The Grapes of Wrath SparkNotes Literature Guide
By SparkNotes
()
About this ebook
The Grapes of Wrath SparkNotes Literature Guide by John Steinbeck
Making the reading experience fun!
When a paper is due, and dreaded exams loom, here's the lit-crit help students need to succeed! SparkNotes Literature Guides make studying smarter, better, and faster. They provide chapter-by-chapter analysis; explanations of key themes, motifs, and symbols; a review quiz; and essay topics. Lively and accessible, SparkNotes is perfect for late-night studying and paper writing.
Includes:
- An A+ Essay—an actual literary essay written about the Spark-ed book—to show students how a paper should be written.
- 16 pages devoted to writing a literary essay including: a glossary of literary terms
- Step-by-step tutoring on how to write a literary essay
- A feature on how not to plagiarize
Read more from Spark Notes
As You Like It (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Richard III (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Tempest (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Winter's Tale (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Measure for Measure (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Henry V (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Merchant of Venice (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two Gentlemen of Verona (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAtlas Shrugged SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsComedy of Errors (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Lear (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Kill a Mockingbird SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Grapes of Wrath SparkNotes Literature Guide
Related ebooks
Of Mice and Men SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUncle Tom's Cabin Companion (Includes Study Guide, Historical Context, Biography and Character Index) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFive Pages a Day: A Writer's Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMacbeth SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Fahrenheit 451 SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (Trivia-On-Books) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere'd You Go, Bernadette - 101 Amazing Facts You Didn't Know: GWhizBooks.com Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Legend of the Barefoot Mailman: a novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Passage to India (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Garden of Allah Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord of the Flies SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Giver Quartet - 101 Amazing Facts You Didn't Know: GWhizBooks.com Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudies in Literature Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBrave New World SparkNotes Literature Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Death of Ivan Ilych (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Modest Proposal (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlannery O’Connor and Me: The Friendship Between Flannery and Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women: A Novel: Discussion Prompts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Red Pony and The Pearl by John Steinbeck Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll the Light We Cannot See - 101 Amazing Facts You Didn't Know: GWhizBooks.com Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiterary Taste: How to Form It Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Study Guide for Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPoe's Short Stories (SparkNotes Literature Guide) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Beautiful Struggle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide to The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seven Wives Of Bluebeard 1920 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStudy Guide: The Grapes of Wrath (A BookCaps Study Guide) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nymph and the Lamp Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Night Watchman Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5
Book Notes For You
Gavin de Becker’s The Gift of Fear Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence | Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill: Conversation Starters Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Summary of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The 5 AM Club Summary: Business Book Summaries Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Summary: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman: Conversation Starters Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Summary of Poverty, by America By Matthew Desmond Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Ichiro Kishimi's and Fumitake Koga's book: The Courage to Be Disliked: Summary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi: Summary by Fireside Reads Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy: Conversation Starters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Workbook for Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez: Conversation Starters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SUMMARY Of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in Healthy Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary and Analysis of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance: Based on the Book by Angela Duckworth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides: Conversation Starters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Reviews for The Grapes of Wrath SparkNotes Literature Guide
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Grapes of Wrath SparkNotes Literature Guide - SparkNotes
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
© 2003, 2007 by Spark Publishing
This Spark Publishing edition 2014 by SparkNotes LLC, an Affiliate of Barnes & Noble
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.
Sparknotes is a registered trademark of SparkNotes LLC
Spark Publishing
A Division of Barnes & Noble
120 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
www.sparknotes.com /
ISBN-13: 978-1-4114-7161-0
Please submit changes or report errors to www.sparknotes.com/errors.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Context
Plot Overview
Character List
Analysis of Major Characters
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Important Quotations Explained
Key Facts
Study Questions and Essay Topics
The Literary Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide
Suggested Essay Topics
A+ Student Essay
Glossary of Literary Terms
A Note on Plagiarism
Quiz and Suggestions for Further Reading
Context
J
ohn Steinbeck
was born in Salinas, California, on February
27
,
1902
. He attended Stanford University without graduating, and though he lived briefly in New York, he remained a lifelong Californian. Steinbeck began writing novels in
1929
, but he garnered little commercial or critical success until the publication of Tortilla Flat in
1935
. Steinbeck frequently used his fiction to delve into the lives of society’s most downtrodden citizens. A trio of novels in the late
1930
s focused on the lives of migrant workers in California: In Dubious Battle, published in
1936
, was followed by Of Mice and Men in
1937
, and, in
1939
, Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath.
During the early
1930
s, a severe drought led to massive agricultural failure in parts of the southern Great Plains, particularly throughout western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle. These areas had been heavily overcultivated by wheat farmers in the years following World War I and were covered with millions of acres of loose, exposed topsoil. In the absence of rain, crops withered and died; the topsoil, no longer anchored by growing roots, was picked up by the winds and carried in billowing clouds across the region. Huge dust storms blew across the area, at times blocking out the sun and even suffocating those unlucky enough to be caught unprepared. The afflicted region became known as the Dust Bowl.
By the mid-
1930
s, the drought had crippled countless farm families, and America had fallen into the Great Depression. Unable to pay their mortgages or invest in the kinds of industrial equipment now necessitated by commercial competition, many Dust Bowl farmers were forced to leave their land. Without any real employment prospects, thousands of families nonetheless traveled to California in hopes of finding new means of survival. But the farm country of California quickly became overcrowded with the migrant workers. Jobs and food were scarce, and the migrants faced prejudice and hostility from the Californians, who labeled them with the derisive epithet Okie.
These workers and their families lived in cramped, impoverished camps called Hoovervilles,
named after President Hoover, who was blamed for the problems that led to the Great Depression. Many of the residents of these camps starved to death, unable to find work.
When Steinbeck decided to write a novel about the plight of migrant farm workers, he took his task very seriously. To prepare, he lived with an Oklahoma farm family and made the journey with them to California. When The Grapes of Wrath appeared, it soared to the top of the bestseller lists, selling nearly half a million copies. Although many Oklahomans and Californians reviled the book, considering Steinbeck’s characters to be unflattering representations of their states’ people, the large majority of readers and scholars praised the novel highly. The story of the Joad family captured a turbulent moment in American history and, in the words of critic Robert DeMott, entered both the American consciousness and conscience.
In
1940
, the novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and adapted to the screen. Although Steinbeck went on to have a productive literary career and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1962
, none of his later books had the impact of The Grapes of Wrath. He died in
1968
.
Today, readers of The Grapes of Wrath often find fault with its excessive sentimentality and generally flat characterizations, which seem at odds with Steinbeck’s otherwise realistic style of writing. However, in writing his novel, Steinbeck attempted not only to describe the plight of migrant workers during the Depression but also to offer a pointed criticism of the policies that had caused that plight. In light of this goal, Steinbeck’s characters often emerge as idealized archetypes or epic heroes; rather than using them to explore the individual human psyche, the author presents them as embodiments of universal ideals or struggles. Thus, the novel stands as a chronicle of the Depression and as a commentary on the economic and social system that gave rise to it.
Plot Overview
R
eleased from an Oklahoma state prison
after serving four years for a manslaughter conviction, Tom Joad makes his way back to his family’s farm in Oklahoma. He meets Jim Casy, a former preacher who has given up his calling out of a belief that all life is holy—even the parts that are typically thought to be sinful—and that sacredness consists simply in endeavoring to be an equal among the people. Jim accompanies Tom to his home, only to find it—and all the surrounding farms—deserted. Muley Graves, an old neighbor, wanders by and tells the men that everyone has been tractored
off the land. Most families, he says, including his own, have headed to California to look for work. The next morning, Tom and Jim set out for Tom’s Uncle John’s, where Muley assures them they will find the Joad clan. Upon arrival, Tom finds Ma and Pa Joad packing up the family’s few possessions. Having seen handbills advertising fruit-picking jobs in California, they envision the trip to California as their only hope of getting their lives back on track.
The journey to California in a rickety used truck is long and arduous. Grampa Joad, a feisty old man who complains bitterly that he does not want to leave his land, dies on the road shortly after the family’s departure. Dilapidated cars and trucks, loaded down with scrappy possessions, clog Highway
66
: it seems the entire country is in flight to the Promised Land of California. The Joads meet Ivy and Sairy Wilson, a couple plagued with car trouble, and invite them to travel with the family. Sairy Wilson is sick and, near the California border, becomes unable to continue the journey.
As the Joads near California, they hear ominous rumors of a depleted job market. One migrant tells Pa that
20
,
000
people show up for every
800
jobs and that his own children have starved to death. Although the Joads press on, their first days in California prove tragic, as Granma Joad dies. The remaining family members move from one squalid camp to the next, looking in vain for work, struggling to find food, and trying desperately to hold their family together. Noah, the oldest of the Joad children, soon abandons the family, as does Connie, a young dreamer who is married to Tom’s pregnant sister, Rose of Sharon.
The Joads meet with much hostility in California. The camps are overcrowded and full of starving migrants, who are often nasty