Re-interpreting The Grapes Of Wrath From The Perspective Of Transcendentalism

The Grapes of Wrath is the representative work of John Steinbeck, a famous novelist in the20th Century. The novel is the winner of Pulitzer Prize in1940. As a classical work with great influence, the scholars and critics have applied all kinds of theoretical methods to discuss this work from multiple perspectives, such as symbolism and ecologism. This thesis attempts to reinterpret the work written by Steinbeck from transcendentalism. Starting with detailed reading of this novel, the thesis analyzes the work from perspectives such as scenery description and characterization to study and interpret the transcendental tendency the work reveals in detail from views of religion, nature and human beings.First of all, Steinbeck presents in the novel the same view of religion with transcendentalists who advocate replacing the absolute authority of God with "over-soul", believing that God is able to have direct communication with people’s mind without the participation of the media like Bible, belief and churches. Steinbeck mentioned the concept of "over-soul" in this work, pointing out that people can feel individual soul with intuition and communicate with "over-soul" so as to accomplish the integration of individual spirit and universal spirit. The depiction of the main character Casy in the novel reflects Steinbeck’s transcendental view of religion. Like the representative of transcendentalism Emerson, Casy quits his priesthood, turns into nature and obtains "inspiration from God". Under the influence of Casy, another main character Tom also gets inspired in nature, thus gives up the short-sighted philosophy of life and starts to be engaged in improving the future.Secondly, in the view of nature, Steinbeck reveals the symbolic meaning of nature through the detailed description of natural objects like "land turtle". Meanwhile, like transcendentalist Thoreau, Steinbeck believes that industrialization results in the alienation of human and ruins the beauty of nature as well as the harmony between human and nature. Steinbeck states with grief and indignation that the tragedy is not caused by nature, instead, it is the destructive result of industrialization. Therefore, in the novel, Steinbeck strongly criticizes the industrialization represented by the "tractor", and expresses his desire for a tranquil and easeful pastoral life.Thirdly, in the view of human beings, Steinbeck together with transcendentalists emphasizes the significant role of human, and promotes human’s self-improvement and renovation with great passion. The transformation of the four main characters during the course of their heading to the west represents the transcendental belief of "unlimited individual potential" which means that individuals are able to rely on themselves to break away from the constraint from both themselves and the outside world, to constantly improve themselves, and to reach the perfect state. At the same time, the growth of the main characters proves that the perfection and advance of the society cannot be achieved without the improvement and promotion of individual moral. As individual improvement is an endless process, Steinbeck shows his democratic thoughts and optimistic attitudes towards social development.In conclusion, Steinbeck is a writer characterized with transcendentalism. His transcendental thoughts are mainly demonstrated in his attitudes towards nature, society and human. Steinbeck is closely connected to transcendentalism in the views of nature, society and human, as nature, society and human are inseparable. The three elements are not isolated from each other; on the contrary, they form an organic whole in which each part has influence on the other two. What’s more, the discussion on Steinbeck’s transcendental view is of profound theoretical and practical significance. In theory, it provides a new perspective for the study on Steinbeck, which can help people have a new understanding of Steinbeck; in practice, it can not only make people realize the significance of nature for human as well as the importance of individual self-improvement and renovation, but also push forward the implementation of the current environmental protection and the people-oriented social policies.