1. The “isms”: Influences on Steinbeck and “The Grapes of Wrath”

2. Socialism
John Steinbeck was not a socialist. However, his interest in socialism varied throughout his life.
Socialist doctrine demands state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth.
The doctrine especially advocates nationalization of natural resources, basic industries, banking and credit facilities, and public utilities.
The ultimate goal of all socialists is a classless, cooperative commonwealth in every nation of the world.
Steinbeck once said that “only innocents or monsters” turned to socialism.

3. American Transcendentalism
Emerson (as in, Ralph Waldo) looked for primary truth in the fundamental nature of the human mind. We have more in the mind than enters it through the senses.
Transcendentalism’s commitment to the individual is a commitment to the soul or spirit that each person possesses in common with all other human beings. Emerson called this the “Oversoul.”

4. American Transcendentalism
A means of understanding the physical and spiritual world.
A philosophical, religious, literary, and social movement.
The social imperative:
The well-being of all individuals is the basic purpose for all social organizations.
Autonomous individuals cannot exist apart from others.
There is a fundamental unity, a basic similarity, in all human experience, which is more important than the many obvious differences.

5. Naturalism
Became the dominant literary movement in American fiction by the turn of the 20th century.
Early naturalistic writers included Stephen Crane (“The Red Badge of Courage”); Jack London (“The Call of the Wild”); Theodore Dreiser (“An American Tragedy”).
Many of their stories manifested Darwin’s theory of “survival of the fittest.”
Naturalism is a form of extreme realism: “Human beings are animals in a natural world, responding to environmental forces and internal stresses and drives, over none of which they have control and none of which they fully understand.”1
1. C. Hugh Holman and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature, 5th ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1986).

6. Naturalism
At the heart of this ideology is pessimistic Determinism: the notion that the causes of human tragedy lie beyond the powers of the individual.
The movement was influenced by Marxist theory, which holds that class struggle is the central element of social change in Western society.
This was coupled with economic problems stemming from urbanization of America at the end of the 19th century.
This combination portrayed socio-economic forces that overwhelm individual lives.

7. Naturalism
Naturalists focused on the lives of lower-class characters struggling for survival in an alien and often hostile society: a society insensitive to their personal needs for fulfillment or self-expression.
Their stories are often told by an “all-knowing” narrator who can relate deterministic factors far beyond the knowledge of the characters affected by them.

8. Naturalism
The tendency in naturalistic works is that no one emerges triumphant, because simple survival constitutes a moral victory. Beaten down by an inhuman system and bad luck, many of the naturalist writers’ characters end as suicide victims.
John Steinbeck was not a dedicated student of American naturalism, yet his themes and methods are often closely tied to this literary movement.
Some elements of “The Grapes of Wrath” might justify the term “naturalistic,” but the characters also clearly make humane choices or decisions that allow them to overcome obstacles and move forward.

9. Naturalism: Billy Austin
With a partner, conduct this three-step analysis:
STEP ONE: Read the lyrics and write one sentence that summarizes the subject of the song.
STEP TWO: Read the lyrics a second time and write notes out to the side of the song that identifies figurative language: metaphors, similes, personification, imagery, etc. What message is communicated to you now? Write two to three sentences that explain your thoughts.
STEP THREE: Read the lyrics a third time. What is the author trying to tell you? Evaluate the song. What makes it interesting? What is the final message communicated to you? Write a short reflection on the lyrics.

10. “Billy Austin”
Now, write a short essay in your notebooks, considering the following:
“Seems like I’ve always been in prison, like I’ve always been alone.” What might the figurative meaning of this statement be? After all, Billy didn’t enter jail the moment he exited the womb.
What clues do we get that the odds are stacked against Billy?
Billy says he’s guilty: But is there any justification for what he has done? Explain.