Grapes of Wrath

The Joad family is forced to move to California because of the Oklahoma Dust

Bowl, which has made it impossible for them to earn a livelihood through farming.

Drought and depression has made it impossible for farmers to grow a substantial amount

to live on. As inflation rises and wages drop, a gigantic worker migration heads West in

search of Jobs. They have seen notices asking for workers in the western part of the

United States, and travel thinking that they will find gainful employment. However there is

much to learn about the United States in its economic turmoil. During the depression,

thousands of people looked for work, and were cheated every step of the way. The

Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is the story about a family living during the days of

the depression and what they did to survive. Many families were hurt by the depression,

so Steinbeck wrote of a typical family with detail that makes you understand the pain and

suffering people went through in the country’s darkest of times.

Tom Joad, recently released from prison for a homicide, hitchhikes back home to

his fathers farm which he hasn’t been to in 4 years. He tells the truck driver who gives

him a ride that he got in a fight with a guy at a dance and when he tried to brandish a

knife, Tom hit him on the head with a shovel. The truck driver lets him off at his father’s

farm but he finds it abandoned. He does meet up with an old friend Jim Casy who used to

be a preacher. So Tom and Jim head down to his uncle’s to locate his family. A day later

he finds them all about to leave for California. Tom decides to accompany his family to

California although it means breaking his parole. Packed tightly into a truck, they begin

their journey down Route 66, little realizing that they are part of a huge migration into an

unwelcoming region of the US. The Joads encounter friends along the road, but they also

wander into adversity. They meet the Wilsons, who drive along with them to Arizona, and

various other Oklahoma families.

This Journey is not easy though, there is much suffering to be dealt with. Tom’s

grandfather dies of a stroke at the beginning of the trip. And his dogs that he bought

along are run over. They constantly have car problems and they face more and more

disrespec...

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...cannot fight against the system that enslaves them, to desperate

for food and shelter to think about their situation to any great extent. Steinbeck focuses

on the sacrifices made by people for their children and friends, emphasizing the simplicity

of their lives while demonstrating their desire for respect and recognition. They are forced

into constant migration by large land-owning companies, and it is these same companies

that prevent them from rising above poverty. During the Depression, the entire country

was faced with growing poverty and unemployment, and the Joads are only one of many

families forced to leave their homes. We look at the depression like it was a hard time for

everyone. And at such a time, we should stand together and solve our problems.

Systematically, society has performed its usual segregation of scapegoats, in this case the

Okies, because they were poor and couldn’t get jobs. The people didn’t realize that there

was plenty of opportunity because they were to caught up in their own finances to be able

to look past the barriers and start looking for solutions. The depression was a very hard

time, but for families like the Joads, it was harder.