Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck *****

Grapes of Wrath could have been a cautionary tale for the 1% and a “How to” for the workers, but that does not seem to be John Steinbeck’s style. The result is the reverse: “How to” for the 1% and a cautionary tale for the workers.

I have heard that California no longer requires high school students to read this book. Here is a link to an LA Times opinion piece declaring this Nobel-Prize-winning novel to be “Bad fiction and bad history.” http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-grapes-of-wrath-john-steinbeck-75th-anniversary-20140428-story.html

Synopsis: The story follows the Joads from Oklahoma over Route 66 to California where they pick fruit and cotton. They approach their life with optimism and trust but are met with exploitation and death.

“An’ kin we feed a extra mouth?”
Without turning his head he asked, “Kin we, Ma?”
Ma cleared her throat. “It ain’t kin we? It’s will we?”

Here we see two themes that run through the book. First, when the family is in crisis, the women are strong and take charge. Second, attitude is more important than reality, today is more important than the future.

For example, when pregnant Rose of Sharon bemoans that her husband has left…

Ma went on firmly, “You git aholt on yaself. They’s a lot of us here. You git aholt on yaself. Come here now an’ peel some potatoes. You’re feelin’ sorry for yaself.”

This ‘don’t get discouraged and solve the immediate problems’ attitude gets half the family to the end of the book only to face the winter with no prospects for work, no food, and no money.

When John Steinbeck won a Nobel Prize, the committee cited this book. Today it is a classic of American literature and relevant to the 21st century political and economic climate.

Here is another review from 9 years ago: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2008/10/grapes-of-wrath-by-john-steinbeck.html


Chapters (* indicates background chapter)
1* Drought in Oklahoma
2 Tom Joad released from prison
3* Turtle making it way somewhere
4 ex-Preacher Casy
5* Tractor knocking down a sharecropper’s house
6 Muley Graves has gone crazy, but will not leave the farm
7* Used cars sales
8 Tom Joad’s family, grandparents, parents, brother, two children, pregnant Rose of Sharon & Connie
9* Selling junk to raise cash
10 Last day on the farm and setting west
11* Animals remains: cats, bats, mice
12* Highway 66
13 On the road, grandpa dies, meet the Wilsons, Sairy and husband
14* Sharing food on the road
15* Truckstop
16 Replacing the connecting rods on the truck
17* Camping society: rules and customs
18 Arriving in California, Colorado River, Granma dies, cross Death Valley
19* History of land ownership and conquest
20 Arrive in Hooverville, Connie leaves
21* Migrants to become serfs, small farmers bought up larger one and canneries
22 Central Committee of occupants runs Government camp
23* Recreation activities of migrants
24 The dance and foiling the attempt by outsiders to create a riot
25* Destroy crop when the prices drop, despite people starving
26 Last day in Government camp, Tom killed a cop
27* Cotton
28 Tom goes into hiding and then leaves, Al married, Granma dies
29* Winter means no work, no money, no food
30 Winter rains, floods, Rose of Sharon’s baby dies, shelter in barn