An Analysis Of The Grapes Of Wrath From Ecocriticism Perspective

John Steinbeck, as one of the best-known and most widely read American writers ofthe20th century, has a profound impact on the world of literary. He won a PulitzerPrize for his master piece The Grapes of Wrath in1940and a Noble Prize for hisoutstanding contribution to the field of literature in1962. His works have receivedgreat scholarly attention, and his contributions in literature have been formallyacknowledged all over the world. The themes of his novels concern various aspectssuch as culture, politics, war, natural sciences and social problems. He is best knownfor his novels Of Mice and Man (1937) and The Grape of Wrath (1939), both ofwhich examine the lives of the working class and immigrant workers during theGreat Depression. This thesis focuses on the ecocriticism perspective analysis of hisnovel The Grape of Wrath with the attempt to explore the novelist’s concern for theglobal ecological crisis and help understand the theoretical and realistic meaning ofSteinbeck’s ecological thoughts.The themes and characters of Steinbeck’s novels have received an astonishingwidespread attention from domestic and foreign scholars. Nevertheless, littleattention has been paid to the ecocritical perspective study of his novels. This thesisaims to explore this new analytical perspective, improve research approaches andanalyze John Steinbeck’s ecological thoughts reflected in this novel, with thepurpose of rendering a new point of view of understanding his novels. Thebeginning of this thesis is an introduction of John Steinbeck and his literary career,followed by a list of critical reviews on The Grapes of Wrath at home and abroad.Then the focus of the study is put on the contents and development of Steinbeck’secological thoughts and the application of his ecological thoughts in The Grapes of Wrath: the root of the ecological crisis—anthropocentrism, the relationship betweenman and nature, and relationship between man and man. At last, the author draws aconclusion about the entire thesis and points out the limitations of the research.Through the analysis of the above aspects in details, the thesis aims at a betterunderstanding of Steinbeck’s advanced ecological awareness and the deep themes ofthis novel.