The Turtle as Symbol in The Grapes of Wrath

In this intercalary chapter, John Steinbeck calls upon one of Nature’s most well adapted creatures to represent not only Tom Joad and the entire Joad family, but in a much larger sense, to symbolize the entire family of mankind as he struggles to eke out and existence in a world filled with obstacles. Nature has equipped the land turtle with exactly what it needs for basic survival; however, the obstacles by humans push him …

…struggles long and hard to pull himself over, and no matter how impossible it seemed, he succeeded. Steinbeck draws a large analogy in the third chapter. He exhibits that the struggles with the turtle are no different than that of any man or the Joad family. He also points out through the use of connotation that the turtle cannot endure the troubles caused by man as easily as he can the ones caused by nature.