An Analysis Of The Archetypes In The Grapes Of Wrath

The primary concern of the present thesis is with the archetypal qualities of The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck constantly uses references and allusions from Greek mythology and Bible. According to Northrop Frye's definition of archetype, there exist archetypal images, figures, narrative patterns and themes. They play vital roles in the novel. The seemingly fragmentary and casual archetypes form a structural relevance, which determines the interior consistence of the theme of The Grapes of Wrath, and created the distinctive aesthetic function. The assignment of this thesis goes into three parts, which is further divided into six chapters.The first part (chapter 1 and chapter 2), I simply review the literature about the study of this novel abroad and in china. I find that few critics have analyzed this novel by the theory of archetypal criticism. And in this part it gives a comprehensive view of the necessity, importance and feasibility of the study of the archetypal qualities in the novel. I examine the present archetypal system in which the recurrent archetype from the Bible can be explained relevantly. Frye's archetypal critical theory is presented too.The second part, is the center of the thesis, includes chapter3, chapter 4and chapter 5. Based on the critical strategy of Archetypal Criticism, and the textual contents of The Grapes of Wrath, the second part elucidates the internal structure of the archetypal system with archetypal character, archetypal narrative pattern, and archetypal motif. Each of them is an autonomous unit, but each has its relevance with one another.In the third part, a conclusion of this thesis is drawn. It shows the main finding of this thesis. Also there exist the limitations of this study: the lack of materials and limited time and personal ability on the author's part. At last the author gives a piece of advice for a further and sophisticated study on the archetypes in this novel.