Turns Out Turtles Are Actually Pretty Important After All

As I continue to read John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, I’m starting to get a glimpse into the typical Okie family’s dynamics and the absolute ignorance to the abuses they were causing to the land. The farmers had no idea why their land was suddenly turning against them, and saw nothing wrong with constantly growing wheat without rotating the crop. That’s why I see myself looking into the way that the Dust Bowl changed the way American farming industry. “The plows crossed and recrossed the rivulet marks… The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country” (page 1). This quote illustrates the setting of the book, where the earth is dying and none of the farmers seem to know why or be concerned about it. The plows just continue their work and destroy the soil even further.

I find that this book is absolutely filled with symbols and parallels to the Bible, and it’s very interesting to discover them as I read on. Books like this, which have lots of hidden meaning are really fun to go back on and to read articles about. I enjoy doing this same thing with the Harry Potter series, and I often look back at certain dialogues and details thinking, “How did I miss that?”. The turtle that earned its own chapter, for example, is a symbol of the slow and difficult journey the family takes out of the Dust Bowl, always continuing on its course, however slowly. I tend to find books so heavily laden with symbolism a little bit annoying, because it can take away from the actual plot or get confusing, but I think Steinbeck disguises it well, adding subtly to the overall value of the story.