Grapes of Wrath Paper
30 Points
Due: Monday, Feb. 1
* Write a one-page response paper, typed, Times New Roman, 12-point font, concerning your thoughts about
Chapter 5 of the Grapes of Wrath.
* In an essay format with paragraphs, include with introductory paragraph sentences and linking sentences.
Answering this “main question” of …
-
What should have happened during this chapter? Was this story fair?
* But make sure you address many of these following questions in answering this “main question” …
- Who are the "owners of the land"?
- Why do the owners speak "as though the Bank or the Company were a monster"?
- Why is it said that "When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size"?
- What are the effects of increased productivity (due to technology) on the lives of farmers and laborers?
How are tractors characterized?
- What farming lifestyle is portrayed as no longer possible? What seems to be the only alternative?
- What arguments do the tenants use against the repossession of their lands by the owners, that is, against the
tenants being kicked off the land?
- Why do they repeatedly point out that "Grampa took up the land, and he had to kill the Indians and drive
them away ... and he killed weeds and snakes"? Is this ironic?
Rubric for Response Essay
Purpose of the Assignment
Total Points = 30 Points
* Sufficiently Answer the
Questions Above
(21 Points)
* Mechanics (3 Points)
* Syntax (3 Points)
* Length Requirement &
Organization (3 Points)
The purpose of this activity is to sympathize with what people endured during
the Great Depression, looking at one chapter from a classic in American
Literature, the Grapes of Wrath.
** Did you sufficiently answer the “main question,” while addressing many of
the other questions above?
Full Credit: There are few errors in
punctuation or verb/noun
agreement; it looks as if much effort
was put into this paper
Full Credit: The sentences flow
nicely together and this paper is
very well typed
Full Credit: The paper is created
with paragraphs, is in essay format,
and satisfies the length requirement.
1
Half Credit: There are many errors in
punctuation or verb/noun agreement; it
looks as if this paper was created rather
quickly without much effort
Half Credit: The sentences are very
haphazardly organized; the sentences do
not flow well together
Half Credit: The paper is not created
with paragraphs, is not in essay format,
or does not satisfies the length
requirement.
2