Dust Bowl literature is a genre of American literature that illustrated drought, dusters, and economic depression through powerful stories and contributed to aesthetic movements for social realism and cultural regionalism during the 1930s. These novels are all set in the period of the Great Depression in the 1930s during which severe drought and dust storms greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies. Dust Bowl literature thus illuminates the human fight against extreme temperatures, soil erosion, agricultural maladjustment, and swirling winds, during a period when the whole of the United States was also suffering the effect of economic turmoil.
The Grapes of Wrath won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. John Steinbeck won the Nobel prize for literature in 1962 and The Grapes of Wrath was mentioned as a prominent novel by him in the Presentation Speech.
The novel tells the story of the Joad family and depicts the hardships and oppression suffered by the Joad family representing the migrant laborers during the Great Depression.
Characters of The Grapes of Wrath:
Tom Joad is the central character of the novel. Tom is a young man recently released from jail on parole who returns to his family and finds out that they have lost their land and have been evicted from their home. He and his family then decide to go west to California to find some work. Ma Joad is the mother of Tom. She is a kindhearted yet determined woman with a tenacity to fight hard against odds and deprivation. She continues to fight for the unity of her family. Pa Joad is the father of Tom, he has lost the way to earn and provide for his family and thus he takes a lesser role in deciding the fate of his family. Muley Graves is an old man from the village whose family has already moved away but he remains back. He informs Tom about the eviction of his family. Uncle John is a sad, alcoholic, and depressed man who believes he is responsible for his family’s misfortune. He allows the Joad family to stay at his house when they get evicted. Rose of Sharon is Tom’s younger sister who is recently married to Connie Rivers. She is pregnant and an optimistic person. She dreams of a happy settled middle-class life with her husband but fails to maintain herself when her husband abandons her. When Connie reaches California and does not find work, he immediately becomes disillusioned and abandons his pregnant wife. Noah Joad is Tom’s elder brother who has been mentally disabled since childhood. He abandons his family and leads a life of vagabond. Al Joad is the younger sixteen years old brother of Tom who has a keen interest in cars and dreams of becoming a mechanic. Winfield Joad is another younger brother of Tom who is still a kid and Ruthie Joad is the youngest child of the family, a sister of Tom. Granpa Joad is an energetic and passionate man who doesn’t wish to leave his homeland but is forced by his family. After her husband’s death, Granma Joad falls ill and dies soon. Reverend Jim Casy is an agnostic man who left the ministry because he believes that all that is holy comes from collective society and discards the absolute idea of sin. Sairy Wilson is the head of another poor family moving west of California. She helps the Joad family when Granpa Joad dies. The Mayor is a half-crazed migrant worker who leads a colony of workers in government-protected quarters. Floyd Knowles befriends Al Joad and informs him about the government camp at Weedpatch.
Summary of The Grapes of Wrath:
The novel is set during the Great Depression. Tom Joad appears at a diner in a formal spotless dress and asks for a ride to Oklahoma. A truck driver offers him a ride but questions his about his identity. Tom Joad reluctantly reveals that he is a resident of Oklahoma returning home as he recently was released from McAlester prison on parole. He was imprisoned because he killed a man during a fight. Meanwhile, Tom notices a turtle trying to cross the busy road and thinks about the struggles of the common man of the working class during these hard times.
On his way back home, Tom meets Reverend Jim Casey, the Preacher Tom has known since his childhood. Caset reveals that he has resigned from the Ministry and is no longer a preacher. He says that he does believe in the Holy Spirit but does not believe in Organized religion. Casey says that he believes the love for fellow human beings and humanity is the Holy Spirit. Casey believes that all people are holy, everyone being part of the whole soul of humankind. Tom requests him to come with him on his way home.
During their walk back home, Tom and Casey observe the ruined farmlands because of the Dust Bowl storms. When they reach a farm previously owned by the Joad family, Tom comes to know that his family has been evicted. Muley Graves, an old neighbor of Joad Family notices Tom and informs him that his family has been evicted by the bank for not paying back the loan and now they are living at the farm of old Uncle John. Muley Graves also informs that Tom’s family has planned to move to California to find work. Tom and Casey spend the night at the abandoned farm and decide to visit Old John’s farm early in the morning.
The next morning, Tom and Casey visit Uncle John’s farm and come to know that the Joad family is preparing to leave for California. Casey proposes that he may accompany them to California and help them around and the Joad family agrees to take him along. Tom is happy after meeting his elder brother Noah who has been mentally challenged since his birth and his three younger brothers Al, Ruthie, and Winfield. He comes to know about the pregnancy of his sister Rose of Sharon who is married to Connie Rivers. All of them are eager to move to California. Al knows a lot about cars and aspires to become a mechanic on reaching California while Connie Rivers wishes to study Radios and become a technician. The Joad family planned to go to California on account of flyers advertising work in the California fields.
They sell off all their belongings and then pack their bags. However, Granpa Joad is not happy about leaving his old land and wishes to stay back alone. Joad’s family tries to convince him but fails. At last, they drug him to get him in the truck. The Joad family, Casey, and Uncle John roll on the highway in their truck. The family dog also accompanies them but a truck is run over by the dog on their first stop.
The next day when Granpa Joad comes back to his consciousness, he feels heartbroken and soon he suffers a stroke. The Joad family stops in the evening to take care of Granpa Joad but fails to save him. Another traveling family of Saira Wilson helps the Joads while they perform the last rites of Granpa Joad. Wilson's family’s car fails but Tom and Al fix their car and then the two families decide to travel together towards California. On their way, they notice the vacant homes and colonies deserted by the homeowners.
When they reach New Mexico, Wilson’s car fails again. Tom and Al suggest that they will look for a part required for the car while the rest of the two families should continue the travel on the truck. But Ma Joad opposes this idea and insists that the whole family must remain together. Meanwhile, Granma Joad is severely ill as she is depressed by the death of Granpa Joad. Somehow, Tom and Al find out the required part, and the two families decide to travel again. Before they can begin, they meet a man returning from California who informs them that there is no work there and that the promises of work in the flyers are all fraudulent. The man tells Pa Joad that 20,000 people show up for every 800 jobs and that his own children have starved to death. The families decide to test their luck.
As they reach the desert bordering California, they suffer intense scrutiny and intimidation by police officers who derisively call them, and other migrant laborers, "Okies." Sairy Wilson becomes so ill that she is unable to continue. The Joads leave the Wilsons and continue across the California desert on their own. Soon Granma Joad passes away and when the police stop them again to inspect, Ma Joad sternly opposes them to conceal the death of Granma Joad.
The Joads stop at the first camp they come to, a dirty Hooverville of tents and makeshift shelters. The men are talking to Floyd Knowles, a young man in the camp when a businessman accompanied by a cop offers them work. When Floyd asks for a wage offer in writing, he is accused of being a "red," and the cop attempts to arrest him. Tom trips an officer and Casy knocks him unconscious. Since Tom is on parole, Casey takes the whole blame on himself and gets arrested. Uncle John leaves them to get drunk while Pa Joad is too sad about the demise of his parents and blames himself for not being able to provide for his family. Noah decides to leave society altogether and live alone in the woodlands. Connie too realizes that he is chasing false dreams and there is no better future in California and thus, he abandons his pregnant wife and runs away. Floyd Knowles informs Al about Weedpatch, a government camp where the residents are spared harassment by police officers and have access to amenities such as baths and toilets. The remaining Joads decide to continue their travel and before they leave, Tom succeeds in picking Uncle John back.
When they arrive at the Weedpatch government camp, the Joads are shocked to find how well the other residents treat them and how efficiently this society (which even features democratic elections) functions. Tom also finds work quickly. The Joads are comfortable but, after a month, are still unable to find any stable work and realize they must move on.
They are offered work picking peaches at Hooper Ranch in Tulare. The camp gate is surrounded by a large group of men shouting and waving. The Joads, escorted through the gate by state police, begin work immediately. They are paid five cents a box, not sufficient to feed the family a day's meal. After the first day of picking, Tom wanders outside the ranch. He meets up with Jim Casy, who is leading a strike against the peach orchard owners who want to pay two-and-a-half cents a box. Tom learns his family is being paid five cents because they are working as strikebreakers. As the men talk, authorities sneak up, looking for Casy, the presumed leader of the strike. Unprovoked, one of the men strikes Casy on the head, killing him. Without thinking, Tom begins beating Casy's killer. The other men intervene, and Tom's nose is broken. He escapes, hiding in the peach orchard until he can reach his house.
Tom wishes to leave the family to save them from taking responsibility for his actions, but Ma Joad insists that they will remain together. They leave Hooper Ranch for a location where Tom can be safe. They reach cotton fields up north, where Tom hides in the woods while the family stays in a boxcar. Although the family attempts to keep Tom's identity and location a secret, young Ruthie Winfield reveals it during a fight with another child. When Ma tells Tom about this, he decides to leave the family and go off alone, determined to fight for the cause for which Casy died. He vows to return to his family one day.
As soon as Tom leaves the family, heavy rains begin which causes massive flooding. The Joads are caught in a dangerous situation: they cannot escape the flooding because Rose of Sharon suddenly goes into labor. While other families evacuate the camp near the rapidly rising creek, the Joads remain and attempt to stop the flood waters. Without the aid of others, the Joads are unsuccessful, and they must seek refuge on the top of their car. Rose of Sharon delivers a stillborn child that Uncle John sends in a box down the creek.
After a few days, the rain subsides. Leaving Al and the Wainwrights, the remaining Joads abandon the boxcar for higher ground. They find shelter in an old barn already occupied by a boy and his starving father. The child tells the Joads that his father has not eaten in six days and is unable to keep down solid food. Rose of Sharon, barely recovered from the delivery, breastfeeding the dying man to nurse him back to health. The others leave the barn as she cradles the dying man to her breast.
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