Resilience and fortitute of migrants in two modernist writings :|bJohn Steinbeck`s the Grapes of Wrath and Isabel Wilkerson`s the Warmth of the Other Suns

Abstract

The Great Migration in the United States at the turn of the century left a profound impact on America as a nation. It involved vast migration of poor share-croppers from Oklahoma to California to escape the economic and ecological disaster as well as the African-Americans from the rural Southern states to the cities in the North in order to break away from racial persecution. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson chronicle the resilience and fortitude of the migrants in facing adversities in their quest for deliverance from hopelessness and despair to attain better lives for themselves and their communities. Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath chronicles the struggles of the Joad family and other poor share-croppers in their migration. Wilkerson’s writing, The Warmth of Other Suns depicts first-hand account of three African-Americans who personally went through the hardships of racial persecution and their epic migration. By weaving together historical accounts and the personal experiences of the characters using journalistic flair both writers gave their writings unique kaleidoscopes of the events that unfolded in the Great Migration. They managed to delve into the inner emotions of the migrants to portray their struggle to assert their identity as rightful citizens of the country and realise the American Dream. As modernist writings, the elements of modernism were apparent in the characterisation, plot and stylistics. The traits of modernism in the psyche of the characters are manifested in various forms in the works which reflect the new ways of understanding the complexities of the modern world.