The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 9 - John Steinbeck (1939) and The Last of the Clan - Thomas Faed (1865) - How are historical facts converted into a deeply moving fiction or painting?

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The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 9 - John Steinbeck (1939) and The Last of the Clan - Thomas Faed (1865) - How are historical facts converted into a deeply moving fiction or painting?

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Themes

The Grapes of Wrath, The Last of the Clan, Thomas Faed, John Steinbeck, social realism, society, identity, humanity, family, community, economy, migration, survival, hope, dispossession, Scottish emigration, Dust Bowl

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Abstract

The document is a text and image commentary work. The purpose of the exercise is to compare and contrast two documents, namely the chapter 9 of the book "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939) by John Steinbeck and the painting "The Last of the Clan" (1865) by Thomas Faed.

Our purpose is to compare and contrast a text and a painting, whose common theme is an unwilling migration of farmers due to unbearable environmental or/and economic circumstances.

Social realism in both documents: broken lives / "junked lives" due to a forced emigration
1. Troubled times for farmers: Forced emigration as the only hope of survival
2. A broken past: Leaving possessions behind
3. Broken homes: The ones who have to leave and those who are left behind in "The last of the Clan"
The commitment to family/community to face a radical stripping of self
1. The loss of dignity: Man's inhumanity to man
2. The loss of identity
3. Individual vs. Society
A mixture of emotions, a characteristic of transitional periods
1. Hope through an uncertain future
2. Anger and bitterness of the tenants heading west in "The Grapes of Wrath"
3. Resignation and desperation in both documents

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Extract

[...] "The Grapes of Wrath": Importance of the family/community Even if in this general chapter the farmers are unnamed, the concept of "family" remains strong: "women," "children," "girl" are mentioned, sharing the same tragic fate. Moreover, Steinbeck subtly suggests the concept of the extended family when a tenant man claims that the buyer is "REF14." This short phrase predicts that one day the crooked pawnbroker will stand in the shoes of the tenant farmer. The farmer knows that they must stand together. [...]

[...] Some other onlookers are shown prostrated (the woman in black in the middle of the group), worried (the woman standing on the right of the painting) or afraid (the young couple and the old woman behind the horse). Even the horse appears to be very depressed. All in all, the expressions and body language of the characters let the viewer feel the emotions of those emigrating and those remaining. Conclusion Both Steinbeck's text and Faed's painting describe in a very vivid and sensitive way the various feelings that go with the process of a deep dispossession. [...]

[...] "The grapes of wrath": the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the '30s In the excerpt of the novel, only a few sentences refer to the tragic reasons that explain why the tenant people had to move west. However, in the scene of chapter 9 where the tenants are selling their tools for a few dollars, because they will have "REF2," Steinbeck emphasizes the tragic circumstances created by the Great Depression of the 1930s and the wind erosion of topsoil. [...]

[...] The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 9 - John Steinbeck (1939) and The Last of the Clan - Thomas Faed (1865) - How are historical facts converted into a deeply moving fiction or painting? Text and Image Our purpose is to compare and contrast a text and a painting, whose common theme is an unwilling migration of farmers due to unbearable environmental or/and economic circumstances. The text is an excerpt of Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" (published in 1939), which deals with the farmers who moved from the Great Plains to California, driven by poverty due to the Dust Bowl during the "Dirty Thirties." To prepare for his writing about his fellow Americans, Steinbeck (1902-1968) traveled and lived with migrants. [...]

[...] Thus, Steinbeck reminds us that beyond the plight of the Joads lies the disaster of an entire region. A broken past: Leaving possessions behind A messy quay in "The Last of the Clan" Faed painted objects strewn on the quay. The quality of his still life painting lets us identify a pheasant, several pots and packing cases. Who do they belong to? Why are they on the quay? Perhaps they are waiting for the next ship's departure and are a symbol of the massive Scottish emigration. [...]

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