Trying Times

Stressful Times

On October 29, 1929 millions of Americans saw their life savings dwindle to nothing when the stock market crashed (Great Depression. Austin. 469). In the early stages of The Depression people were told to remain optimistic, but few did, and a national panic began as people scrambled to sell their stocks for fractions of what they paid. The so-called unbreakable system had crashed leaving people jobless, penniless, and above all hopeless. Merely days after Tuesday the 29th many Americans found themselves in enormous debt and without anyone to turn to or anywhere to go (469). As the effects of the Great Depression became more obvious everywhere, Americans were faced with some of the toughest decisions of their lives. John Steinbeck portrays the mental and physical stress the human body can experience when one looses everything. Steinbeck aptly illustrates this national economic crisis through the eyes of typical Americans in the The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men.

In the story The Grapes of Wrath the Joad family discovers the trying sacrifices they must make in order to survive and move forward as a family.

Lennie Pond and Dave Marcis

Trailer for the 1940 black and white film The Grap...

Grave site of John Steinbeck and family

This challenge is a struggle for each family member. At the beginning of the story the family is forced off of their land in Oklahoma. This is a great struggle for the Joad family, who must leave behind the land passed down to them by their ancestors. In a final attempt to reclaim their economic prosperity, the Joad family packs up their necessary belongings and heads for Oklahoma where it is is rumored that jobs are abundant (Steinbeck. The Grapes. 64). Steinbeck portrays the emotions of the Joad family through the characters' actions, and by not telling the reader how the character actually feels. Ma is the best example...