This is the research structure:
Pick one of the topics
below and write a well-developed 7-8 page research-based essay on it. In
addition you must use parenthetical references and a bibliography.
The
bibliography comes at the end of the essay (and does not count as one
of the 7-8 pages). You must also use the parenthetical references that I
have taught you. Parenthetical references go right after any borrowed
fact or idea, whether it’s quoted or not. Do not use any other form of
documentation–or you will fail the assignment. For example, do not
number the bibliography entries & include only those numbers in
parentheses. I don’t know where this pseudo-system comes from, but it
is not correct.
You must do Research for this essay. Find at least 3 informative resources. These can be either online or offline works. However, you may not use Wikipedia or Sparknotes. Do no use the many sample essays which litter the Internet–that is cheating.
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1) John Steinbeck and Censorship: Focus on the abuse Steinbeck suffered when he published The Grapes of Wrath.
Which organizations and individuals hated his work the most? What were their reasons?You
should find information on at least three of his opponents. How were
their claims refuted? What action were taken to keep people from
reading this novel?I have included a few books in the
Bibliography over on the left-hand side of this page. Some of the
websites might also be helpful.2)
Do some research into Tom Collins, the real-life model for Jim Rawley,
the head of the Weedpatch refugee camp. We meet Rawley first in Chapter
22. How do the real man and his fictional counterpart compare? Were
his ideas censored at all? Be sure to refer to specific events in the
book.Note: In the Bibliography you will find a useful website about the “History of Weedpatch” and a book (Obscene in the Extreme) which might be good starting places.
3) Analyze the role of
women in Steinbeck’s novel. Start with this passage in Chapter 10, when
Ma Joad tells Jim Casey not to help salt down the pork because “‘It’s
women’s work.'” Casey’s reply is unusual for that time: “‘It’s all
work,’ the Preacher replied. ‘They’s too much of it to split up to
men’s or women’s work'” (107). In what ways do these women behave
differently than people of that time (or ours) might expect?
Hint: If you wish, you can focus your essay by comparing Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon.
See the material on How to Write a ComparisonContrast Essay in this Unit.4)
Steinbeck often stresses the importance of people working together to
achieve a common goal. How does this need show itself when the people
(represented by the Joads) are torn from their land? In what other ways
does the power of a group show up in the novel?
Hint: You
might want to focus on Jim Casey and Tom Joad for part of your essay.
Compare the evolution of the two men’s thinking on this subject. Some
of what they discuss involves Unions and Strikes (although some of the
language used is not very specific). What kind of censorship or
resistance do they encounter with these ideas?You can also
discuss what Steinbeck has to say on the subject in the shorter
“inter-chapters”–those which don’t deal directly with the Joads’
experiences (e.g., Chapters 14 & 17).
5) Food (and the ownership of the land on which it is grown) is an extremely important theme in The Grapes of Wrath.
Steinbeck explores the dramatic cycles involved in the ownership of
land (especially farms and ranches) in California’s history. For
example, Chapter 5 deals with the roles of the banks and the modern
tractors in plowing up and destroying the lands of the small farmers in
the 1930’s. Chapters 19, 21, and 25 focus on the history of farmland
ownership. What is Steinbeck trying to say on this subject? How do the
Joads’ perceptions of the land change in this novel? In this book people
die when they are removed from their land. Why??? Find at least 3
outside sources which will support your own critical ideas.
** I need first 2 paragraph till tomorrow 7/24/2017 for some checking**
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