The Grapes of Wrath Introduction to the Novel

September 30, 2014 Today: In two separate stacks – Turn in the reflection WITHOUT the article. -Turn in the journals. Quiz over chapters 1-6 Complete Reading CBA Complete the writing section of the CBA

9/29/14 Welcome to the first day of a new six weeks. Staple your journals for chapters 1-6 and turn them in to the box. Staple your response to the article “Is the World Going Nuts” Today: CBA Quiz over Chapters 1-6 on Tuesday!!!! Day 8 Conversational: of or relating to a conversation; casual and informal; the way two friends would talk in a private conversation. a

October 1, 2014 CBA ESSAY COMPLETE YOUR PLANNING ON THE PROMPT PAGE. WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED, STAPLE THE PROMPT BEHIND ESSAY. USE THE REMAINDER OF CLASS TO WORK ON YOUR JOURNALS BRING THE GRAPES OF WRATH EVERYDAY!

Warm-up: Read the first and last paragraph from Chapter 1 Discuss with a partner how the author uses the resources of language, such a point of view, selection of detail, and tone, to convey the ravages of the Dust Bowl

Introduction Written during the Great Depression Everywhere people lost their savings, homes, and means of earning a living. Especially hard hit were the farming areas of the Midwest. Poor farming practices had depleted the soil, and it became less capable of supporting the individual families who farmed their small sections of it.

Agriculture changed drastically because markets and prices for crops declined. Agriculture changed drastically because markets and prices for crops declined. Small farms were consolidated into larger, and more profitable units. Small farms were consolidated into larger, and more profitable units. Tractors, other machines, and day laborers replaced mules and family labor. Tractors, other machines, and day laborers replaced mules and family labor. Independent farm life, which had developed the area and dominated it during the 1800s, dwindled. Independent farm life, which had developed the area and dominated it during the 1800s, dwindled.

In the mid-1930s there were severe droughts and erosion of the dry soil by strong winds. In the mid-1930s there were severe droughts and erosion of the dry soil by strong winds. This created a “Dust Bowl” in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. This created a “Dust Bowl” in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Colorado. The small farmers, now tenants and sharecroppers, were uprooted from the homes and farms which had belonged to their families for many years. The small farmers, now tenants and sharecroppers, were uprooted from the homes and farms which had belonged to their families for many years.

By the tens of thousands these victims of depression, drought, and dust headed west to seek a better life in the fertile fields of California. They found themselves as much victims there. Work was scarce, wages were low, and they were resented, resisted, and repressed by the residents. Their attempts to better their lives were branded as Communism, a system much disliked and feared by many Americans of the time.

Reaction to The Grapes of Wrath was immediate, and ran to extremes of praise and condemnation. The novel strongly exposed social injustice and called for social redress; but many people denounced it as Communist propaganda.

People in California and Oklahoma charged it was full of exaggerated lies about the conditions and treatment of the migrants in their respective states. A Congressman from Oklahoma denounced the book, on behalf of the people of his state, on the floor of the House of Representatives as “a dirty, lying, filthy manuscript-a lie, a damnable lie, a black, infernal creation of a twisted, distorted mind.”

Copies of the book were symbolically burned in a town in Illinois by order of the Library Board. Ironically, the waiting list for the book at this library was longer than for any other book in history. The burning order came in the same week the book had its largest sales in seven months.

The general public embraced The Grapes of Wrath. It became a best-seller shortly after publication and has been in print and widely read continuously since that time. The story was also made into a successful major motion picture starring Henry Fonda. A crowning accolade for the novel was the award of the 1940 Pulitzer Prize for fiction to Steinbeck.

Notes Activity You suddenly have to leave your house or apartment. You must leave your belongings behind, and, aside from a few clothes, you can take only four of your possessions. What would you take? In an to a friend, identify these possessions. Then explain what those items mean to you and why you chose as you did. Include your feelings about the items you had to leave behind and any anger, frustration or sadness you felt.

Vocab Look up and write a sentence using each word. Sentence must relate to The Grapes of Wrath Prodigal Dissipate Truculent

Day 8 Conversational: of or relating to a conversation; casual and informal; the way two friends would talk in a private conversation. Reflective: Given to contemplation; relating to or characterized by deep thought; basically, to be reflective is to be thoughtful, to think of your own actions and those of others. Cynical: distrustful of human nature and motives; to believe that everyone is only looking out for him or herself. To believe the worst in people. You know, Bob isn’t really a bad guy. Sure he is something of a braggart, quick to embellish his own accomplishments, but it’s a kind of desperate embellishment, an attempt to mask his enormous insecurity. Besides, he’s a good father and a generous soul, someone who will do anything for his friends, from floating a loan to fixing a fence. Of course, one might have to endure his explanation of international banking or the impact of fencing on the cattle industry, but all in all, his heart is in the right place. (You could probably go one of two ways on this one, but I think one tone predominates)

AP Language Analysis Analyze the article for the following: 1. SOAPS 2. Rhetorical Strategies a. Appeals (ethos, logos, pathos) b. Style (diction, syntax, details, imagery, tone, etc.) 3. Why did the author choose these strategies for the particular audience, occasion, and/or purpose? a. This is the analysis part! Without this, you are merely summarizing the text. b. Think about these questions: i. HOW do the rhetorical strategies help the author achieve his/her purpose? ii. WHY does the author chose those strategies for that particular audience and for that particular occasion? Make a paragraph connecting all the above: Example: Novelist, Amy Tan, in her narrative essay, “Fish Cheeks,” recounts an embarrassing Christmas Eve dinner when she was 14 years old. Tan’s purpose is to convey the idea that, at fourteen, she wasn’t able to recognize the love her mother had for her or the sacrifices she made. She adopts a sentimental tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences in her adult readers.

October 3, 2014 Day 9 Resigned: having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything about Callous: showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others; to be unconcerned with other’s feelings. Remorseful: filled with deep regret; to be very, very sorry. Sentence(s) Identify the two separate tones, one for each sentence. Well, Son, you may not have made the team but I’m really proud of your effort. Son, in the big scheme of things, no one really cares who made the Deer Park Junior High basketball team, especially not the B Team.