The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is a story that follows a family living in the Midwest as they travel to California in search of a new beginning. The Joad family was one of many thousands that lost their home and land shortly after the depression. A horrible drought had fallen upon the mid-west. This drought ultimately resulted in banking institutions foreclosing on the properties of countless numbers of farms because the owners were not able pay their mortgages. Land that sustained life for families for generations was taken from them in what seemed to be matter of moments. These people lost everything and John Steinbeck's novel addresses this loss.
The story opens with Tom Joad, the oldest son of Mr. And Mrs. Joad, being released from a four-year prison term. Tom murdered another man in what he claimed to be self-defense. Clearly, there are circumstances about this murder that the reader must try to understand without the help of the author. We are presented with only Tom Joad's interpretation of the event. This interpretation is certainly biased when one considers the final outcome. A murder in self-defense should not lead to a criminal conviction and a prison sentence. I believe there are two possibil
While reading the book I found myself anxious to get to the end because I was sure that somehow that this family was going to make it. That never happened. Steinbeck concluded the story in a more realistic way. Once again the reader's
For the first time in the story the family realized that they were homeless, and they were going to remain homeless. Their dreams of finding a new life in California was shattered.
The family is not without a plan. A handbill was in circulation throughout the Midwest at this time. The handbill claimed that there were thousands of jobs in California in the fruit industry. The Joads were among the many thousands of families that gathered what little they owned and moved to California in search of a new life.
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