The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is a must read and an American classic. Although it takes time to read it is worth the time. Tanyra Williams thinks the book is really long but once you get started you’ll want to finish it. The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression. It was a time where many families struggled to live. Many were left unemployed and many were starving. The book focuses on one family in particular, the Joads. We see their struggles during this period of time as long as others they see along the road. The Joads struggle with death, pregnancy, and keeping the family together. It is said that Steinbeck did not think of himself as a naturally gifted genius and rarely believed he had ever arrived as a writer. As Steinbeck wrote this he did not think it would be such a success. But he did hope people would notice how times were during that period. The Grapes of Wrath shows how commoners were treated, the difficulty in finding work and how families struggled during their journeys to the West.
While moving to California many families were treated like dirt. They were called Okies which meant you were scum. Families had to stop along the way so they often ran into deputies and other families. Deputies liked to start fights to get people to move or arrest them. Arresting people meant the deputies would make money. Many families were disrespected in times like these. In The Grapes of Wrath the Joads had to be careful with running into the police. Tom was already violating his parole and he was the kind of guy who didn’t take people talking about him or his family well. People would get arrested or killed because they would protest or talk back. Jim Casy getting arrested and killed is an example of this. During the end of the book Tom realized that protesting against the unfairness is what he wanted to do.
It was hard to find work because thousands of families were moving west. You had to move often to keep