The Grapes of Wrath

Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1902–1968) is one of the most celebrated Great Depression era (1929–41; see entry under 1930s—The Way We Lived in volume 2) novels. It tells the story of the fictional Joad family. Following the loss of their crops during the dustbowl, the Joads leave their Oklahoma farm and head west to California. The novel won Steinbeck the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1940. Written in the tradition of the documentary movement of the late 1930s, the novel alternates narrative chapters with descriptive passages. An Oscar-winning film of the novel appeared in 1940, starring Henry Fonda (1905–1982) and directed by John Ford (1895–1973). Between them, the novel and film began a national debate about migrant workers and farming.

Steinbeck believed in the power of literature to change society for the better. The Grapes of Wrath is both a human story and a political statement. It exposes the short-term thinking at the heart of the agricultural economy of the time. It also reveals the terrible working and living conditions of migrant workers in California. Packed into camps with little running water, the Joads struggle to find low-paid work on fruit farms. The documentary sections of the novel are similar to documentary books of the time such as You Have Seen Their Faces (1937) by Margaret Bourke-White (1906–1971) and Erskine Caldwell (1903–1987) and Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941) by Walker Evans (1903–1975) and James Agee (1909–1955). Steinbeck heightened the effect of his documentary by adding a powerful emotional story.

The "Okie" migrants in Steinbeck's novel are presented as uneducated but decent folk, betrayed by big business and an indifferent government. In Kern County, California, agricultural business and community leaders were outraged. The novel's criticism of California growers and other questions of its accuracy soon led to it being banned across America. As a result, Ford's film was produced under tight security. It has a brighter outlook than the novel, but still presents a bleak, unforgiving view. Despite this wretched situation, and although the Joads suffer terribly, they remain decent people, ready to help others. In the end, Steinbeck's novel is a celebration of the strength and goodness of ordinary people.

—Chris Routledge

For More Information

French, Warren G., ed. A Companion to the Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1963.

Steinbeck, John. Working Days: The Journals of "The Grapes of Wrath." New York: Viking, 1989.

Wiener, Gary. Readings on the Grapes of Wrath. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999.