The Grapes of Wrath An introduction

“The Harvest Gypsies” Seven newspaper articles on migrant workers Steinbeck observed in 1936. An eyewitness account of the horrendous Dust Bowl migration, a major event in California and U.S. history.

“The Harvest Gypsies” Steinbeck toured the squatters’ camps and “Hoovervilles” of California. Found once strong, independent farmers so reduced in dignity, beaten in spirit, sick, sullen, and defeated that they had been “cast down to a kind of sub-humanity.”

“The Harvest Gypsies” From 1935-’38, between 300,000 and 500,000 “Okies” (migrant farmers from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri) arrived in California. This provides the factual foundation for The Grapes of Wrath.

“The Grapes of Wrath” Traces the story of the fictional Joad family: typical farming family forced off their land by drought and foreclosure during the Great Depression. It is a drama that is “intensely human, yet majestic in its scale and moral vision…ultimately, stirring in its insistence on human dignity.”

Pre-reading There are 16 “inter-chapters” in the novel (generally, the odd-numbered chapters, but not always). They help create a total picture by establishing the entire social conditions of which these characters are a part. It would have been impossible to have the characters carry this entire load. These characters must be real, credible, and believable. So these inter-chapters fill in the larger picture to give some historical perspective about the conditions that all of these migrants faced, not just the Joads. For example, chapter 1 gives background on the Dust Bowl. Chapter 5 describes the process by which mortgaged lands are taken over by the banks; farmers are evicted; and lands are combined into vast holdings cultivated with modern machinery. However, everything included in the inter-chapters relates to the events of the fictional story.

Pre-reading We don’t get names of new characters in these chapters, but we get “owners” and “tenants” doing real, dramatic things, rather than a straightforward lecture on how these things occurred. These chapters also let Steinbeck work in his own statements, judgments, and denunciations of what is occurring.

Themes The bond between land and people Effects of technology Casting off old ways The “human family” Government for the people and by the people Endurance “Grapes of Wrath”: Anger

Ten Values An appreciation for our common humanity Need to work together to achieve a common goal The need for compassion and justice for the oppressed Importance of avoiding stereotypes and labels The need to share what we have with others, especially the poor

Ten values 6. Importance of commitment to our beliefs 7. A respect for our spiritual heritage 8. The realization that change is part of the human condition 9. The importance of caring about the earth and environment 10. An understanding of the role of technology in our lives

Purpose This is a novel of social protest. Designed to inform the public of migrant workers’ plight. A plea for landowners of California and bankers in Dust Bowl states to be more tolerant. Shows how migrant workers were used so bankers and California land owners could turn a profit. Shows methods they used to cheat migrants and keep them from organizing.

Title From “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” Title is a reference to justice and retribution.

The Dust Bowl: The Wrath of Nature

The Dust Bowl An ecological and human disaster in the 1930s Hit the Great Plains: primarily Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado

The Cause Years of misuse of land Sustained drought Millions of acres rendered useless Native Americans’ warning to “leave the grass alone” ignored

The Fallout As land dried up, great clouds of dust and sand, carried by wind, covered everything: The “Dust Bowl” was born. In 1937 alone, 134 dust storms recorded, creating “Black Blizzards.”

The human cost Hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee homes. Occurred during a time of social and economic upheaval: The Depression.

The Legacy The Dust Bowl lasted about a decade. Much was learned about cultivation in dry-land ecosystems, which helped prevent another Dust Bowl.