The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck

1. Quote: “ ‘…maybe it’s all men an’ women we love; maybe that’s the Holy Sperit—the human sperit—the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of…’ “ (Steinbeck, 31). Question: How do we balance the needs of others against the needs of our own? Answer: I don’t know. I simply FEEL that it is our responsibility to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, help the sick, educate our youth. But I don’t know where charity begins or ends. I think I fool myself into believing that what I do is helping, is creating people who will, in turn treat others, strangers, with mercy and kindness. The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck Human Spirit Personal Connection: This is a story about the depression and the movement of people from the dust bowl to California. It’s is an intensely personal story of the Joads and also a larger story of the world. I can connect personally to the extreme poverty of the Joads. My mom left my father when I was 4-years-old. We didn’t have a lot of money. We lived in substandard homes, shopped at thrift stores (before it was cool), and ate a lot of macaroni and cheese! When the Joads finally make it to California, they are met with derision and cruelty. People hated the Joads because they were poor, they were different, and they were needy. While I never experienced the extreme hatred as the Joads, I can relate to being treated differently due to our financial situation. The Joads were called ‘Okies’ because they were from Oklahoma. We were called ‘Trailer Trash’ because we lived in a mobile home. The only reason people hated me or made fun of me was because of where I lived. Not because I was a mean awful person, but because we were poor. The Joads are hated for the very same reason. I understand, completely. Human Family Social Responsibility Tolerance Question: Why do human beings persist in producing hate? Answer: We hate because of religion, or origin, or country or color or gender or job….it goes on and on, the way we separate and divide and find someone, someone ELSE to hate, to beat, to rage against…WHY? Quote: “There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificates – died of malnutrition—because the food must rot, must be forced to rot” (Steinbeck 449).

2. Create a Central Image • Draw, cut-out a picture, or use a computer graphic to create an image that captures the central meaning for what you’ve read. • The image must be the central feature of your One Pager.

3. Brainstorm • Brainstorm around the central image (four, three words or less, statements) Love Fear Running Away Loss of Innocence

4. The Grapes of WrathJohn Steinbeck