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The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Introduction to the Text Created by Miss Ptak. The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939. The novel is set in the time period during which Steinbeck was writing: the 1930s. What do you know about the 1930s?.

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The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

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  1. The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck Introduction to the Text Created by Miss Ptak

  2. The Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939. • The novel is set in the time period during which Steinbeck was writing: the 1930s. • What do you know about the 1930s?

  3. CONTEXT: Effects of the Depression on Rural Americans • Drought strikes in Oklahoma. Oklahoma = “Dustbowl” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/maps/

  4. CONTEXT: Effects of the Depression on Rural Americans • Drought kills crops • Farmers (sharecroppers) cannot pay their rent. • Farm owners kick out sharecroppers Sharecroppers = Dispossessed & Homeless

  5. CONTEXT: Effects of the Depression on Rural Americans • Ruined farmers abandon land • Families pack all they own onto a truck to migrate to California, where there are rumors of employment The road to California = Route 66

  6. CONTEXT: Effects of the Depression on Rural Americans • 400,000 midwestern plains farmers traveled Route 66 to work in California. • These workers harvested ripe crops and are known as “migrant workers.” • Jobs were not as abundant as advertised. Migrant Workers = “Okies”

  7. Grapes of Wrath as a highly political text • Controversial • Religious Leaders  “obscene” • Oklahomans  negative portrayal of state inhabitants • Californians  not that cruel • Americans in general  “Communist” • Draws attention to the plight of migrant workers • Explicitly POLITICAL • Champions collectivist action • Anti-individualism, Anti-monopoly, Anti-big business

  8. Steinbeck’s Autobiographical Information • Born in California, 1902 • Schoolteacher mother read classic literature to young Steinbeck • Attended Stanford for five years, but never graduated • Steinbeck always lived and worked with the people about whom he wrote

  9. The Novel’s Form and Structure • Chronological • 3 Logical Parts • “Oppression” : drought and dust in Oklahoma • “Exodus” : the journey on Route 66 3. “The Promised Land” : California • Narrative Chapters + Intercalary Chapters • Interchapters = short sketches of economic and social history that are significant to the story

  10. The Novel’s Style • Vivid imagery and close attention to detail • "The dust-filled air muffled sound more completely than fog does" • Figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, and personification • “The full green hills are round and soft as breasts” • Dialect • "a walkin' chunk a mean-mad" • Realism • Dialect, Steinbeck’s research methods

  11. Key Players in the Novel • Tom Joad (main character) • Ma and Pa Joad • Granpa and Granma • Rosasharn (Rose of Sharon) and Connie • The other Joads: Noah, Ruthie, Winfield • Reverend Jim Casy • Ivy and Sairy Wilson

  12. Governing Themes in the Text • Forces of the Times: "An' Almighty God never raises no wages" (265) • Family First: "Use' ta be the fambly was fust. It aint so now" (470, 148) • The People's Justice: "They's change a-comin'. They's a res'less feelin'." (365, 184) • Survival "Ever'thing we do ..is aimed right at goin' on."(448) • Identity: "He was that place an' he knowed it." (156, 95) • Faith: "How can such courage be and faith in their own species? ... Faith is refired forever" (130) • Choices and Regret: "The one-eyed man . . cried in his bed" (193) • Trusting one's own instinct: "I got a feeling I got to see them" (58, 149)

  13. “The writer is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures for the purpose of improvement. . . Furthermore, the writer is delegated to declare and celebrate Man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit - for gallantry in defeat, and for courage, compassion and love." --Steinbeck in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech(1962, Literature)

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