John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

1. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath

2. “I tried to write this book the way lives are being lived not the way books are written” • —John Steinbeck

3. Great Gatsby-1920s Grapes of Wrath-1930s • Opulence and excess of the rich, carefree lifestyle • Poor are marginalized • The American Dream has been corrupted by greed • Fitzgerald critical of humanity’s insatiable desires • Terrible weather combined with the stock market crash, further marginalized the poor and pushed the rich to more selfish acts • Steinbeck believes in the power of self-lessness and he is critical of an economic system that does not aid this Two parts of one story

4. In a 1939 letter, John Steinbeck wrote that his goal for The Grapes of Wrath was “to rip a reader’s nerves to rags.” • Through the novel, Steinbeck wanted readers to experience the life of the Dust Bowl migrants with whom he had spent time. • To achieve the authenticity he desired, Steinbeck sought to pile genuine, specific detail upon genuine, specific detail. The purpose of the novel

5. The Grapes of Wrath came out of John Steinbeck’s experience researching and publishing Harvest Gypsies, a seven-part San Francisco News series about the plight of agricultural migrant workers in California. • He found an invaluable source in the official reports of Tom Collins, the director of California’s Arvin Migrant Camp, known as “Weedpatch Camp” • The relationship Steinbeck formed with Collins evolved between 1936 and 1938, with the two traveling over the San Joaquin valley to gather information and offer aid to migrant families in crisis. His use of non-fiction sources

6. Steinbeck’s commitment to write the novel evolved out of experiences “on the road,” especially their attempts to rescue thousands of squatter camp families during the floods February 1938. • When Steinbeck dedicated The Grapes of Wrath to his wife and “To Tom who lived it,” he was referring to Tom Collins (not the main character Tom Joad as many thought). Dedication

7. In writing The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck set out to supply enough accurate, imagistic details to provide authenticity and help the reader get a clear picture of his characters. • These characters channeled the outrage and indignation he had felt after traveling California, researching The Harvest Gypsies. He could not shake from his mind the conditions of abject misery and horror he had witnessed while among the migrants • “The imagistic immediacy with which Steinbeck invests in these characters also ensured that their struggle to rise above their circumstances and maintain dignity against enormous odds chronicled their heroism. His fictional Joad family is imbued with such poignancy and pathos that he raised them to the level of tragic heroes” (John Gale). Purpose

8. Few novels can claim that their message led to actual legislation, but The Grapes of Wrath did just that. • Its story of the travails of Oklahoma migrants during the Great Depression ignited a movement in Congress to pass laws benefiting farm workers. When Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in 1962, the committee specifically cited this novel as one of the main reasons for the award. The Effects of this classic

9. The similarity between Steinbeck’s descriptive style of prose and the style of photography found in FSA photographs including Lange’s images reflects the author’s “sharp, detailed focus upon “the little picture ‘within’ the large picture.” • Steinbeck developed a pictorial prose style that matched the photographic images from the newspaper articles of the day, which were already becoming lodged in the minds of the American reader. Writing Style-descriptive photographic style

10. When The Grapes of Wrath was published on March 14, 1939, it created a national sensation for its depiction of the devastating effects of The Great Depression of the 1930s, particularly on the poorest of the poor. • By the end of April, it was selling 2,500 copies a day—a remarkable number considering the hard economic times. In May, the novel was a number-one best-seller, selling at a rate of 10,000 copies a week. By the end of 1939, close to a half million copies had been sold. Book’s Popularity

11. John Steinbeck was shocked by the tremendous response to his novel. Almost overnight, he was transformed from a respected, struggling writer into a public sensation. • Yet The Grapes of Wrath was bound to cause controversy in a country experiencing a decade of major social upheaval during the Depression. With the novel's publication, Steinbeck found himself immersed in a great national debate over the migrant labor problem. Many people were shocked by the poverty and hopelessness of the story, and others denied that such circumstances could happen in America. The Migrant Debate

12. Widespread charges of obscenity were brought against the novel, and it was banned and burned in Buffalo, New York; East Saint Louis, Illinois; and Kern County, California, where much of the novel is set. • In fact, the novel remains one of the most frequently banned books in the United States, according to school and library associations. • The book was denounced in Congress by Representative Lyle Boren of Oklahoma, who called the novel's depiction of migrant living conditions a vulgar lie. Charges were made that "obscenity" had been included in the book in large part to sell more copies. • Eventually, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stepped in to praise the book and defend Steinbeck against his critics. Also a banned book

13. In 1940, the novel won the Pulitzer Prize. Yet, at the time, such were the pressures of Steinbeck's celebrity that he described fame as "a pain in the ass." Pulitzer Prize

14. In times of struggle, what are the benefits of putting others above yourself? • Is the bond between family stronger than all other bonds? • How is the “American Dream” envisioned by Americans in the 1930s? How attainable is this dream? • What are the negatives and positives of capitalism as an economic system? • How can human beings learn to want to help others for the sake of helping others? Essential Questions

15. Capitalism-an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange, characterized by the freedom of capitalists to operate or manage their property for profit in competitive conditions (Collins Dictionary) • Socialism-an economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state. It is characterized by production for use rather than profit, by equality of individual wealth, and by the absence of competitive economic activity (Collins Dictionary) Economic Systems

16. 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. Notes (adapted from various sources including Steinbeck himself, Sophia Brown, and me)

17. 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. (chapter 4) Notes

18. In Chapter 5 it becomes quite clear where Steinbeck’s own sympathy falls; for the migrants not the landowners • The “fifty thousand acre owners,” the banks, say “we are sorry” but “we can’t be responsible”(46). Steinbeck’s point is of course they can…bank greed (huge amounts of property and wealth in the hands of a few) is a choice. • Surely Steinbeck would see some parallels to the last 5 years in America and the bank’s reaction after the dustbowl. • The tractor driver, a prior farmer, rides an “iron horse” to destroy the home and plow the land-he becomes cold and this pits man against man. The Owners (chapter 5)