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The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Start date: April 1, 2019

Finish date: May 1, 2019

Discussion: Current Group Read

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The Prince
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April 2019: The Crucible
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What Members Thought

Jul 26, 2011 ☯Emily Ginder rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

Everyone today should read this book. It is so applicable to today's economy and to people's views toward anyone different than themselves. It shows man's inhumanity to man. The selfishness and greed of the haves contrasts brilliantly with the sharing and caring of the have-nots. You can observe this attitude throughout today's society. In addition, Steinbeck shows that whenever the haves or farmers or anyone of means felt threatened, they called their perceived enemies names. Back then, they us ...more

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May 27, 2011 Ali rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ap-english, high-school, rory-gilmore-book-challenge, classics

The only work I've ever read of Steinbeck before is The Pearl, which in a word was torture. So needless to say I did not want to read 600 pages worth of Steinbeck. But he isn't a bad writer. In fact he's an incredible writer. Something that I didn't realize back in eighth grade. It's just his plots... Well he always makes the worst that could happen, happen. And it's really depressing.

The book is setup that you know it's not going to be a happy read. The Joads are poor farmers from Oklahoma duri The only work I've ever read of Steinbeck before is The Pearl, which in a word was torture. So needless to say I did not want to read 600 pages worth of Steinbeck. But he isn't a bad writer. In fact he's an incredible writer. Something that I didn't realize back in eighth grade. It's just his plots... Well he always makes the worst that could happen, happen. And it's really depressing.

The book is setup that you know it's not going to be a happy read. The Joads are poor farmers from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. They're kicked off their farms and they travel to California in search of jobs. Yet California is not the land of milk and honey as they thought. Jobs are scarce, money is scarcer and slowly and slowly their family keeps falling apart. Typically when this is the plot of a novel, I am not inclined to read it.

However, there were certain parts of the book that I really liked. Every other chapter was written vaguely talking about all the migrant farmers and their experience as a whole, which reminds you that even though the Joads aren't real, there were actually people who experienced that poverty. Plus the writing was really beautiful in those chapters.

Then, the reason I gave this book a three rather than a two, was the character Ma. The mother of the family, she's actually an incredibly strongly written female character. She acts as emotional support to the whole family, but she eventually turns into the leader of the family. She's the one who gets them into California and keeps the remaining family together through all the trouble they face. Her character was so inspiring and I loved the way she was written. She could have been like any other mother character who's just their and the other characters just sort of take advantage of. Ala the mother in Native Son who was completely irritating and I wanted to punch her. I mean I liked her character but when I started writing my essay, I just went off on a complete tangent that made me realize I didn't altogether hate the book. I didn't love it, but it wasn't as bad as I had originally thought. ...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Keri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top-20

This book is thoroughly depressing, but also somehow hopeful. Even through all the trials they endure, you know that somehow they will make it through and survive with their dignity intact. The end of the book, although disturbing to some, underscores this fact: even in the face of extreme deprivation, people still find ways to be generous and help others, and this allows them to keep their belief in themselves and in a better future.

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May 29, 2011 Anastasia Christiana marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Jul 10, 2011 Hettie marked it as tbr-eventually · review of another edition

Shelves: top-100-bbc, available-on-interlibrary-loan, tbr-standalone

Jul 15, 2011 Krystle marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, classics

Jul 23, 2011 Minie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Aug 10, 2011 Anoop marked it as s · review of another edition

Aug 13, 2011 Lisa marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Oct 05, 2011 Melissa Paige rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Jan 05, 2012 April marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-to-read

Feb 07, 2012 Fallon marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Mar 08, 2012 Lesley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nth-america-history, oprah, first-tuesday, favorites, winner-pulitzerfiction, nobel-authors, boxalls, movie-to-see, own-library, guardian-1000