Love

The ending of The Grapes of Wrath is solely focused on the final redemptive acts of both John and Rose of Sharon. Their actions make this ending unlike any other of Steinbeck’s novels. In many ways Rose of Sharon was especially in need of redemption up until the very end of The Grapes of Wrath. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck uses John and Rose of Sharon to portray certain themes or represent deeper ideas. In the final chapters, Steinbeck uses them to create a final and concluding sense of redemption. The very end of the novel focuses a lot of the redemptive act of John. During much of The Grapes of Wrath, Uncle John is tormented by regret. He tears himself down for never fetching a doctor when Rose of Sharon first started complaining about stomach pains. John blames himself for the death of his wife and struggles daily with his feelings of regret and blame. John’s moment of redemption comes when he floats Rose of Sharon’s dead baby down the river. In a way, Steinbeck uses this event to represent John letting his past troubles float away from him. Rose of Sharon struggles with the need of redemption through much of The Grapes of Wrath. Near the middle of the novel, Rose of Sharon is left by her husband to take care of her unborn child, leaving her scared and very nervous. When Rose of Sharon’s child is born dead, she is left feeling hopeless and full of self-blame. When the Joad family find themselves in a barn with a child and his dying father who is in desperate need of food, in the source of soup or milk, everyone looks to Rose of Sharon. She suckles the dying man, giving her a feeling of motherhood and satisfaction. In this final moment of the novel, Rose of Sharon finds herself receiving the redemption she’d been looking for through most of The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck uses John and Rose of Sharon in the final chapters to give his readers a final sense of conclusion. Both of these characters had been in need of some sort