Annonumous1
Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck. The book Grapes of Wrath takes place
during the Great Depression and focuses on plight of mid and southwestern farmers who became
a part of the Dust Bowl migration. During the 1930s the mid and southwestern states of America
were devastated by a drought that left farms with little crop yield.
The cornfields of Oklahoma shrivel and fade in a long summer drought. Thick clouds of
dust fill the skies, and the farmers tie handkerchiefs over their noses and mouths. At night, the
dust blocks out the stars and creeps in through cracks in the farmhouses. During the day the
farmers have nothing to do but stare dazedly at their dying crops, wondering how their families
will survive. The wind became stronger and soon the dust hung in the air like fog. People were
forced to tie handkerchiefs over their faces and wear goggles over their eyes. When the wind
stopped, the men and women came out to survey the damage to the fields. Everyone, even the
children, was subdued.
They were waiting for the reaction of the men, to see whether they would break. The men
did not break, but began figuring how to deal with the ruined corn. The women resumed their
housework and the children their play, for they knew as long as the men were okay, the family
would be fine. Into this desolate country enters Tom Joad, newly released from the McAlester
State Penitentiary, where he served four years on a manslaughter conviction. Dressed in a cheap
new suit, Tom hitches a ride with a trucker he meets at a roadside restaurant. Clad in new,
cheaply made clothing, he sits down on the truck’s running board to loosen his new shoes. When
the driver walks out to his truck, Tom asks for a ride. The driver refuses at first, citing the no
riders sign, but Tom suggests that sometimes a guy will be a good guy even if some rich bastard
makes him carry a sticker. As they travel down the road, the driver asks Tom about himself, and
Annonumous2
Tom explains that he is returning to his father’s farm. The driver is surprised that the Joads have
not been driven off their property by a cat, a large tractor sent by landowners and bankers to
force poor farmers off the land. The driver reports that much has changed during Tom’s absence,
great numbers of families have been tractored out of their small farms. Tom becomes irritated at
the driver’s meddling questions until they reach Tom’s road. Getting out of the truck, he discloses
that he has been prison for homicide, sentenced for seven years but out in four for good behavior.
A land turtle navigates through a dry patch of ground toward a slanted highway
embankment full of oat beards and foxtails. Resolute and unswerving, the turtle fights its way up
the slope to the highway and begins to cross the hot pavement. A speeding car swerves onto the
shoulder to avoid the turtle. Moments later, a truck purposefully clips the shell of the turtle,
sending it spinning to the side of the highway, landing on its back. Eventually, the turtle rights
