Grapes of Wrath Notes

1. Grapes of Wrath Notes Chapters 1-12

2. Essential Questions • How does the moral of the story adapt and change throughout? • How does Steinbeck illustrate his own personal opinions about America’s situation and economic system to the reader through this novel? • How do cultural values help define interpersonal relationships?

3. What should I flag? • Keep in mind there is a study guide online to help you • You should be thinking of the essential questions throughout • Also watch for these things: a. the character development of the important characters (Joads, Casey, Muley,Wilsons, etc) b. the different types of conflict in the novel (man vs. man, man vs. society, etc) c. Follow the idea of “the terrible faith” d. Is this a hopeful novel? e. How is this the second half of a two decade long story with Gatsby being the first part?

4. What should you do with these Notes? • The following are just some interesting albeit random ideas for discussion and further thought from the novel. I hope they give you an idea of what you should be looking for and thinking about as you read. 

5. Notes (adapted from various sources including Steinbeck himself, Sophia Brown, and me) • Chapter 1 describes the coming of the dust much like a biblical plague. The dust is devastating but the devastation does not end there for the men. No characters are introduced in the first chapter because Steinbeck intends to put this book into a larger context. • Chap 2- we get our introduction to Tom Joad. His past is very important so make sure you know the details. Tom expresses his distaste for “corporate America” by guilting the truck driver into doing something nice despite some sticker a bastard company man made him put on his truck.

6. Notes • The turtle is obviously a metaphor for the working class in America at this time. The turtle tries to keep moving, despite facing major obstacles and danger. It is no coincidence that Tom picks up the turtle in the next chapter to bring to his brother but Casy explains, “you can’t keep a turtle, they eventually go off on their own” • We meet Casy an ex-preacher who has come to the conclusion that a sin is only a sin if you believe it to be. Casy is the moral center of the book and it is no coincidence that his initials are J. C.

7. Notes • Tom explains to Casy that his family literally carried their house to their property, illustrating the finder’s keepers theory. • Next come the tractors, which are even worse than the dust, and Steinbeck uses the most vile of words to describe the effects of these tractors. Steinbeck lets the reader know that a personal to the connection to the land is what makes it a man’s property; he has no respect for an indifferent, unattached bank. The conversation between Muley, Casy, and Tom in chapter 6 further illustrates disdain for the current corporate/capitalist system.

8. Notes 7-12 • The car dealer chapter is a perfect analogy for the larger capitalist system of profit above all else. The most money comes from taking the worst car and dressing it up real nice to exploit a former farm owner to waste their money. • The Joads are a tough group of people, hardened by life. The discussion at the end of chapter eight reveals Steinbeck’s largely socialist viewpoint, championing the common good over individual interests. • The selling of belongings illustrates the necessity of choosing practical items over those with sentimental value. This solidifies that the Joads, and the thousands like them, really must give up everything including memories.

9. Notes • The story “you can hardly believe” at the end of Chap 12 is an important one and illustrates what Steinbeck calls “the terrible faith” “The people in flight from the terror behind—strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever”(132).

10. Journal Questions 1-12 • What kind of person is Tom? What can you gather about his jail experience? • Find two quotes that clearly explain the situation of the Joads and thousands of other families in the same position. • Discuss the significance of this quote: “it got unholy when when one mis’able little fella got the bit in his teeth an’ run off his own way…Fella like that bust the holiness. But when they’re all workin’ together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang-that’s right, that’s holy” (88ish).