Zoom In and Zoom Out-Honors Grapes of Wrath Essay

In John Steinbeck's classic novel The Grapes of Wrath, the balance of broad stories about all of the dust bowl farmers, and the zoomed in stories about one family impacts the novel a lot. Almost every other chapter followed this zoomed in and zoomed out pattern, and it always gave a new perspective about what was going on, and sometimes even foreshadowed an event coming up. The balance between the two perspectives was evident throughout the book and impacted it in a positive way that gave the reader clarification, background information and a better understanding of what they were reading about.

One of the first zoomed out chapters is about a turtle and its journey crossing the road. "The turtle entered a dust road and jerked itself along, drawing a wavy shallow trench in the dust with its shell. The old humorous eyes looked ahead..." This zoomed out perspective foreshadowed the Joad family slowly moving along and moving west. The words like jerked itself along and humorous eyes looked ahead, gave a mental image and a great metaphor to a family moving west. A couple chapters later, the Joad family is on the move and they begin their slow journey west. The chapter helped keep the story moving, subconsciously prepared for what was going to happen next, and gave context and clear idea of what the Joad's journey would be like.

Before Casy and Tom even make it to the farm, there is a zoomed out chapter that fit perfectly into the story. Chapter five was all about the owners of the land, banks, tractors, and the "monster" they have created."You’re on land that isn’t yours. Once over the line maybe you can pick cotton in the fall. Maybe you can go on relief. Why don’t you go on west to California? There’s work there" For someone who doesn’t know that much about the dust bowl, this chapter gives you an idea about the situation so many people were in, and you eventually learn the Joads are in this place too. This chapter impacted the novel and gave the reader background information about what story they were really getting into. You see it from the families’ perspective, and it causes the reader to understand how the dust bowl farmers felt even before meeting the Joads. It made their situation more relatable and it showed how many people were in the same place.

Another zoomed out chapter that kept the book flowing and in perspective, was chapter 27."I aim to pick some cotton. Got a bag? Well, no, I ain't. Coast ya a dollar, the bag. Take it out o' your first hunderd and fifty" This chapter was all about cotton pickers, discrepancies in the industry, how the people worked and what cotton picking was like. In the next chapter the Joad family is working on a cotton farm, and instead of going through and reading about how they got their cotton bags, you already know how they got one and how their new job works. Steinbeck kept the dialogue vague and he mixed thoughts, conversations and descriptions together. This chapter impacted the novel through the way it was written, and because it gave the greater perspective, and it made me realize that everyone at that point was going through the same thing on the cotton farms. It also kept the book moving and mixed it up, so then once it went back to the Joad family, they were already settled in and working.

Without the zoomed in, zoomed out chapters, the book would not have given the reader the same understanding they got from the balance of the two. The metaphors, foreshadowing, generalized thoughts and perspectives had an impact on the balance of the story with the Joads. The way Steinbeck wrote the book caused you to read more mindfully, look deeper into the story and the history behind it. This wasn’t just a novel about a family going through The Great Depression, it was about all of the people going through the same thing, and the way farmers treated the migrants. The whole novel was impacted in a positive way that made you become a more involved and thoughtful reader.