Abstract:John Steinbeck was born in the town of Salinas, California in 1902. It is generally agreed that the most significant biographical link between Steinbeck and his writings is this fact of his birth and growth to maturity in the Salinas Valley: here is the source of his knowledge and love for nature, his biological view of life, and many of his characters. The Grapes of Wrath, his masterpiece, was written during the American Great Depression in 1930s and was full of ecological crises. In this novel, Steinbeck revealed the inharmonious relations between man and land, between man and man, between man and himself. Combined with the research of The Grapes of Wrath and ecocriticism at home and abroad, this thesis will emphasize on the analysis of natural ecological crisis, social ecological crisis and spiritual ecological crisis and attempts to give solutions to those crises correspondently.

Keywords: The Grapes of Wrath, ecocriticism, natural ecological crisis, social ecological crisis, solutions

Contents

摘要

Abstract

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

Chapter 2 Literature Review-3

2.1 John Steinbeck and The Grapes of Wrath-3

2.2 Previous Studies of Ecocriticism at Home and Abtroad-3

2.3 Previous Studies of The Grapes of Wrath at Home and Abroad-5

Chapter 3 Three Ecological Crises in The Grapes of Wrath-7

3.1 Natural Ecological Crisis in The Grapes of Wrath-7

3.2 Social Ecological Crisis in The Grapes of Wrath .8

3.3 Spiritual Ecological Crisis in The Grapes of Wrath .9

Chapter 4 Solutions to Three Ecological Crises-11

4.1 Return to Nature: Respect and Love for Land-11

4.2 Collectivism: Respect and Love for Others-11

4.3 Universal Love: One Big Soul Everybody’s a Part of-12

Chapter 5 Conclusion-13

References-15

Acknowledgements-18