their lives even in inhumane situations. Their original American dream had eluded them, but they continued to chase their amended dreams of tomorrow.