The Grapes of Wrath

1. The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck

2. Characters • Protagonist of the story. • The Joad family's second son • Plainspoken, forthright and direct man. • Good-natured and thoughtful • He served four years on a manslaughter conviction. • He takes leadership of the family even though he is young. Tom Joad

3. The mother of the Joad family. • a woman who knowingly and gladly fulfills her role as “the citadel of the family.” • Practical and warm-spirited, • she tries to hold the family together. Ma Joad

4. Ma Joad’s husband and Tom’s father. • An Oklahoma tenant farmer who has been evicted from his farm. • A plainspoken, good-hearted man • Hardworking sharecropper and family man Pa Joad

5. the third Joad son • younger than Noah and Tom • fond of cars and girls. • He assumes a greater position in the family • He helps drive the family to California. • He wants to leave the family and go on his own Al Joad

6. A former preacher • A staunch friend of Tom Joad, • Casy goes to prison in Tom’s stead for a fight • He emerges a determined organizer of the migrant workers. • He is honest, compassionate, and courageous. Jim Casy

7. GrampaJoad is rowdy and vigorous, • refuses to leave the family's farm in Oklahoma • dies on the first night of the trip. • Grampa's stroke is caused in part by the "medicine" that Ma and Tom give him. GrampaJoad

8. deeply religious and energetic • unable to adapt to a new way of life • lose her husband. • dies as the family crosses the Mojave Desert, GrammaJoad

9. the Joads’ Oklahoma neighbors. • lets his wife and children move to California • the stubborn man • refuses to leave Oklahoma. • He is homeless Muley Graves

10. Tom’s older brother. • Slow and quiet • Noah leaves his family • suffers from mental disabilities occurred during childbirth. Noah Joad

11. a prisoner of his guilt over his wife's death years before. • become an alcoholic. • sense of guilt is transformed into anger Uncle John Joad

12. Summary A poor immigrant family called the Joads who are forced to give up their farm because of bad economic circumstances and drought. They decide to move to California where they hope to be able to make a brand new start. Unfortunately thousands of other families think the same and life out there turns out to be even harder than it was back in Oklahoma. The narrative begins as Tom Joad go back to his parents' forty-acre farm. Tom has just been paroled after serving four years in prison for manslaughter. He has to move to California with his family. During the way to go there his grandpa and grandma are dead. Moreover, he and his family have to confront with many problems and find the good way to live for the better life.

13. Themes • Poverty • Displaced people • Importance of family and home

14. Poverty • Living conditions and overt exploitation by famers. • Ex. The joads force to leave their permanent home to become migrant workers.

15. Displaced people • Moving around • Trying to find a sense of place • Searching for a place to put down new roots. • EX. The joads have to move to California because they believe that they will find a better future and have a better condition life there.

16. Importance of family and home • The Joads move to California together. • Ex. Tom Joad who just come back to his farm and he has to move with his family to find a better life. Even his grampa and gramma do not want to leave the farm because they born with this farm. However, they have to move together because they are family.