The Grapes of Wrath: Trouble in the Promised Land

Twayne's Masterwork Studies #27

by Louis Owens

Book by Owens, Louis

121 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1989

Reviews

[Linda Bybee-kapfer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I miss his voice. This was the only Owens text I hadn't read.

[Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tolerable nuts and bolts introduction to the novel. Situates the work in the larger context of Steinbeck's writing and thinking, in particular his biological speculations with Ed Ricketts. These ideas appear in Steinbeck's meditations on humanity as a corporate organism. His term for this idea was 'phalanx' (or sometimes 'Manself') and Owens does a credible job of explaining how this idea structures much of Grapes of Wrath. Some of the chapters are a little speculative and the readings of individual Joads are occasionally less than convincing. Nevertheless this is a solid one-volume introduction to the book, written at a level undergraduates or (possibly) motivated high school students could embrace.