Fifth Discussion Question for Grapes of Wrath

Finally a book when the history and social issues of the time period is obvious and not implied or the events of the book have a double meaning referencing an event in history! The Grapes of Wrath represents the Great Depression era poverty stricken family and how they survive through the rough economic woes of the time. The novel reflected on the effects of the time on the lower class of America.

The Great Depression lasted 10 years (Nelson) and alongside the Dust Bowl caused thousands of people to move west in search for jobs. By 1933 "millions of Americans were out of work" (Nelson) and there wasn't any jobs to help out the unemployed. Steinbeck's novel followed one family's journey to find work and a new home. Coupled with the chapters telling about different scenarios and descriptions of life during the Depression, Steinbeck informed the reader of the history of the Depression in a historical fiction work.

Steinbeck addressed the social issues of the time through the Joad family. The Joads were treated as human beings at the government camp, then treated awfully at other camps where the people in charge cheated them out of money and knowingly raised food prices so that the families couldn't live off of their earnings. The upper class acted as if the "Okies" were going to steal their land and ruin their perfect town with the "scum" (Steinbeck 206) that are invading the country. All men might be created equal in the Declaration of Independence, but not all men are treated equally.

The behavior of the people who lived during the Great Depression wasn't always ideal. Because there were millions of unemployed people who couldn't feed their starving families, many had to steal to survive. Also the police and some of the townsfolk went looking for fights with the Okies, which resulted in the Okies being killed or sent to jail. Some of the deputies have to bring in prisoners to be paid and feed their own families (Steinbeck 271). The times were different then and the safety of citizens was not always ensured by the police if the citizen was poor or looking for work.

The symbolic significance of the novel is for later generations to know about the hardship and endurance that American people were forced into when the rain didn't come and the stock market crashed. One out of every four Americans were unemployed (Nelson). Reading about what the Joads had to go through makes me appreciate what I have and be thankful that I have food and a home and a job.

Nelson, Cary. "The Great Depression." English Department - Modern American Poetry. University of Illinois. Web. 03 Aug. 2011.

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