In "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Fiesta" we see the effect key moments of American history can have in society - How do the main themes of both novels reveal this?

Authors Avatar

In “The Grapes of Wrath” and “Fiesta” we see the effect key moments of American history can have in society. How do the main themes of both novels reveal this?

In Ernest Hemingway’s “Fiesta (The Sun Also Rises)” we are given an account of life in Europe, after the devastation of World War I. The main characters are expatriates living in Europe after all suffering through the War. Both their identity and their lives have been affected; consequently forcing them to be categorised as the lost generation. In John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” we follow the Joad family as they travel west in search of a new, more prosperous life. The journey reveals the difficulties of creating an ordered, fully functioning society. In contrast to the expatriates in “Fiesta”; the Joads’ migration can be categorised as an establishment of a new generation. That is to say, a new society built on ideals of individual success and prosperity, in western America. By exploring the major themes in both novels, we can see exactly what effects the First World War and westward migration have upon the main characters. Additionally, we can see how this relates to individual actions, and American society as a whole.

In “Fiesta”, Hemingway presents us with a series of characters whose lives have been tragically altered by the effects of the First World War. The characters are described as “expatriates” by Hemingway. An expatriate is defined as a person who lives outside their native country. This term usually applies to people who have fled from their home nation for particular reasons. The characters in “Fiesta” have taken refuge in Paris and Hemingway focuses upon their exploits in the city. The war has affected each of the main characters uniquely and significantly. Our protagonist is Jake Barnes. He was tragically wounded in the War; which has left him impotent. Then we have our second main character, Brett Ashley, a member of the English aristocracy. She was a nurse during the war and her first love was killed. These two characters propel the novel’s main themes. They’re losses have significantly affected the way they live their lives in Paris.

In Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” the Joad family leave their home in Oklahoma behind to fulfil their dreams of prosperity in the west. The Joad family suffers greatly during their search for happiness. The novel reveals the difficulties and corruption that existed during the formation of a western society. The Joads represent the innocent migrants, who were persecuted by a new, evolving society that expanded over the Great Plains. Halliday makes the link of the expatriates in “Fiesta” to the experiences of the Joad family: “There are plains in many countries that could well serve as symbols of emptiness, desolation, disaster, and death- we have some in the American west.” Steinbeck criticises the glamorised perception that financial success is easily achievable in the west. For Steinbeck, only way you can achieve satisfaction in all areas, is after struggle and conflict. The Joad’s cope with their discrimination throughout by remaining united as a family. It is this method of survival and kindness that Steinbeck praises during the novel.

The effects of the War have lead critics to label the main characters in “Fiesta” as members of a lost generation. Their losses are significant in influencing the way they lead their lives in Paris. Being members of a lost generation, suggests that they have actually lost their sense of identity. This means that their lives no longer have any direction. The novel concentrates on the meaningless excess the main characters associate themselves with in Paris. Their lavish lifestyles lead us to believe that there is no moral boundaries in the world Hemingway has created here. This is where we notice that gender roles have also been reversed. This is most evident with Jake and Brett. Jake’s wound, has in a sense removed his masculinity. He cannot maintain a relationship because of his impotence. This makes him feel less of a man; Jake’s impotence gives way to a society of sexual promiscuity where they live. There does not seem to be one successful relationship; even Robert Cohn’s relationship with Frances is spoiled. What Jake is left with, are the personal qualities of a woman. He becomes more interested in not being alone and has lost his control over his life and others. It is his inevitable frustration that makes us pity him: “We thus find Jake Barnes’s war-wound impotence a kind of metaphor for the whole atmosphere of sterility and frustration…” Hemingway then uses Brett to show how gender roles are reversed in “Fiesta”. Brett also lost something during the war; “Her own true love had just kicked off with dysentery.”(p48) This is the only time that Brett has been in a meaningful relationship. With the loss of her fist love, Brett is no longer able to sustain a relationship built on love and trust. Hemingway reveals this by portraying Brett as a very masculine woman. Her hair is short, she is boyish and she refers to the men as chaps. She is the promiscuous character in the novel; and behaves like a man, intimidating others and playing with the opposite sex. Spilka claims that this is the reason why love is not evident in the novel: “…when men no longer command respect, and women replace their natural warmth with masculine freedom and mobility, there can be no serious love.” The exchange in gender roles creates an additional misdirection in the lives of the main characters; without a sense of their own sexuality, they’re can be no internal identification of self.

Join now!

By viewing the Joad family as the new generation, we can understand the significance of their rites of passage to the west. They are in a sense, on a pilgrimage to the Promised Land. It is necessary that tests must be passed during a pilgrimage; in order to achieve success and fulfilment. The entire journey is a search for new identity. They are no longer from Oklahoma; they have left it behind. Steinbeck has characters referring to the Joads as “Okies” throughout; nevertheless, all the migrants are united in the search for land and prosperity. They labour on the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay