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The Grapes of Wrath
Author	John Steinbeck
Cover artist	Elmer Hader
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	The Viking Press-James Lloyd
Publication date	1939
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
ISBN	0143039431

The Grapes of Wrath is a classic novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is frequently read in high school and college literature classes. A celebrated Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was made in 1940; however, the endings of the book and the movie differ greatly. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links JohnSteinbeck_TheGrapesOfWrath. ... For other members of the family, see Steinbeck (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Viking Press was founded on March 1, 1925, in New York City, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... The term Grapes of Wrath can refer to: The Grapes of Wrath, a 1939 novel by John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath, a 1940 film adaptation of the novel directed by John Ford The Grapes of Wrath, a Tony Award-winning play based on the Steinbeck novel The Grapes of... For other members of the family, see Steinbeck (disambiguation). ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency. The work in this case generally refers to an authors work as a whole, not to any individual work, though individual works are sometimes... American cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. ... This article is about the film. ... Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... The year 1940 in film involved some significant events. ...

Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath at his home, 16250 Greenwood Lane, in what is now Monte Sereno, California. Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers, the Joads, driven from their home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in the agriculture industry. In a nearly hopeless situation, they set out for California's Central Valley along with thousands of other "Okies" in search of land, jobs, and dignity. The novel is meant to emphasize the need for cooperative, as opposed to individualistic, solutions to social problems brought about by the mechanization of agriculture and the Dust Bowl drought.^{[citation needed]} Monte Sereno is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. The population was 3,483 at the 2000 census. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... Sharecropping is a system of farming in which employee farmers work a parcel of land in return for a fraction of the parcels crops. ... Fields outside Benambra, Victoria, Australia suffering from drought conditions A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. ... Rear view of an Okies car, passing through Amarillo, Texas, heading west, 1941 Okie, also known as a Pafundi in Northern Oklahoma, is a synonym, dating from as early as 1905, denoting a resident or native of Oklahoma. ... Farmer and two sons during a dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936 The Dust Bowl, or the dirty thirties, was a period of horrible dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936 (in some areas until 1940), caused by severe...

Plot summary

The narrative begins from Tom Joad's point of view just after he is paroled from prison after serving four years for manslaughter. On his journey home, he meets a preacher, Jim Casy, whom he remembers from his childhood, and the two travel together. When they arrive at his childhood farm home, they find it deserted. Disconcerted and confused, he and Casy go to his Uncle John's home which is just a few miles away, where he finds his family loading a Hudson truck with just about everything they ever owned; he learns that his family's crops were destroyed in the Dust Bowl and that they were ultimately forced to default on their loans. With their farm repossessed, the Joads seek solace in hope; hope inscribed on the handbills that are distributed everywhere in Oklahoma, describing the beautiful and fruitful country of California and high pay to be had out west. The Joads, along with Jim Casy, are seduced by this façade and pretense and invest everything they have into the journey. Although leaving Oklahoma would be breaking parole, Tom decides that it is a risk, albeit minimal, that he has to take. Tom Joad is a character from John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath. ... It has been suggested that Medical parole be merged into this article or section. ... Hudson Logo Hudson Six-40, 1914 1917 Hudson Phaeton The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1957. ... Farmer and two sons during a dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936 The Dust Bowl, or the dirty thirties, was a period of horrible dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936 (in some areas until 1940), caused by severe... For other uses, see Oklahoma (disambiguation). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

While en route, they dejectedly discover that all of the roads and the highways are saturated with crowds of other families who are also making the same trek, ensnared by the same promise. As the Joads continue on their journey and hear many stories from others, some coming from California, they are ultimately forced to confront the eerie possibility that their prospects may not be what they hoped. This realization, supported by the deaths of Grandpa and Grandma and the departure of Noah (the eldest Joad son) and Connie (the husband of the pregnant Joad daughter, Rose of Sharon), is forced from their thoughts: they must go on because they have no other choice.

Upon arrival, they find hordes of applicants for every job and little hope of finding a decent wage, because of the oversupply of labor, lack of rights, and the collusion of the big corporate farmers. The tragedy lies in the simplicity and impossibility of their dream: a house, a family, and a steady job. A gleam of hope is presented by Weedpatch, the clean, warm camps operated by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal agency that tried to help the migrants. However, the benevolent bureaucrat Jim Rawley who manages the camp does not have enough money and space to care for all of the needy. Labor rights or workers rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. ... Weedpatch is a census-designated place located in Kern County, California, United States. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... This article is about the policy program of US President Franklin D Roosevelt. ...

In response to the exploitation of laborers, the workers begin to join unions. The surviving members of the family unknowingly work as strikebreakers on an orchard involved in a strike that eventually turns violent, killing the preacher Casy and forcing Tom Joad to kill again and become a fugitive. He bids farewell to his mother, promising that no matter where he runs, he will be a tireless advocate for the oppressed. Rose of Sharon's baby is stillborn; however, Ma Joad remains steadfast and forces the family through the bereavement. In the end, Rose of Sharon commits the only act in the book that is not futile: she breast feeds a starving man, still trying to show hope in humanity after her own negative experience. This final act is said to illustrate the spontaneous mutual sharing that will lead to a new awareness of collective values. A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Look up strikebreaker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Strike action (or simply strike) describes collective action undertaken by groups of workers in the form of a refusal to perform work. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Suckling redirects here. ...

Characters

• Tom Joad — protagonist of the story; the Joad family's second son, named for his father.
• Ma Joad — matriarch who tries to hold the family together. Her given name is never learned; it is suggested that her maiden name was Hazlett.
• Pa Joad - patriarch, also named Tom.
• Uncle John - older brother of Pa Joad, feels responsible for the death of his young wife years before when he ignored her pleas for doctor. He tries to repress "sins" such as drinking, then fulfills them with gross excesses like binge drinking.
• Jim Casy — a preacher who loses his faith after committing fornication numerous times. He represents in the book all that is holy.
• Al Joad — the second youngest son who cares mainly for cars and girls; looks up to Tom, but begins to find his own way. Over the book's course he gradually matures and learns responsibility.
• Rose of Sharon Rivers ("Rosasharn") — impractical, immature daughter who develops as the novel progresses and grows to become a mature woman. She symbolizes regrowth when she helps the starving stranger (see also Roman Charity, works of art based on the legend of a daughter as wet nurse to a dying father). Pregnant in the beginning of the novel, delivers a stillborn baby, probably as a result of malnutrition.
• Connie Rivers - Rose of Sharon's husband. Very young, and overwhelmed by the responsibilities of marriage and impending fatherhood, he eventually abandons her.
• Noah Joad — the oldest son who is the first to willingly leave the family. Injured at birth, described as "strange", he may be slightly mentally handicapped or autistic.
• Grandpa Joad - Tom's grandfather who is the first to express desire to stay in Oklahoma. He is drugged, and subsequently dies as a result of this. Symbolically, it is due to his spirit staying at the farm.
• Granma Joad - The religious wife of Grandpa Joad, seems to lose will to live (and consequentially dies) after her husband's death.
• Ruthie Joad - One of the younger children. She and Winfield get along well.
• Winfield Joad - The youngest male in the family.

... For other senses, see Patriarch (disambiguation). ... Preacher is a term the for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. ... Roman Charity (or Carità Romana) is the story of a daughter, Pero, who secretly breastfeeds her father, Cimon, after he is incarcerated and sentenced to death by starvation. ... A wet nurse is a woman who nurses a baby not her own. ... This article is about the domestic group. ...

Title

Steinbeck had unusual difficulty devising a title for his novel. "The Grapes of Wrath", suggested by his wife, Carol Steinbeck, was deemed more suitable than anything the author could come up with. The title is a reference to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe: Cover of the 1862 sheet music for The Battle Hymn of the Republic The Battle Hymn of the Republic is an American patriotic anthem written by Julia Ward Howe in November 1861 and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in February 1862 that was made popular during the American Civil... Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. ...

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

These lyrics refer, in turn, to the biblical passage Revelation 14:19-20, an apocalyptic appeal to divine justice and deliverance from oppression in the final judgment. Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ...

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

As might be expected, the image invoked by the title serves as a crucial symbol in the development of both the plot and the novel's greater thematic concerns: From the terrible winepress of Dust Bowl oppression will come terrible wrath but also the deliverance of workers through their cooperation. Farmer and two sons during a dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936 The Dust Bowl, or the dirty thirties, was a period of horrible dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936 (in some areas until 1940), caused by severe...

Major Symbols

The turtle in Chapter 3 is a metaphor for the working class farmers whose struggles are recounted in the novel. Significantly, the dangers posed to the turtle are those of modernity and business. The intrusion of cars and the building of highways endangers the turtle, and the truck that strikes the turtle is a symbol of big business and commerce. The struggling of the turtle also evokes the workings of narratives in general, since the trajectory of the turtle mimicks the trajectory of the novel: moments of action and pauses, slow process, peripetias. This land turtle becomes a proleptic device for the following chapters. For other uses, see Turtle (disambiguation). ... In economics, a business (also called firm or enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to consumers or corporate entities such as governments, charities or other businesses. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Peripeteia (Greek, ) is a reversal of circumstances, or turning point. ... A Proleptic calendar or era is that calendar extrapolated to dates prior the its first adoption. ...

The turtle also is a biological organism in conflict with an increasingly mechanized environment, and Steinbeck's Joad family represent an answer to problems from the biological perspective. Rose of Sharon's pregnancy holds the promise of a new beginning which is broken when she delivers a stillborn baby. However, the family moves boldly and gracefully forward, rather than slipping into despair, and the novel ends in hope, albeit again with a fundamentally biological note, as a starving man is breast-fed to keep him alive. This article is about human pregnancy in biological females. ...

There are numerous Judeo-Christian symbols throughout the novel. The Joad Family, like the Israelites, are homeless and persecuted people looking for the promised land. Jim Casy can be viewed as a symbol of Jesus Christ, who began his mission after a period of solitude in the wilderness. When the group first leave for their journey West, there are thirteen of them, representing Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles. Like Jesus, Jim offers himself as the sacrifice to save his people. Jim's last words to the man who murdered him was: "Listen, you fellas don' know what you're doing," similar to Jesus's "Father forgive them; they know not what they do." Tom becomes Jim's disciple after his death. Look up Israelite in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

A great flood at the end of the novel is related in the Bible as the story of Noah and the Great Flood. A flood symbolizes uncontained water, which has gone beyond the basic boundary between the earth and water. Floods also symbolize the end of one cycle of time and the beginning of a new cycle of time. Therefore, a flood symbolizes both death and regenerative birth at the same time. The image in which Uncle John disposes of the stillborn baby recalls Moses being sent down the Nile River, suggesting that the family, like the Hebrews in Egypt, will be delivered from the slavery of its present circumstances. This article is about the vessel described in the Hebrew scriptures. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean Basin countries Uganda - Sudan - Egypt The... Slave redirects here. ...

Critical reception

At the time of publication, Steinbeck's novel "was a phenomenon on the scale of a national event. It was publicly banned and burned by citizens, it was debated on national radio hook-ups; but above all, it was read." ^[1] Steinbeck scholar John Timmerman sums up the book's impact: "The Grapes of Wrath may well be the most thoroughly discussed novel - in criticism, reviews, and college classrooms - of twentieth century American literature." In the years since its publication, "positive support continues to dominate the reviews."^[2] For other uses, see Censor. ... Book burning is the practice of ceremoniously destroying by fire one or more copies of a book or other written material. ... For other uses, see Talk Radio. ... American literature refers to written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. ...

Part of its impact stemmed from its passionate depiction of the plight of the poor, and in fact, many of Steinbeck's contemporaries attacked his social and political views. Bryan Cordyack writes, "Steinbeck was attacked as a propagandist and a socialist from both the left and the right of the political spectrum. The most fervent of these attacks came from the Associated Farmers of California; they were displeased with the book's depiction of California farmers' attitudes and conduct toward the migrants. They denounced the book as a 'pack of lies' and labeled it 'communist propaganda'."^[3] However, although Steinbeck was accused of exaggeration of the camp conditions to make a political point, in fact he had done the opposite, underplaying the conditions that he well knew were worse than the novel describes [3] because he felt exact description would have gotten in the way of his story. Furthermore, there are several references to socialist politics and questions which appear in the John Ford film of 1940 which do not appear in the novel, which is less political in its terminology and interests. 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ... Religious socialism Key Issues People and organizations Related subjects Socialism refers to a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt was an early advocate for addressing the plight of those featured in the book. FDR redirects here. ...

In 1962, the Nobel Prize committee cited Grapes of Wrath as a "great work" and as one of the committee's main reasons for granting Steinbeck the Nobel Prize for Literature.^[4] The Nobel Prize (Swedish: ) was established in Alfred Nobels will in 1895, and it was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. ... The Nobel Prize in literature is awarded annually to an author from any country who has produced the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency. The work in this case generally refers to an authors work as a whole, not to any individual work, though individual works are sometimes...

In popular culture

Adaptations for film, television, theatre, and opera

1940 film adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath

• A film version was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck in 1940 and directed by John Ford. Ford won the Academy Award for Directing and Jane Darwell won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated for several other awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Henry Fonda for Best Actor, Robert L. Simpson for Best Film Editing, Edmund H. Hansen for Best Sound Recording, and Nunnally Johnson for Best Screenplay Writing. It has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
• The Steppenwolf Theater Company produced a stage version of the book, adapted by Frank Galati. Gary Sinise played Tom Joad for its entire run of or 188 performances on Broadway in 1990,^[5] and was shown on PBS the following year.^[6]
• An opera based on the novel was co-produced by the Minnesota Opera and Utah Symphony and Opera, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and libretto by Michael Korie. The world premiere performance of the opera was given in February 2007, to favorable local reviews.^[7]
• The South Park episode Over Logging is a parody of The Grapes of Wrath, featuring the characters heading to Silicon Valley California due to an internet shortage in Colorado.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 386 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (394 × 611 pixel, file size: 196 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theatrical poster of film: The Grapes of Wrath. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 386 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (394 × 611 pixel, file size: 196 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Theatrical poster of film: The Grapes of Wrath. ... This article is about the film. ... Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902–December 22, 1979) was a producer, writer, actor and director who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors (the length of his career being rivalled only by that of Adolph Zukor). ... The year 1940 in film involved some significant events. ... For other persons named John Ford, see John Ford (disambiguation). ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... Jane Darwell (October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an Academy Award-winning American theater and film actress. ... Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... ©A.M.P.A.S.® The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. ... Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was a highly acclaimed Academy Award-winning American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. ... Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 - March 25, 1977) was an American filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed films. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company in Chicago, Illinois. ... Frank Galati is a two-time Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-winning artist. ... Gary Alan Sinise (born March 17, 1955) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning, Golden Palm- and Academy Award-nominated American actor and film director. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... The Grapes of Wrath is an opera based on John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel of the same title. ... The Minnesota Opera is a performance organization from Minnesota. ... Ricky Ian Gordon (b. ... An American librettist and lyricist Works: Grey Gardens Harvey Milk ... This article is about the TV series. ...

Music

• In 1940 Woody Guthrie recorded a ballad called Tom Joad. This ballad, set to the tune of John Hardy, summarizes the plot of the book/movie. It was so long that it had to be recorded in two parts. Woody wrote the song after seeing the movie, which he described as the 'best cussed pitcher I ever seen'.
• In 1995, Bruce Springsteen released an album entitled The Ghost of Tom Joad featuring a song of the same name. This song was covered by Rage Against the Machine and most recently by José González's band Junip.
• The English Progressive Rock band Camel recorded an album Dust and Dreams (1991) inspired by The Grapes of Wrath.
• On Pink Floyd's album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the opening lines for the song Sorrow are paraphrased from the beginning of a chapter in The Grapes of Wrath: "Sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land."

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912–October 3, 1967) was a prolific American songwriter and folk musician. ... John Hardy is the name of a traditional American folk song performed by Lead Belly, the Carter Family, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Jerry Reed, Tony Rice and others. ... Springsteen redirects here. ... The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music). ... Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. ... For other uses, see José González (disambiguation). ... Junip are a Swedish band featuring José González. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Camel is an English progressive rock band formed in 1971. ... Dust And Dreams is a Camel album, released in 1991. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... Alternate cover US remaster cover A Momentary Lapse of Reason is Pink Floyds 1987 album, the bands first release after the official departure of Roger Waters from the band in 1985. ... Sorrow is the final track from Pink Floyds 1987 album, A Momentary Lapse of Reason although it was the seventh song from the album performed in the Momentary Lapse set of the 1987/88/89/90 tours. ...

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

The Grapes of Wrath

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ...

Notes

1. ^ Peter Lisca, The Wide World of John Steinbeck
2. ^ Cordyack, Brian. 20th-Century American Bestsellers: John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
3. ^ Cordyack, Brian. 20th-Century American Bestsellers: John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath. Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
4. ^ Osterling, Anders. Nobel Prize in Literature 1962 - Presentation Speech. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ Michael Anthony, "'Grapes' is a sweet, juicy production," Minneapolis Star Tribune, 2/12/2007

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Gregory, James N. "Dust Bowl Legacies: the Okie Impact on California, 1939-1989." California History 1989 68(3): 74-85. Issn: 0162-2897
• Saxton, Alexander. "In Dubious Battle: Looking Backward." Pacific Historical Review 2004 73(2): 249-262. Issn: 0030-8684 Fulltext: online at Swetswise, Ingenta, Ebsco
• Sobchack, Vivian C. "The Grapes of Wrath (1940): Thematic Emphasis Through Visual Style." American Quarterly 1979 31(5): 596-615. Issn: 0003-0678 Fulltext: in Jstor. Discusses the visual style of John Ford's cinematic adaptation of the novel. Usually the movie is examined in terms of its literary roots or its social protest. But the imagery of the film reveals the important theme of the Joad family's coherence. The movie shows the family in closeups, cramped in small spaces on a cluttered screen, isolated from the land and their surroundings. Dim lighting helps abstract the Joad family from the reality of Dust Bowl migrants. The film's emotional and aesthetic power comes from its generalized quality attained through this visual style.
• Windschuttle, Keith. "Steinbeck's Myth of the Okies". The New Criterion, Vol. 20, No. 10, June 2002.
• Zirakzadeh, Cyrus Ernesto. "John Steinbeck on the Political Capacities of Everyday Folk: Moms, Reds, and Ma Joad's Revolt." Polity 2004 36(4): 595-618. Issn: 0032-3497

External links

• Grapes of Wrath, available at Internet Archive
• Death in the Dust: John Steinbeck's first-person account of the conditions he observed at a California squatter's camp.
• Woody Guthrie's Tom Joad
• Photos of the first edition of The Grapes of Wrath
• A Review Of John Steinbeck's 1939 novel "The Grapes Of Wrath"
• Study resource for Grapes of Wrath