Naturalism in The Grapes of Wrath In John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family and the evolving world in which they live are portrayed from a point of naturalistic view. Steinbeck characterizes the Joads and their fellow migrants as simple, instinct-bound creatures who are in an endless search for paradise (Owens 129). Migrants and the forces that force them to undertake the journey – nature and society – are often represented by animals. The Joads, when they initially leave home, are a group of simplistic, animal-like people, who barely understand or even realize their situation, but as the story progresses, they begin to grow and adapt to their new circumstances. They evolve from a small, insignificant group of creatures without social consciousness into a single member of a much larger family: society. Steinbeck strongly describes the Joads and other displaced "Okies" as animal rights activists. They often talk about their situation in simplistic terms, which suggests that they are initially unaware of the circumstances that force them to leave Oklahoma. Muley Graves, for example, tells Tom Joad and Jim Casy that the rest of the Joads, whose house was destroyed by a tractor, are "crowded into John's house like rodents in a winter den (Steinbeck 47)." This presents the image of a family of animals who have clustered together, hoping to repel a predator with their greater numbers. They also see the social problems around them in terms of predators; on one occasion, Casy asks a man at a gas station, "Have you ever seen one of those Gila monsters get a foothold, sir? (Cut him in two) and his head hangs down. And while he's lying there, the poison comes dripping into the hole he made (Steinbeck 132)." This refers to the devastating and unbreakable hold of the socioeconomic forces acting upon them (Lisca 96). A particularly important element that represents migrants on a naturalistic level is the turtle (Lisca 97). Introduced in the first interchapter, the turtle trudges tiredly but steadily in an incessant search for a better place to live. Likewise, the Joads are constantly on the move. They don't really understand why they have to travel, yet they accept it (Owens 131) and are determined to reach the promising paradise of California. Neither the turtle nor his human counterparts will be stopped by any obstacle.