An Ecofeminist Interpretation Of The Grapes Of Wrath

John Steinbeck is one of the most influential writers in modern Americanliterature history. As a winner of Nobel Prize, he has many works that attract largereadership, among which, The Grapes of Wrath stands on the zenith. The novel setsits background in the Great Depression, it draws a vivid picture of the Joadfamily’s fate during the journey from Oklahoma to California. We can read theauthor’s sincere sympathy to the poor people during that time. Many studies havebeen conducted from various angles by scholars all around the world. This thesistries to analyze the novel and the author from an ecological perspective.The Introduction part summarizes the main plots of the novel and gives a briefdescription of past academic studies for the author and the novel. Then a conciseintroduction of ecocriticism and ecofeminism is offered afterwards.Chapter one closely examines various conflicts caused by ecologicalimbalance. On one hand, ecological imbalance causes conflicts between humanbeing and the nature, for example, the “Dust Bowl” forced tens of thousandsAmericans to leave their home and immigrate to California, they are victims ofnatural disaster. On the other hand, the lack of natural resources deteriorates therelationship among people themselves, the conflicts between the wealthy and thepoor, and the conflicts among the poor are serious social issues in1930s.Chapter Two is devoted to analyzing the root of ecological imbalance. FromSteinbeck’s point of view, the abuse of the American Dream and Anthropocentrismare the two mains roots of ecological imbalance. People forgot to protect the natureand ecological balance in the pursuit of American Dream, and the practice ofAnthropocentrism makes the situation worse than ever. The negligence of naturefinally is revenged by nature.Chapter Three closely looks at Steinbeck’s ecological thinking in The Grapesof Wrath. Firstly, he advocates establishing a harmonious relationship betweenhuman being and nature. Steinbeck never believes that nature is an object ofoppression and exploitation, but nature deserves respect from human being. Secondly, he prefers Collectivism to Individualism, and believes only collectivismcan possibly save poor people from the ecological crisis.The last Chapter aims to find the solutions to ecological crisis. It requires acorrect understanding between nature and women, and also it urges human being totake solid action to change our way of life. Eventually, it calls for mankind toestablish a harmonious relationship with the nature.In the Conclusion, it can be seen that ecological thinking plays an importantrole in Steinbeck’s literary works, he has his own ecological thinking and throughthe perspective of ecocriticism, I explored a new research for Steinbeck’s study.