Meanings In Evolution

As one of the most prominent works of John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath has gone through twists and turns in its life of reception. Specifically, there are three stages of its literary history: from a best-seller with runaway popularity to a national sensation under severe criticism and finally to the identity as a masterpiece with enduring merits. Enlightened by the theory of aesthetics of reception, the author of the thesis explores the receptive history of The Grapes of Wrath chronologically, textually and aesthetically so as to find its evolving meanings in the passage of time and have a better understanding of its literary life.