Turtle from the Grapes of Wrath (Essay Sample)

the story TURTLE from THE GRAPES OF WRATH John SteinbeckBACKGROUND The Great Depression of the 1930s was a time of profound economic distress. In 1932, one quarter of all Americans were out of work.

One of many factors contributing to the Depression was a drought in Oklahoma.

The drought was so severe that farmland literally blew away in massive dust storms.

This is the situation faced by the Joad family, whose story Steinbeck tells in his novel The Grapes of Wrath.

This tale of the turtle is the third chapter of that epic book. the concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog’s coat, and foxtails to tangle in a horse’s fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep’s wool: sleeping life waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny thorns, and all waiting for animals and for the wind, for a man’s trouser cuff or the hem of a woman’s skirt, all passive but armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage1 of movement. The sun lay on the grass and warmed it, and in the shade under the grass the insects moved, ants and ant lions to set traps for them, grasshoppers to jump into the air and flick their yellow wings for a second, sow bugs like little armadillos, plodding restlessly on many tender feet. And over the grass at the roadside a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass. His hard legs and yellow-nailed feet threshed slowly through the grass, not really walking, but boosting and dragging his shell along. The barley beards slid off his shell, and the clover burrs fell on him and rolled to the ground. His horny beak was partly opened, and his fierce, humorous eyes, under brows like fingernails, stared straight ahead. He came over the grass leaving a beaten trail behind him, and the hill, which was the highway embankment, reared up ahead of him. For a moment he stopped, his head held high. He blinked and looked up and down. At last he started to climb the embankment. Front clawed feet reached forward but did not touch.

The hind feet kicked his shell along, and it scraped on the grass, and on the gravel. As the embankment grew steeper and steeper, the more frantic were the efforts of the land turtle. Pushing hind legs strained and slipped, boosting the shell along, and the horny head protruded as far as the neck could stretch. Little by little the shell slid up the embankment until at last a parapet2 cut straight across its line of march, the shoulder of the road, a concrete wall four inches high. As though they worked independently the hind legs pushed the shell against the wall. The head upraised and peered over the wall to the broad smooth plain of cement. Now the hands, braced on top of the wall, strained and lifted, and the shell came slowly up and rested its front end on the wall.

For a moment the turtle rested. A red ant ran into the shell, into the soft skin inside the shell, and suddenly head and legs snapped in, and the armored tail clamped in sideways. The red ant was crushed between body and legs. And one head of wild oats was clamped into the shell by a front leg. For a long moment the turtle lay still, and then the neck crept out and the old humorous frowning eyes looked about and the legs and tail came out. The back legs went to work, straining like elephant legs, and the shell tipped to an angle so that the front legs could not reach the level cement plain. But higher and higher the hind legs boosted it, until at last the center of balance was reached, the front tipped down, the front legs scratched at the pavement, and it was up.

But the head of wild oats was held by its stem around the front legs. Now the going was easy, and all the legs worked, and the shell boosted along, waggling from side to side. A sedan driven by a forty- year-old woman approached. She saw the turtle and swung to the right, off the highway, the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust boiled up. Two wheels lifted for a moment and then settled. The car skidded back onto the road, and went on, but more slowly. The turtle had jerked into its shell, but now it hurried on, for the highway was burn- ing hot. And now a light truck approached, and as it came near, the driver saw the turtle and swerved to hit it. His front wheel struck the edge of the shell, flipped the turtle like a tiddly-wink, spun it like a coin, and rolled it off the highway. The truck went back to its course along the right side. Lying on its back, the turtle was tight in its shell for a long time. But at last its legs waved in the air, reaching for some- thing to pull it over. Its front foot caught a piece of quartz and little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright. The wild oat head fell out and three of the spearhead seeds stuck in the ground. And as the turtle crawled on down the embankment, its shell dragged dirt over the seeds. The turtle entered a dust road and jerked itself along, drawing a wavy shallow trench in the dust with its shell. The old humorous eyes looked ahead, and the horny beak opened a little. His yellow toe nails slipped a fraction in the dust. Analyze Story Elements Write an essay in which you analyze the role that setting and character play in driving the plot events in a story from the readings. Your essay should be 1-2 pages, typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font, size 12. Please save your essay as a Word document and submit as an attachment to be graded. • Choose a story with elements that are clearly or strongly related. For example, you might choose a story with a plot in which the setting is crucial. • Summarize the story, describing the setting(s) and the major characters. • Analyze the ways in which setting is essential to the plot of the story. For example, in an adventure story the plot events might hinge on severe weather conditions, high altitude, or heavy snowfall. • Analyze the ways in which the main characters are crucial to the arc of the story. For example, a reckless climber might take a risk that becomes an inciting event that drives the entire story’s action. • In your conclusion, summarize how the author’s choices in creating and developing characters and establishing setting impact the sequence of events in the story Grading Rubric CATEGORY 4 3 2 1-0 Purpose Addresses a story with clear setting and character-driven plot events, fully analyzes how both setting and character(s) are crucial to plot of story, and provides specific examples and quotes for support. Addresses a story with clear setting and character-driven plot events, somewhat analyzes how both setting and character(s) are crucial to plot of story, and provides specific examples and quotes for support. Addresses a story with clear setting and character-driven plot events, does not fully analyze how both setting and character(s) are crucial to plot of story, and provides few examples and quotes for support. Does not address a story with a clear setting and character-driven plot, does not fully analyze how both setting and character(s) are crucial to plot, and provides little to now examples or quotes for support. Sequencing (Organization) Details are placed in a logical order and the way they are presented effectively keeps the interest of the reader. Details are placed in a logical order, but the way in which they are presented/ introduced sometimes makes the writing less interesting. Some details are not in a logical or expected order, and this distracts the reader. Many details are not in a logical or expected order. There is little sense that the writing is organized. Supporting Paragraphs Supports reactions and evaluations with elaborated reasons and well-chosen examples. Any outside sources used are cited correctly using APA format and Grammarly report and academic integrity statement are submitted. Supports reactions and evaluations with specific reasons and example. Any outside sources used are cited but not in APA format, Grammarly report and academic integrity statement are submitted. Supports some reactions and evaluations with reasons and examples.

Outside sources are used but not cited, Grammarly report or academic integrity statement are not submitted. Offers little support for reactions and evaluations. Any sources not cited, and no Grammarly report or academic integrity statement is submitted. Conclusion (Organization) The conclusion is strong and leaves the reader with a feeling that they understand the writer's focus. Conclusion very effectively reaffirms the focus of the response. The conclusion is recognizable and ties up almost all the loose ends. Conclusion recalls the focus of the response. The conclusion is recognizable, but does not tie up several loose ends. Conclusion may not echo the focus of the response. There is no clear conclusion, the paper just ends. No conclusion is given. Grammar & Spelling (Conventions) Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling that distracts the reader from the content. Writer makes 1-2 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar or spelling that distract the reader from the content. Writer makes more than 4 errors in grammar or spelling that distracts the reader from the content.