Books have been used as a method for political messages for hundreds of years. Logically, the more struggle that a certain time period, the more novels with political messages will be present. The article "Through a Political Glass", by Jackson J. Benson details what this political message may have been and compares it to another books in American history. The article starts out by comparing The Grapes of Wrath to other works of literature with political messages at the time. The article also compares John Steinbeck to other famous authors, like Ernest Hemingway. The article summarizes Steinbeck's attack on the evils of greedy capitalism, not capitalism as whole, and his respect for individuals like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, both the founders of communism. Overall, the article summarizes the political message of the The Grapes of Wrath.
I read the first part of this article. I agree with all of what you said. In this article, it goes above and beyond The Grapes of Wrath to most of Steinbeck political life. It goes in depth and compares a lot of works to Steinbeck's to other novels of the time. Then the article compares Steinbeck to other authors. In all, this would be a great article for anyone doing the political topic.
ReplyDeleteAfter skimming through parts of the article I like all of the information that you pulled out of the source. I believe that the Grapes of Wrath makes for a great example of the political life of the Great Depression. The source goes in great depth on how Steinbeck's other works share similar traits like politics. In all this would make for a great choice for a source for anyone doing the political topic.
ReplyDeleteAfter browsing the article I believe this summary is spot on. The Grapes of Wrath was written largely for the political meaning behind it and less for the story. This is true for most of his other novels as well.
ReplyDeleteThis article is a great source for information on not only the great depression but the politics of this time. The Grapes of Wrath is a great example of political life in the great depression. This source goes in great depth of Steinback's traits and his meaning behind writing this novel.
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