The Grapes of Wrath
“Literature is as old as speech. It grew out of human need for it and it has not changed except to
become more needed. The skalds, the bards, the writers are not separate and exclusive. From the
beginning, their functions, their duties, their responsibilities have been decreed by our species.” —John
Steinbeck, 1962 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
THOUGHT PIECES
You will be responsible for one thought piece within each reading assignment. Be reflective and aware
of your own reactions as you read. Your thought piece may also include your views of the
novel/characters leading up to your own assigned reading.
Guidelines: 1 page, typed, single space
1. One quote and response for the cumulative plot chapters in reading assignment (your honest reaction,
why you chose it, why you think it’s significant, etc.)
2. One response for the cumulative “inter chapters” in reading assignment (if present).
3. Responses are due at the beginning of class. Late work or email sent assignments will not be
accepted without prior approval from me.
A FEW IDEAS TO WATCH FOR
Historical Significance: Why did the Joad family leave their farm? Why did they go to California?
What did they expect to find there? What led them to expect it? Did what they found in California
coincide with what they expected to find?
Themes: What role does religion play in the lives of these people? Describe three problems faced by
the Joad family and others like them. What kids of logical, reasonable solutions could be proposed to
solve their problems? How is Casy’s change form a man of thought to a man of action brought about?
In what ways is Casy a transcendentalist? In what ways does Steinbeck’s novel contain elements of
Realism?
Literary Techniques: As an artist, how does Steinbeck use symbolism to add to his message? Watch
for references to grapes, dust, Rose of Sharon, lanterns, J.C., etc.) What Biblical allusions does
Steinbeck make?
Outline of Intercalary Chapters in The Grapes of Wrath
The dominant feature of The Grapes of Wrath is Steinbeck's interspersing of the story of the Joad
family with short chapters called "intercalary chapters;" they present a generalized situation that will
either become more fully realized or brought to a conclusion by the events in the succeeding
narrative chapter.
The drought and Dust Bowl in Oklahoma
Chapter Topic
1
Drought and dust storm
3
Turtle struggling to cross highway
5
People evicted from property by owners
7
Used car salesman discussing customers and cars
9
Selling and disposing of property; choosing possessions to keep
Oklahoma residents travel to California
Chapter Topic
11
Vacant houses
12
Highway 66
14
Change; eviction; struggles of migrants
15
Restaurants along Highway 66
17
Migrants camping along Highway 66, relationship with other campers
Becoming Migrant farmers in California
Chapter Topic
19
Relationship between landowners and workers
21
Migrant labor (payment, landownership)
23
Amusement and pleasure for migrants
25
Growing season and economic situation
27
Picking cotton
29
Rain storms and related struggles