1. Introduction: The Grapes of Wrath
Ms. Foley

2. The Author: John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr.
February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968
From Salinas, CA
Worked summers on ranches which provided inspiration for his writing.

3. The Author: John Steinbeck
Dropped out of Stanford in 1925
Wrote sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories.
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962
First novel, Cup of Gold, published in 1929
First critical success, Tortilla Flat, was published in 1935
Of Mice and Men was published in 1937 and is part of his “Dust Bowl” novel series.

4. The Novel: The Grapes of Wrath
Published in 1939
Focuses on a family of tenant farmers from Oklahoma – The Joads
Classified as “social fiction”
The Joads must leave Oklahoma due to the Dust Bowl to seek work in California

5. The Dust Bowl – 1930’s
Severe dust storms due to drought and improper farming techniques destroyed much of the agriculture in the Great Plains during the 1930’s.
This exacerbated the Great Depression and led to mass migrations of farmers from the Plains.

6. The Dust Bowl – 1930’s Effected 100,000,000 acres
Centered on Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle
500,000 people were left homeless
By 1940, 2.5 million people had left the Plains States – 200,000 settled in California
Many in Kansas and Oklahoma died from dust pneumonia and malnutrition

7. The Dust Bowl – 1930’s

8. The Grapes of Wrath - Themes
Man’s inhumanity to man
The power of family
Dignity in harsh circumstances
Wrath
Selfishness vs. Altruism

9. “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; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on.

10. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
“...and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” - Chapter 25 -