Protest Novels of Steinbeck

The intercalary chapters in The Grapes of Wrath are chapters which do not directly advance the story of the Joad family but which offer increased depth and broader significance to the novel by giving background, discussing issues of the time, and offering an external perspective on the Depression. Critical opinion long held that the novel lacked continuity, but now it is seen as having a unity.

The author states first that the novel has a close unity which she will demonstrate. She carries this through by discussing each of the thirty chapters in the novel, showing how they follow a regular pattern of alternation between impersonal and panoramic accounts of conditions or social forces and the Joad story proper.

She next notes that there are interruptions to the pattern of regularly alternating chapters at key points in the novel and considers why this is so, generally because the chapter that breaks the pattern opens a new phase in the novel.

Finally, the author finds that overall, her analysis shows that the structure of the book involves the working out of a consistent plan of alternating social and economic observations with chapters of the narrative.

Mitchell, Marilyn L. "Steinbeck's Strong Women: Feminine Identity in the Short Stories." Southwest Review, 61, No. 3 (1976), 304-315.

Mitchell stats that most writers of the first h

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of mechanization and industrialization, and in the novel machines destroy the close bond between Man and Nature. The tractor in particular threatens the self-sufficient and satisfying way of life of the small farmer. At the same time, Steinbeck acknowledged that nineteenth century ideals could not provide adequate solutions to the problems of the agricultural revolution. The Joads find that the frontier is closed. The author finds evidence that Steinbeck indeed began to accept the opportunities offered by modern industrial society, and he finds that there is a shift in attitude toward the application of modern technology in agriculture between chapters 5 and 25. The author examines the issue in terms of each of these chapters and shows how different ideas of mechanization are introduced and treated by Steinbeck, with different characters reacting in different ways to the changes taking place all around them. Motley, Warren. "From Patriarchy to Matriarchy: Ma Joad's Role in 'The Grapes of Wrath.'" American Literature, 54, 3 (October 1982), 397-412. Motley analyzes the way the family unit changes in The Grapes of Wrath as the traditional patriarchal family structure disintegrates and Ma Joad emerges as a central, cohesive
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Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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