An Analysis Of Steinbeck's Ecological Thought In The Grapes Of Wrath

John Steinbeck is one of the great American writers of the 20th century. The Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck created is regarded as his best work, and one of the 20 books that have changed the USA. Being published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath is an epic novel about the situation of Great Depression in 1930s of America. It reveals the miserable life of the migrated poor peasants during the years of the Great Depression, expresses the author's concern of the ecological crisis and bitter accusation of human destructive behaviors of the ecological environment, and articulates the advanced ecological thought of Steinbeck. This dissertation aims at analyzing Steinbeck's ecological thought in The Grapes of Wrath, in order to explore the ecological concept revealed in the novel and the theoretical and realistic meaning of Steinbeck's ecological thought.This dissertation consists of three parts which are introduction, the main body and conclusion. The main contents are as follows:The first part is the introduction, which makes a brief explanation of John Steinbeck's life, works and his literary achievements; exposes the critical reviews on The Grapes of Wrath at home and abroad, and puts forward the aim and significance of this paper.The second part is the main body which is made up of three chapters: Chapter One mainly introduces the development and content of Steinbeck's ecological thought. The changes of his living circumstance and good reading traditions in his family influenced Steinbeck deeply. The hometown under his pen is the place with very beautiful scenery, the place that brings him with inspiration, the place that has great influence on the development of his ecological thought. Meanwhile, the friendship between Steinbeck and Edward Ricketts and the interesting in biology are also important elements on the development of Steinbeck's ecological thought. All these experiences urge the development of the systematization of Steinbeck's thought. The thought mainly contains several aspects which are as follows: about nature, Steinbeck lays emphasis on respecting the law of nature, focusing on destiny of nature, connecting the destiny of man with that of nature and forms his own writing style; about society, Steinbeck found that man and marine living creatures have some kind of similarity and puts forward his "group-man theory". He emphasizes that men should get along well with each other to realize the harmony between individuals.Chapter Two and Chapter Three both depict Steinbeck's ecological thought through analyzing The Grapes of Wrath. Chapter Two mainly discusses the embodiments of Steinbeck's natural ecological thought in The Grapes of Wrath. Firstly, this chapter discusses the destruction of nature by modern civilization. At the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath, the author shows us a scene of blowing dust and drought, which indirectly reflects Steinbeck's deploring of nature, criticizing and accusing of human destructive activities. Then the chapter analyzes the relationship between man and nature and Steinbeck's pursuit of harmonious man and nature relationship. Through the depiction of the suffering of the Joads, Steinbeck makes a deep contemplation on the relationship between man and nature, which reveals his thought that man and nature are mutually interdependent and indispensable. Human behaviors should obey the law of nature or man will be punished by nature. Meanwhile, through The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck suggests that the natural disaster in the novel is just the consequence of human beings'long time of making use of nature and conquering nature blindly, and his expectation of harmonious relationship between man and nature.Chapter Three mainly discusses the embodiments of Steinbeck's social ecological thought in The Grapes of Wrath. Firstly, this chapter discusses the influence of capitalistic economic system on society. The ecological value the complicated capitalistic culture leads to, that is, for the individual development, man's sympathy, affection, understanding and respect for nature even mankind all erupt and there is no warmth between individuals but the worldly possessions, is just the root cause of contradictions between men and men, and man and nature. Then the chapter analyzes the relationship between men and men and Steinbeck's expectation of harmonious men and men relationship. Under the background of the natural disaster, many people exploit others directly or indirectly for their own vital needs or interests, which then increases contradictions and conflicts between men and men. Meanwhile, Steinbeck still established harmonious men and men relationship within the whole, that is, the harmony between all the poor migrants, which exposes Steinbeck's ecological thought and expectation. The last part is the conclusion, which makes a summary of the preceding critique, and points out the aim of the dissertation. The Grapes of Wrath is an essential work of eco-literature which is full of ecological thought and civilization criticism. It fully exposes Steinbeck's ecological thought, attacks anthropocentrism, criticizes the destruction of ecosystem by the advancement of technology and civilization, reveals the imbalance within the human community, and also expresses the author's longing for establishing a harmonious world. Under the time of the increasingly worsened ecological environment, analyzing The Grapes of Wrath from the ecological perspective has unusual directive significance for the sustainable development of the world, and also arouses more scholars to analyze other literary works from this angle.