The Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck’s Classic Novel About the Dustbowl Migration

The Grapes of Wrath was written by the great American novelist John Steinbeck. Steinbeck has long been one of my favorite authors, I always loved The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, but I had yet to read The Grapes of Wrath. Over the summer, I bought the novel and started on it while at my sister’s house in Arizona. I was not disappointed, as few readers will be. Though it has been in print since 1939, the novel has retained its image as a classic American novel and it contains insights and a look at reality that make every reader take away something different. For years, people have both loved and hated this book.

The book follows the lives of the Joad family, who are forced to leave their home in Oklahoma and travel west to California, facing many hardships in-between. They load up their truck and leave the only home that they have known to trek out across a barren land, not truly knowing what is to come. As they discover, the road to California is long and people are not always what they should be and kindness is not a trait that can always be found.

I can see why the book is praised. It is a simple story, but the Joad family does struggle and it kind of makes you angry at America in a way, because it is based on true events that Steinbeck observed, the whole dust bowl migration and droughts and banks taking peoples’ land and government camps and relief and harsh life for those who don’t have money and are trapped in a frustrating cycle. The Joads press on and keep going, searching for something more and with the eternal hope that they will things will start to get better and that they can make a lives for themselves. Even while struggling, they cling blindly to this hope.

It must have been really hard to live like the Joads and other people did back in the days of the dust bowl migration and this story definitely lets you in on the experience. You’ll feel compassion for the Joads and the people that they meet. You’ll feel their struggles and it will help you to realize that your own are not so horrible. The novel has parts that are sad and even more parts that are all too real. I can see why the book “outraged millions”, but it is a good book. I liked it and it is definitely one of my favorites now, right up there with the rest of this great author’s work. Cheers for you, Mr. Steinbeck.