Times change, people change, and with them so do the struggles of life. In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, the Joad family lives in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Driven from their land, the Joads turn to the promised land of California to overcome these difficult times. They face hardships and test their hopes in search of a better life, this hope comes from the thought that things will really be better in California. The Joads refuse to give up even when this hope has been undermined, tested and rejected, holding together to preserve their unity as a family and to survive. In the face of such harsh situations that should hold no hope, there is still hope. Steinbeck uses symbols to develop hope and the loss of hope in The Grapes of Wrath. A particular symbol of this theme is the turtle, which drags itself along on its path despite factors that try to hinder its efforts, such as the truck driver who purposely attempted to run over the turtle. The turtle is characterized as: "The old humorous eyes looked forward, and the horny beak opened a little. Its yellow nails slipped a little in the dust" (Steinbeck 22). The turtle represents the struggles and determination of the Joad family, even after being punched by life's punches, and their persistent hope that if they keep moving forward things will be okay. Each character is associated with conflicts or obstacles throughout the novel where hope is gained or lost. The loss and recovery of hope was persistent, seen even by those who were not the main characters such as squatters, farmers, etc. Steinbeck says, “You know what cotton does to the earth: it robs it, sucks all the blood out of it” (Steinbeck 43). The… middle of the paper… and this helped Sharon and Ma's Rose retain hope, particularly since they were the ones primarily involved in helping the dying man. In conclusion, the main theme of the novel was hope and loss of hope. Each character's hope was tested, lost, and later regained through a series of events, such as the death of the baby or Sharon sharing her breast milk with a dying man as a final act of strength and maturity in the story. Even at the end, the family remains strong in the wake of their journey and tries to do the right thing for themselves and others. But he takes the lead of the rest of the family as Tom sets off to carry out Casy's last task: organizing the migrant workers, adding hope to their grim situation during the flood that replaced the scorching heat. Hope may be fragile and easily given up, but people still hold on to it in difficult times when hope should not be present.