Mei Li Francis
807
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Over the summer I read the book The
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath centers around the Joad
family living in Oklahoma in the 1930’s around the time of the Dust Bowl. The
Joad’s like many other families living on small farms during the Depression weren’t
making any money. This was because in the time of the Dust Bowl, there were lots
of severe dust storms that ruined crops, and overtime made the land barren and
dry. Finally the bank gives them notice that they will have to move off of the
farm their family has owned for generations. And so the Joads take off like hundreds
of thousands of other families do, to go to California. They make the long
journey to what they’ve heard as of a prosperous state, only to find out that
it isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. First of all, there aren’t enough jobs for
the thousands of families who are in desperate need to feed their families. In
fact there are so many people in desperate need of jobs that the displaced
Okies agree to work for lower and lower wages; some agree to work only for food.
Many end up dying of starvation. They are so poor, angry, and depressed that
the native Californians start to think that there will be riots, and that these
poor farm folk will overtake them. This leads them to treating the Okies
terribly. They try to arrest them for doing nothing, burn their campsites to
the ground, and beat people to death. The Joad family has to deal with this and
more, as their family is starting to grow bigger. Tom Joad rejoins the family
after serving time at McAlister Prison, joining sad Uncle John, the pregnant
Rosasharn, her husband Connie. The
family also includes Grandma and Grandpa Joad, Pa Joad, Ma Joad, and the two
youngest, Ruthie and Winnfield. But they’re generous people and along the way
pick up friends like Reverend Casy, who’s desperate not to be a minister
anymore. The Joads have to learn to adjust to this new life in California, and
deal with what life hands them.
While
I found this book a bit slow going at first, I also found the writing fascinatingly
beautiful. Steinbeck describes the land
in a stunning writing style, making you feel gritty, hot, sweaty, and dry. There
is nothing picturesque about this book. He opens the novel with this vivid
description, “To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the
last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.” He immediately
draws you in, and makes you feel as if you are there.
For
the first few chapters, it describes Tom Joad’s journey back to his farm. He’s
just been released on parole from prison at McAlister for killing a man accidentally.
On the way home he meets a man he once knew, Reverend Casy. Reverend Casy is the
preacher who baptized Tom and his father. At one time Reverend Casy was full of
the Holy Spirit. Except now, he isn’t quite sure anymore, “there ain’t no sin
and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do. It’s all part of the
same thing. And some of the things folks do is nice, and some ain’t nice, but that’s
as far as any man got a right to say.” I think that Reverend Casy’s role in the
Grapes of Wrath was to question what was seen as ideal. He may not have been a
preacher anymore, but it didn’t stop him from thinking a lot. And mostly what
he thought about was that things in California aren’t right. He is one of the
men who realize they need to stand up for what they believe in if they want
better pay. I think his influence on Tom is especially strong, because Tom is
seen as the “man of the house” to the reader, and he doesn’t always want to be.
Sometimes he just wants to listen to somebody else’s opinions.
In
terms of major character roles I think that each character represented
something different. For example Rosasharn, represented vulnerability, although
pregnant, she was scared to really grow up. She knew that she wanted the best
for her child, but she was also in a fragile state. She really wasn’t ready,
but she tried. She was very vulnerable throughout the book, even the slightest
things setting her off. I believe that Grandpa Joad represented the love of the
land. Because after Grandpa Joad was forced off his land, his spirit died and
he was no longer enthusiastic about life. He died a couple of days later.
The
marvelous thing about Steinbeck’s book is that he is able to take the stories
of many different people living under the same house as a family, and weave
each of their own tales into one, well put together novel.
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