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What about "The Grapes of Wrath"? 11/9/2015 6:08:46 PM
My mother had copies of John Steinbeck's major novels. They came to me after she died in 1989. I've just recently finished reading "The Grapes of Wrath" for the first time. I've read other works by Steinbeck and other American novels from the 1930's. But not this masterpiece of popular literature. What have I been doing with my life?
Several commentators I read said that "Grapes of Wrath" is Steinbeck's major achievement. It's copious and generous and held my attention throughout. People still read it and probably will for some time. A critic compared it with "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for its impact on our culture. I found resemblances to Whitman's Civil War memoir "Specimen Days" with its sympathy for the struggles and courage of ordinary people. And yet...
Steinbeck's novel has had its severe critics. Some complained that it wasn't fair to the American capitalist system. Capitalism seems to have survived. And Steinbeck's work is said to have helped relieve the miseries of share-croppers and others who pass through misfortunes unaided.
I've also read that more than a few authorities resented that Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for a lifetime achievement, in which "Grapes of Wrath" stands as a shining light. At least one critic complained that Steinbeck possessed only a small talent.
Other popular artists have been subject to similar reproaches. Thomas Mann wrote that Tchaikovsky had a second rate talent. Elite minds have sometimes sneered at Shakespeare and Cervantes and Dickens for their middlebrow, popular outreach. I doubt that anyone would put "Grapes of Wrath" on a shelf next to these writers' works, but I'd like to speak out for the merits of this novel.
First, Steinbeck managed to maintain his creative spirit for 500 pages. He wrote with a steady hand. The novel is clear, consistent, and never boring -- at least for me.
Steinbeck drew his characters vividly. I could see them all, feel what they felt, and live through in my mind's eye what they endured.
Steinbeck's imagination never failed him. Although it's more a chronicle than a plotted story, he knew how to keep his readers guessing. How will the Joad family fair? Will Tom get into trouble again?. Steinbeck made skilful use of foreshadowing.
He knew how to touch readers feelings and and get them to empathize with the Joads. Every page of the book is written with sincerity, without which most novels would fail.
Although this book will withstand the most withering criticism, nothing human is perfect, so with Steinbeck's critics in mind, I will cite a few reservations. It would be a greater work if he had managed a broader view of our society and culture, had cut back on propaganda and sentimentality, had added more layers of meaning and written a more conclusive ending, had employed a more adroit use of language, and had suggested that the Joads could have done better than base their aspirations on handbills and dreams.
Of course. if Steinbeck had considered all that, we wouldn't have the book we do, for he would have quit writing after ten pages. Instead, he gave us an abiding example of serious popular work. which it takes more than a small talent to accomplish. Near the end, the story comes to represent all people's struggles, which never end, and the courage with which most of us address daily life. I doubt that a small talent could achieve that.
rfrenchnovelist.com
