The Grapes of Wrath
American realist novel about Dust Bowl migrants.
Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures.
- author
- John Steinbeck
- genre
- American realist novel
- awards
- National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize for fiction
- setting
- Great Depression, Dust Bowl
- protagonist
- Tom Joad
Lore & Background
The narrative begins just after Tom Joad is paroled from McAlester prison, where he had been incarcerated after being convicted of homicide, though he insisted he acted in self-defense. Hitchhiking home, Tom meets former preacher Jim Casy, and they find the Joad family farm deserted. The family, having lost their land due to bank foreclosures and the Dust Bowl, loads their possessions into a Hudson sedan and sets out for California on Route 66, the 'mother road,' along with thousands of other 'Okies.' The journey is marked by deaths: Grampa dies of a stroke, Granma dies near the California state line, and two family members leave. In California, they find oversupplied labor, low wages, and exploitation by corporate farmers and law enforcement. Casy becomes a labor organizer and is killed by deputies; Tom kills one attacker and flees. The family works at a cotton farm, but after Rose of Sharon's baby is stillborn and their dwelling floods, they take shelter in a barn, where Rose of Sharon breastfeeds a starving man.
Reader's Guide
The Grapes of Wrath is often listed as among the greatest novels in the English language and as a contender for the Great American Novel. It is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy. The novel's interchapters, including one featuring a land turtle symbolizing the slow persistence of the Okies, provide a wider setting. The book's title appears in one of these interchapters. Its depiction of the Joad family's struggle against economic and environmental forces has cemented its place as a key work of social realism.
Did You Know?
- The novel won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
- The novel's title is used in one of the interchapters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote The Grapes of Wrath and what kind of book is it?
John Steinbeck authored this American realist novel, which portrays the hardships of Dust Bowl migrant families during the Great Depression. It is set in the 1930s against a backdrop of drought, foreclosure, and economic collapse.
What is The Grapes of Wrath about?
The story tracks the Joad family, Oklahoma tenant farmers who lose their land to drought and bank seizure, then head west toward California hoping for work and a fresh start. Their journey illuminates the wider suffering of displaced rural families throughout the Depression era.
Who is the main character in The Grapes of Wrath?
Tom Joad is the novel's protagonist, a recently released convict who returns home only to find his family uprooted and joins their westward migration. His arc moves from personal survival toward a commitment to collective solidarity among the poor.
How does The Grapes of Wrath end?
The novel closes with Tom Joad and his mother, Ma Joad, parting ways as she stays to care for her grandchildren while he moves on to seek labor. The final passage shifts to an unrelated family at a roadside stand, underscoring that the Joads stand in for countless other displaced families.
What major awards did The Grapes of Wrath win?
Steinbeck's novel received both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, solidifying its status as a cornerstone of American literature. It remains a staple of school curricula and a defining text of Depression-era writing.
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