Date ___________________
Name _____________________________
The Grapes of Wrath
Chapters 1-6
1. Where did Muley lead Tom and Casy to as a shelter for the night?
2. What weather problem was plaguing the Oklahoma farmers as the novel began?
3. Who did Tom and Jim Casy meet at Joads' old farm?
4. What did Tom Joad and Jim Casy discover when they reached the Joad farm?
5. What did Jim Casy recall about Tom Joad's baptism?
6. Please think and take notes on what caused the dust bowl. What effect did it have on the
Oklahoma tenant farmers?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
The Grapes of Wrath
Chapters 7-12
7. In what ways did Jim Casy say he was like Jesus?
8. What apprehensions did Ma Joad have about California?
9. Why was Al concerned about Tom traveling to California?
10. What brand of car had the Joads purchased for their trip?
11. Who were the youngest Joad children?
12. Summarize the unusual grace said by Jim Casy at the breakfast table. What did the family
say when he finished?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
The Grapes of Wrath
Chapters 13-18
13. What did the Joads and Wilsons encounter when they reached Arizona?
14. What one word described the Western States' reaction to all the families driven west?
15. What tragedy happened at the Paden gas shack?
16. Upon leaving, how did Tom show his bitterness towards the camp proprietor?
17. What bargain purchase did Al and Tom make from a one-eyed, junk yard attendant who
hated his boss?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
The Grapes of Wrath
18. What do you think caused the deaths of Grampa and Granma Joad?
Chapters 19-24
19. How did Tom help to save Floyd Knowles when Floyd made a dodging run to escape a
deputy who wanted to arrest him?
20. Who paid Ma Joad a visit on her first morning at Weedpatch?
21. On their first night of camping in California, what caused their first acquaintance to be
"bull-simple"?
22. What gave Uncle John such a stomach ache that he couldn't eat Ma's stew?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
The Grapes of Wrath
23. How did the Joad children show their ignorance of modern conveniences?
24. Describe Ruthie's behavior when she stumbled upon a supervised croquet court. Why do
you think Ruthie behaved the way she did?
Chapters 25-30
25. What adjective described California in the spring?
26. During the family's month-long stay at Weedpatch, how many days had the men worked?
27. On their last night together, what did Tom tell Ma he wanted to do with his life?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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Date ___________________
The Grapes of Wrath
Name _____________________________
28. Where did Tom live while the family worked near Tulane?
29. How did Ruthie cause problems with her boasting?
30. How did Rosasharn change since leaving Oklahoma? What caused the changes?
Review
31. What crop had been grown on Joads'
farm?
Wheat
Cotton
Apples
Soybeans
32. Which character stayed behind in
Oklahoma?
Muley Graves
Al Joad
Ivy Wilson
Connie Rivers
33. Which family member died before
reaching California?
Winfield
Rosasharn's baby
Granpa
Granma
34. Which Joad was considered to be the
citadel of the family?
Ma
Uncle John
Tom
Pa
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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NINE discussion points for Thursday, September 2, 2010. Be prepared to
discuss these ideas in class. You will have a multiple choice test on The Grapes
of Wrath on Thursday, September 9, 2010.
1) How important is the Great Depression to the book, The Grapes of Wrath?
2) If everything is an argument, what do you think John Steinbeck was arguing
for or against in this novel?
3) What was John Steinbeck’s purpose in writing this book?
4) Where does the title for The Grapes of Wrath come from?
5) Steinbeck told Merle Armitage on February 17, 1939, that “composition, in
movement, in tone and in scope,” The Grapes of Wrath was “symphonic”.
What was he talking about?
6) What point of view is the novel narrated from?
7) What did California represent in the novel?
8) How long did it take John Steinbeck to write this book?
9) Were there any scenes in the novel that had an impact on you as a reader?
AP English-American Lit, 2010-2011
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