(no subject)
the "big picture" is not a phrase or a thesis, it is this amorphous...thing, that you can look at through different lenses, and FIND form in by looking at it through the lens of a theme or set of themes, which are focused (in the clarity sense) by sources, definitions, and further analysis.
by looking at the grapes of wrath through the "lenses"/ "themes" of Naturalism & Transcendentalism & Pragmatism, on can see the outline of Steinbeck's own understandings of "the world" that serve as a/one of the structure/s for his book.
i.e. Steinbeck would like to believe/ would like the American people to believe in more idealistic phylosophies such as transcendentalism; the act of living for others, not just for yourself, is something that appeals to Steinbeck. However, Steinbeck recognizes the more pragmatic tendencies in people to live more practically, more for now than for eternity, recognizes the necessity of pragmatic ideals as a means of survival/a role in keeping people grounded in "reality"/ the realities of every-day life as humans. Still, Steinbeck is persistent in the belief that on a human level, people are naturally inclined to the unifying aspects of transcendentalism, despite any pragmatic/ seemingly instinctual hesitations.
Throughout the Grapes of Wrath are characters who are placed on and move along the, by defenition, not mutually exclusive, spectrum/ "big picture form" of living for ideas to living for material needs; from living in ideals to living in reality; from believing in a higher being to believing in nothing; from holding on to letting go...
from transcendentalism to pragmatism (with naturalism somewhere in the middle).
The caution, though not necessarily warning against, becomes what happens when a person goes too far to either end of the spectrum.
When one is too transcendental, like Casey, living for ideas and ideals, you lose what some call common sense and you get killed.
When one is too pragmatic, like Joe Davis's son, living for the necessities, you run the risk of losing your ideals and are left with your conscience.
Then there are those in the middle, living in both worlds and struggling to settle.
Ma is pragmatic in a very specific way: keep the family together, whatever means make sense at the time. The ideal of unity that she is fighting for is more transcendental, but her actions are pragmatic.
Tom is
Damnit, i had the wrong definition of naturalism
oh god i hate essays.
by looking at the grapes of wrath through the "lenses"/ "themes" of Naturalism & Transcendentalism & Pragmatism, on can see the outline of Steinbeck's own understandings of "the world" that serve as a/one of the structure/s for his book.
i.e. Steinbeck would like to believe/ would like the American people to believe in more idealistic phylosophies such as transcendentalism; the act of living for others, not just for yourself, is something that appeals to Steinbeck. However, Steinbeck recognizes the more pragmatic tendencies in people to live more practically, more for now than for eternity, recognizes the necessity of pragmatic ideals as a means of survival/a role in keeping people grounded in "reality"/ the realities of every-day life as humans. Still, Steinbeck is persistent in the belief that on a human level, people are naturally inclined to the unifying aspects of transcendentalism, despite any pragmatic/ seemingly instinctual hesitations.
Throughout the Grapes of Wrath are characters who are placed on and move along the, by defenition, not mutually exclusive, spectrum/ "big picture form" of living for ideas to living for material needs; from living in ideals to living in reality; from believing in a higher being to believing in nothing; from holding on to letting go...
from transcendentalism to pragmatism (with naturalism somewhere in the middle).
The caution, though not necessarily warning against, becomes what happens when a person goes too far to either end of the spectrum.
When one is too transcendental, like Casey, living for ideas and ideals, you lose what some call common sense and you get killed.
When one is too pragmatic, like Joe Davis's son, living for the necessities, you run the risk of losing your ideals and are left with your conscience.
Then there are those in the middle, living in both worlds and struggling to settle.
Ma is pragmatic in a very specific way: keep the family together, whatever means make sense at the time. The ideal of unity that she is fighting for is more transcendental, but her actions are pragmatic.
Tom is
Damnit, i had the wrong definition of naturalism
oh god i hate essays.