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The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Start date: August 1, 2017

Finish date: August 31, 2017

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf Book, July 2024

Revisit the Shelf Reread, August 2017

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Contemporary Classic …more
[close] Revisit the Shelf Book, July 2024

Revisit the Shelf Reread, August 2017

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Contemporary Classic Group Read, July 2014

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Jul 14, 2010 Franky rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: amazing

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is an epic novel in many ways, but ultimately has a simple message that anyone who has had setbacks or struggles can relate to. It’s the story of the underdog. This underdog is fighting for a piece of the American Dream during the harsh 1930s Depression. Those migrant “Okies” who trekked west weren’t out to conquer; they just wanted to make ends meet, to be able to work, to survive, to provide for their families. In our current state of economic woes, we can John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is an epic novel in many ways, but ultimately has a simple message that anyone who has had setbacks or struggles can relate to. It’s the story of the underdog. This underdog is fighting for a piece of the American Dream during the harsh 1930s Depression. Those migrant “Okies” who trekked west weren’t out to conquer; they just wanted to make ends meet, to be able to work, to survive, to provide for their families. In our current state of economic woes, we can identify with crisis these people faced-- the risks, the work involved, picking up and leaving everything: possessions, cherished items, homes. All this for the prospects of a better future that California and the West seemed to symbolize. It was a difficult journey and many didn’t make it; those who did often found out that the “land of milk and honey” wasn’t as rosy as the handbills indicated.

The conflicts of this journey West, the spiritual fight, is what Steinbeck depicts in a raw, poetic, realistic way that it is no wonder The Grapes of Wrath has become such an important novel for its historical perspective as well as literary merit.

Within the framework of the novel, we follow the Joad family—a microcosm of the displaced family having to head out West. The novel also shifts from the Joad’s story to “bigger concept” chapters dedicated to illustrating what the migrants were facing. Tom Joad, after being released from prison, finds Jim Casy, former preacher, and they discover that everyone from the Joad clan appears to be heading out. With little prospects, they make the journey with the family, and we follow along, encountering the many conflicts along the way. There are those who cling to their roots, who are skeptical about the prospects of California, those like Grandpa Joad and Muley Graves, who believe leaving is a form of defeat. However, with bleak prospects, the move is imminent and necessary, even though they realize it will be a tough road ahead.

Among the characters, Ma Joad, Jim Casy, and Tom Joad emerge as prominent figures. Ma Joad, the leader of the family who holds down the fort when things begin to falter or break apart; Jim Casy, the former preacher and spiritual man who sees the deeper soul of humanity; and Tom Joad, the rebel who makes strides to transform his character, to carry on Casy’s fight and the fight for his people, who speaks for an entire group when he says “I’ll be there.”

The Grapes of Wrath, on one level, connects Depression era migrants with the dream of heading west and finding some semblance of an idyllic existence. Although many dreams are dashed, it is the struggle of this journey that becomes a main symbol. On another level, this novel is a picture of a time period, people trying to make it and survive, something we all relate to, which Steinbeck aptly and poetically captures. This is a timeless novel on many levels.
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