Opinion on The Grapes of Wrath

Overall The Grapes of Wrath was an okay book. Not super good, but not bad. I do enjoy historical fiction type books, but this wasn't as good as some other books in that genre that I have read. There was some points that I enjoyed and some points that I greatly disliked, but all and all, if Steinbeck would have written a different ending my opinion on the book might have been higher.

If the ending was more conclusive or gave some closure on the fates of various members of the Joad family, that would have been so much better instead of Rose of Sharon saving a random man from certain death. That had nothing to do with the story, just the character development of Rose of Sharon. The book is called Grapes of Wrath, not Rose of Sharon. If anything, Ma had a stronger character than Rose of Sharon, although Rose of Sharon did have a more symbolic character. Regardless, the ending was still disappointing and now I will just have to draw my own conclusions and infer that half of the Joads died of pneumonia, a quarter died from starvation, and the last quarter drowned.

I liked the humor in the book. The J.P. Morgan joke (Steinbeck 377) and the "screwed" business man joke (Steinbeck 121) was a nice change to the dry depressing things that are happening to the Joads and to the poor people of the era. The humor helped relive the pressure of the overwhelming sense of depression and defeat that the Joads faced alongside starvation and brutality.

I disliked the ending (if you couldn't tell) and lack of conclusion. Also I wasn't a fan of the depressing tone of the book. That can't be helped as it is a period piece, but I prefer a little more uplifting type of book. Also I was not impressed with the lack of action and fast paced-ness. If it wasn't an interesting story, when I wanted to know the outcome, then I don't know if I would have been able to finish it.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.