A masterful story teller, Steinbeck unfolds the story of the Joads, a family of dispossessed Okies, set adrift in a sea which they do not know, by forces which they do not understand. As we watch them lose their farm, travel with them in the truck to California, then search with them for work in their new world, we begin to appreciate the life of a penniless migrant of the Dust Bowl Era.

As enthralling as this story is, it is periodically interrupted by chapters of social commentary. Nobody seized the land, it was the bank. No one set the wages, the growers association did. There is no personal responsibility. The little people are crushed by impersonal organizations.

The theme of class struggle runs deeply, but is seems a bit dated. When Steinbeck wrote, the Joads probably seems to be part of a struggle driven by deliberate decisions made by people who were willing to ruin the lives of little people for profit, all the while hiding behind the claim that their actions were compelled by impersonal forces.

It seems that, to Steinbeck, the struggle over land was one in which "The People" could determine the outcome. Knowing what we now know, the mechanization of agriculture set in motion forces which inexorably reduced demand for agricultural labor. The prosperity which the world enjoys today is incompatible with world the Joads knew in Oklahoma. The Tom Joads reaped the Grapes of Wrath, but many of their grandchildren eat from the Horn of Plenty. The tragedy is not, as Steinbeck seems to posit, that the Joads lost their land, but that they were unable to successfully adapt to the changing times. They could not adapt but, in their own ways, they did cope.

Although the specific struggle of the Okies is passed and many of their grandchildren have achieved prosperity in the mainstream economy, their problem remains. There are still economically marginal people unable to adapt to the changing times, people who have to cope in their own ways. They too, have a spokesman in John Steinbeck.

This book is powerful. It is moving. Come, ride into yesteryear.


More relevant by the day   April 3, 2003
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Read "The Grapes of Wrath". Then ask yourself whether mankind will ever learn.
Superbly written and compulsive reading, this is a great novel that can be enjoyed by anybody.


TRULY A "MASTERPIECE"   March 18, 2003
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I don't know how anyone could read this book and not give it a five star rating. The true test for me of a "great book" is one that stays with me -- one I can't stop thinking about long after I've finished. I read this book for the second time in my life a month ago (first time was in high school many years ago), and I'm still haunted by the suffering endured by the Joad family. The interesting thing is that Steinbeck wrote this book in 1939 at the height of the injustices being fraught upon the migrant workers in California. I'm sure it wasn't popular then as it brought to the forefront the corruption of some powerful people in America. It also spoke to the conscience of every American which eventually led to political reform in California. After reading this book, I did some research into Steinbeck's motivation and learned that he was haunted by the plight of California's migrant workers to the point of obsession. To fuel his anger, he would visit the migrant camps each day full of their dirt, disease and hungry people and then return home to write about those people responsible for these conditions -- people he considered to be murderers.

Steinbeck concentrated on the circumstances of one family, The Joads, tenant farmers in Oklahoma until they were forced out by the larger companies who wanted their land back. With dreams of luscious grapes and peaches in abundance waiting to be picked, they loaded up their belongings and began their journey on Route 66 headed for Bakersfield, California. They began their trip with a bevy of colorful characters led by Ma and Pa Joad. It's amazing how much power Steinbeck gave to Ma Joad -- years before women had any right to a voice. Unfortunately, just as the Joads were heading out, so were thousands upon thousands of other families. This would ultimately lead to supply and demand. There would be too many workers for the few jobs available and, consequently, people would be agreeing to work for peanuts just to be able to feed their families.

Steinbeck's writing is astounding as the unrest of the migrants builds to a crescendo and just as the dust has risen in Oklahoma, so will the voices of the poor migrant workers. Steinbeck says, "In the eyes of the hungry, there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are growing heavy." It is just a matter of time before their wrath is unleashed and you can feel it in every page you turn. He says that, "Our people are good people; our people are kind people. Pray God some day kind people won't all be poor. Pray God someday a kid can eat." I don't know how you can read some of his words and not get teary eyed. But sixty years have passed since the writing of this book and there are still migrant stories to be told and kids who have no food to eat yet sadly the world continues despite its injustices.

I won't kid you into believing that this is an easy book to read. The first 150 pages are so slow going that I almost had to put it down. But I kept on going just as the Joad's kept on going and I'm certainly glad I did. We could all take a lesson from their quest for survival and their quest just to be able to eat the next day. Their determination, in light of all the obstacles they had to face, is truly a lesson to be learned. You feel a sense of accomplishment after reading a book like this -- I know I did.


Steinbeck at his very best   September 17, 2002
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

After reading this book, you understand why it is that Steinbeck received the nobel prize for literature. 'The Grapes of Wrath' is in its own league- a novel written by a true genius.
Set in California, it follows the misfortunes of the Joad family, who like many others have given up their lives in Oklahoma in search of work in California. It follows both their hopes and setbacks creating a moving account of the American dream of the 1930's, as we witness their struggle to make ends meet.
It is Steinbeck's use of descriptive language and his understanding of the power of the human spirit that brings these characters to life. We not only follow the Joad family in their struggle, but everyone who has ever experienced the struggles of 1930's America.
After having read this book, I now have an answer for the commonly asked question, "What's your favourite novel?"