The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Scholars English 1 Review Guide
To better prepare for the summer reading test that will be administered the first week of
school, please review all of the following topics and terms during and after reading the
novel.
1. The historical background of the Dust Bowl and the exodus of Oklahomans to
California and Steinbeck’s views on Ecology.
2. Lack of availability of work in California in conjunction with government camps
and Hoovervilles.
3. The Joad Family- all family members, their backgrounds and struggles
throughout their journey.
4. Jim Casy as a Christ figure.
5. The ways in which both Ma Joad and Tom Joad attempt to keep the family
together.
6. The many different interchapters and their relevance to the Joad family’s
experiences.
7. The origins of the title of the book and what the title means as well as the
connotation of the term “Okies.”
8. Rose of Sharon’s marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth.
9. The sequence of deaths in the novel.
10. Steinbeck’s writing style- including the use of dialect, interchapters,and imagery.
11. The heroes and villains of the novel.
Characters
Ma Joad
Pa Joad
Tom Joad
Al Joad
Rose of Sharon Joad
(Rosasharn)
Noah Joad
Uncle John
Granma Joad
Grampa Joad
Jim Casy
Ruthie Joad
Winfield Joad
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson
Muley Graves
Connie
Floyd Knowles
Agnes Wainwright
Mae
Literary Terms
personification
simile
alliteration
metaphor
dialect
theme
irony
foreshadowing
imagery
allusion