Selfishness: The Grapes of Wrath andThe Great Dictator
The Grapes of Wrath is an epic novel that was written by John Steinbeck around late May to late October in the year 1938, at Los Gatos, CA. The narrator of the story is an anonymous who is all-knowing and has a consciousness that is historically aware and deeply sympathetic to migrants, workers, the poor and the dispossessed. The tome of the story is enraged, awed, mournful or sympathetic while the tense used is past. The major protagonist is known as Tom Joad. The major conflict arises when farmers are forced to migrate westward to California due to the disastrous drought of the 1930s. Additionally, in the story of Tom Joad, there is dramatization of a conflict between disaster by focusing on one’s own needs and the impulse to react to hardship and the impulse to risk one’s safety through working for a collective good (Steinbeck & Bloom, 2006).
The Great Dictator on the other hand is a comedy film that was written by Charlie Chaplin and released in the month of October, year 1940. Chaplin wrote the movie, produced it, directed it and starred as the lead character. When the film was released for the first time, the United States of America was still officially at peace with the Nazi Germany. Some of the aspects advanced in this film include fascism, controversial condemnation of Hitler, anti-Semitism as well as the Nazi, who are excoriated as “machine men” who have machine hearts and machine minds (Flom, 1997).
The description that best suits the Great Dictator is humorous, witty and biting. The plot of the film revolves around a head of state, anti Semitism and anti-war themes. The comic aspect of the film is derived from satire and slapstick humor. The main genres of the film are comedy, drama mad period. It is realistic in approach and the setting is the 1930s. This great film has gained much attention for being a masterpiece, a classic as well as an award winner (Flom, 1997). The Grapes of Wrath on the other hand employs stylistic devices such as symbolism to add to the plat of the story. For instance, Rose of Sharon’s pregnancy has been used to symbolize the promise of a new beginning. This promise seems to be broken when she gives birth to stillborn baby. Instead of slipping into the verge of despair, the family moves forward gracefully and boldly, and the novel ends in a shocking note of hope (Steinbeck, 2006).
The characters in the novel Grapes of Wrath include Tom Joad, who is the key protagonist. Tom is thoughtful, good-natured and takes full advantage of what life offers him. Despite the fact that Tom murdered a man and spent four years in prison, he is not willing to waste his time regretting. Throughout the novel, Tom displays a moral certainty. Another character is Ma Joad, who us the mother of Joad family. Ma has been portrayed as the healer of the family’s shortcomings and the arbiter of its conflicts. Pa Joad is Tom’s father, a tenant farmer who faces eviction from his land. Other characters are Jim Casy, Rose of Sharon, Grampa Joad, Granma Joad, Al Joad, Ivy and Sairy Wilson, Connie, Noah Joad, Uncle John, Ruthie Joad, Winfred Joad, Muley Graves and Agnes Wainwright (Steinbeck, 2006).
On the other hand The Great Dictator stars Charlie Chaplin as the main charter. Chaplin plays two roles. One role is that of a Jewish Barber while the other role is that of the fascist Dictator called Hynkel who is a dictator of Tomania and clearly represented as Adolf Hitler. Other cast members include Jack Oakie, featured as Napaloni, Paulette Goddard, featured as Hannah. Henry Daniell, featured as Garbitsch, Reginald Gardiner, featured as Schultz and Billy Gilbert who features Marshall Herring. Marshall Herring has been portrayed as Hynkel’s incompetent advisor. The greatest part of the film revolves around an argument between Hynkel and Napaloni over the fate of Osterlich, Austria (Flom, 1997).
One theme that is common to both the novel and the film is the theme of inhumanity. The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin tries to satirize the stupid inhumanity of the German Nazis. Hynkel has been portrayed as a vicious and nasty creature that lacks dignity and humanity. Hynkel’s power has been reveled has an absurd pretence and empty vanity that allows the viewers to ridicule a sincerely contemptible, vile and unpleasant person (Flom, 1997).
The Grapes of Wrath reveals the theme of man’s inhumanity to man. The author woefully and consistently notes the fact that the great suffering of the migrants was not as a result of misfortune or bad weather by it was caused by fellow human beings. People are separated into landowner and tenant, poor and rich dye to economic, social and historical circumstances. In Chapter 19 of the novel, a brief history of California is examined, and the state has been said to be as a result of land-hungry squatters who took the land from Mexicans and made it their own. This historical example is seen as a threat by California landowners, generations later due to the belief that history might repeat itself as a result of influx of migrant farmers (Steinbeck, 2006).
Another common theme is that of selfishness. In The Dictator, Hynkel may be said to be not only a dictator but also a selfish individual interested in gaining power and ruling the whole world. He is cold-hearted and does not care about his subjects. A good example is a scene where Hynkel kicks and tosses a balloon globe while fantasizing of ruling the world (Flom, 1997). In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck believes that several evils that the Joad Family encounters are as a result of selfishness. A simple act of selfishness prompts businessmen and landowners to sustain a system that is responsible for sinking several people into poverty. In Chapters 13 and 15 of the novel, Steinbeck presents both generosity and greed as self- propagating. In Chapter 13, the readers learn that the gas station attendant ahs been preyed upon by the corporate gas companies. In retaliation, the attendant insults the Joads and refuses to assist them. It is therefore clear that the theme of selfishness is revealed in both the Charlie Chaplin’s film and John Steinbeck’s novel (Steinbeck, 2006).
References
Flom, E. L. (1997). Chaplin in the sound era: an analysis of the seven talkies. McFarland
Steinbeck, J., & Bloom, H. (2006). The Grapes of Wrath (2nd Ed). Infobase Publishing
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