Interpreting the Grapes of Wrath from the Perspective of Marxism

【Abstract】as a quite important school of literary criticism， Marxism offers us a set of literary theories effective for textual analysis. This paper tries to apply the theories and methodology of Marxism literary criticism to interpreting the famous novel—the Grapes of Wrath， aiming at gaining a new interpretation of this novel.

【Key words】Marxism； Historic materialism； Class consciousness； the social function of art

As an important school of literary criticism， Marxism has been embraced by a multitude of intellectuals from both the west and the east. The well—known materialistic view of history， ideology， the analysis of class conflict， and a series of philosophical assumptions introduced in textual analysis that study the relationship between a text and the society， are especially distinguished. In this paper， the famous novel the Grapes of Wrath will be analyzed from the perspective of Marxism. And the angles of the textual analysis hereby would combine the relevant approaches of different voices of Marxism.

1. The introduction

1.1 Historic materialism

According to Marxism， art， concretely speaking， literature， as part of the superstructure， is determined by social life and practice. All the original materials of literature are from life， just being modified and processed artistically. At the same time， literature could enlighten people to more deeply understand our world and then change our world for a better one.

1.2 the introduction of the novel

The Grapes of Wrath is generally regarded as a masterpiece of John Steinbeck and one of American major books. It told a story of the migration of agricultural workers from the“dust bowl” of Oklahoma to California. Steinbeck chose the bitter experiences and the unremitting struggles of the migratory agricultural workers in 1930s as the novels theme， which originated from the real life of the Depression in America. At that time， the economic Depression spread all over the country， the common peoples life became a nightmarish experience of want， poverty， and absolute misery. Economic disaster made the masses of people workless and wretched. Everything seemed to be in a mess and panic filled in every corner of the society. This is the backdrop of the creation of the novel， or we can say such a despairing historic reality set the tone of the writing of that period. And the novel is the product of the social vibration of this period.

The author John Steinbeck is a significant Depression writer. It is the very times that made Steinbeck famous. The rich experiences of his life offered him abundant resources of writing. The career experiences， such as farm laborer， chemists assistant， bricklayer， and migratory fruit—picker made Steinbeck very familiar with the life of the agricultural workers in California， which set a splendid basis of his writing. His writings in the thirties were distinguished in reflecting the life and struggle of agricultural workers in the hot water of economic crisis.

2. Class consciousness

The theory of class conflicts is an important part of Marxism. It is discovered without difficulty that the social structure is built on a series of ongoing conflicts. In a class society， the dominant class is such a group of people who have the economic power and who readily gain social and political control of their society. Then this upper class could enslave the weak or subordinate class materially and spiritually. Thus， the rich become richer while the poor become poorer and more and more oppressed. The clash of interest must cause the revolt of the oppressed class， or proletariat. In The Grapes of Wrath， the class conflict between the bourgeois and working class was described vividly and realistically. And the author showed sympathy with the wretched and workless people between the lines and gave a great concern about their struggle against the unfair treatment.

At the beginning of the novel， a picture of the capitalisms exploitation of working class was displayed. Firstly， there was a dire description of the deserted and barren land destroyed by drought and dust storms， then the hero Tom Joad witnessed that his homeland was razed to the ground by the machines of land banks. These natural and man—made disasters made the local people workless and homeless， they had to took to the roads leading to the promised land， California. that was the land these people tenanted for many years， once leaving there， they would lose everything and become penniless. But the land banks insisted on taking back the tenanted land， as a result， the capitalists， Junk dealers and used-car salesmen profiteered on these agricultural workers.

the main characters in the novel were all revolutionary and bolshy. The leading character Tom Joad was a typical one. From committing the crime of killing a man in self—defense to felling a deputy with an ax handle， All the activities of him in the novel were sprinkled with revolutionary spirit. Another character deserves mentioning. It is Jim Casy. The reason for Jim Casy， an ex-preacher who gives up his position may lie in his consciousness of the unfair social situation and treatment， which is a torture to a person believing in God， believing that all the men are born to be equal， and showing so much mercy to the humanity. Casy was a kind and thoughtful person， he once said “I love people so much Im fit to bust...I want to makeem happy…”（qtd. Li Yixie， Chang Yaoxin， 341）. When Tom Joad was involved in the fight in Hooverville and attacked the police deputy， Casy gave himself up in Tom's place， showing friendliness to his fellow. The oppressed people could unite to revolt against oppression and suppression. Casy finally was killed as an agitator for revolting against wage slaves by the deputies. That is a tragedy ， but it is also a show of strength from the oppressed class.

3. The social function of art

Art， as a part of superstructure， reflected vividly the real life and may influence the life. More specific， according to Marxism， literature， as a kind of art， “should not only convey the aesthetic feelings， but also create a impetus for the development of humanity”（Chen Houcheng， Wang Ning，193）. Literature is from the reality while it is superior to the reality， which could convey some positive and lofty thoughts， or some other meaningful views arousing some kind of mental resonance of people， thereby achieving the aim of enlightenment， this is the point of the social function of art.

In this novel， on the one hand， Steinbeck intrepidly disclosed the cruelty and darkness of capitalist society in the America of the period of 1930s； on the other hand， he also expressed his confidence with the life， the bravery and friendliness among people. Facing the severe reality， he actively displayed the promising prospect of life. Even though people seemed to be weak in front of the ruthless world of capitalism， even though there were full of disasters and threats of death， the bravery and desire for sustaining are unconquerable， which shines a refreshing ray of hope in that miserable times. It is because this novel showing the contradiction and struggle between the capitalists of American land banks and the agricultural workers， the Grapes of Wrath was called a the Uncle Tom Cabin in the 1930s.

4. Conclusion

As a matter of fact， there are still many other angles to analyze this world—famous novel. Even the textual analysis is done just from the above aspects， it is no difficulty to find the effectiveness of Marxism literary criticism in interpreting a given text.

References：

[1]Wu weiren.History And Anthology of American Literature（Volume 2）.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2002.

[2]常耀信.美国文学简史[M].天津：南开大学出版社，2002.

[3]陈厚诚，王宁.西方当代文学批评在中国[M].天津：百花文艺出版社，2000.

[4]李宜燮，常耀信.美国文学选读[M].天津：南开大学出版社， 2002.

作者简介：余金燕（1982-），女，汉族，四川大学硕士，重庆人文科技学院讲师，研究方向：翻译理论与实践。