The Grapes of Wrath Study Guide
Even though it wasn’t “The Grapes of Wrath” that won John Steinbeck his Novel Prize, it is still a very strong book of realist fiction genre in his portfolio. Published in 1939, the novel looks back at the Great Depression times and explores the travels of a poor farmer’s family looking for job and survival.
The book begins with a story of Tom Joad who spent the last four years of his life in prison. When he returns to his family farm in Oklahoma he discovers that it no longer exists because all of the farmers left looking for jobs elsewhere. Together with a friend named Jim Casy they take off on a journey to California.
The legendary Highway 66 is nothing like the reader is used to portraying it in other books or films. It is full of cars and trucks left behind and it is a real crossroad for Americans from all corners of the country looking for a better life. Throughout the journey, we meet different people each of whom has their own story. Some of them die without a chance to tell this story.
The historical background of the book is one of the reasons to read it. There’s no simple answer to the reason of Tom’s family farm business failure. It can be the weather conditions, but there are also other factors like changing economy, the financial turbulence of that time and mental changes of the population. Throughout the book and its characters, the reader discovers how real Americans lived at the beginning of the 20th century.
This is an immense text about a whole period of world’s existence. It is about confrontation of humans and machines, the dependency of poor on those who are rich, the ability of people to organize themselves for their wellbeing. It is about you, him, and me. Definitely, a must read for those who want to understand this world better.
Author: Frank Frazier
New Essays
Although not exactly the same, The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill A Mockingbird are similar in that the major conflicts in each deal with two people groups, one of which believes that they are superior to the other. This is shown in The Grapes of Wrath by the conflict caused by the Great Depression...
In the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck shows a variety of rhetorical strategies and devices in the first fourteen chapters, such as, symbolism, diction and personification to help the reader be more intrigued. Through out the entire novel symbolism allowed Steinbeck to continue to...
Throughout history, human beings have been incessantly cruel and violent towards each other. It has happened so much so, that some have argued human nature is intrinsically violent and aggressive. This can be seen in chapter 25 of The Grapes of Wrath: the mindless destruction of resources...
The Grapes Of WrathName:_____________________________ Regents / Honors English 11Period:____ Date:___________________ The Grapes of Wrath WPA Project 2008 As you have been learning in U. S. History and in background research of To Kill a Mockingbird, the Great Depression was a time when the...