After I finished reading the book, I was surprised at how Steinbeck ended the novel. Really, there is no resolution for the Joads. You don't know where Tom is or if he's alive, and you don't know if the other Joads will survive. The book ends with Rose of Sharon feeding the starving stranger her milk so he can survive. The last sentence of the book is, "She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously" (619).
I wonder why Steinbeck ended the book like this. It kind of reminded me of the circle of life, and, as I mentioned in a comment to one of Holly's posts about Rose of Sharon, why Steinbeck named her character Rose of Sharon, and how maybe it's a symbolism of new life. Grandpa and Grandma Joad died towards the beginning of the book, and maybe Steinbeck wanted to end the book in this small hope that Rose of Sharon would save the man's life by giving him something to live on, which would also explain the biblical metaphor of Rose of Sharon's name. But, why would Steinbeck choose this moment to be the last we see of the Joads? Why is it important? Why wouldn't Steinbeck resolve the family issues? Is it because he didn't know how the Joads should come out of the Depression, or if they should come out?
As I read this part I thought of possible reasons why. I came up with the idea that Steinbeck decided to end the book at a moment of hope, rather than one of despair. The last moments showed how Rose of Sharon could help another person live and thrive as Ma had been doing with her family for the entire story. He wanted to show that no matter what, something good comes of bad and that anything is possible. While the ending may be awkward the true meaning of it shows the thought Steinbeck put into the novel.
ReplyDeleteI think that it could have ended that way to show that the Joads will survive, even if it is still a struggle. If Steinbeck wanted them to escape poverty and live happily ever after he would have written it in. But because he didn't, we can assume that that doesn't happen. Which actually goes along the lines of how he has been writing all along. We thought that the book was partly written to show the people who didn't have to face what the Joads did what life was like for some people. And for people like the Joads, there was no escape.
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