“They’s times when how you feel got to be kept’ to yourself.”
About the Author
John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck is a famous American writer born and brought in Salinas Valley, California. His birthplace has influenced his writings in all possible ways because of its immigrant history. The Grapes of Wrath is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel published in 1939. Alongside this, he wrote almost sixteen novels, non-fiction books, and several short stories. His other famous works include Cannery Row, Pearl, East of Eden, etc.
About the Novel
The Grapes of Wrath is a story that involves the life of the protagonist Tom Joad and his family. In the harsh era of depression, the family has to shift from Oklahoma to California. John Steinbeck wrote this story during America’s Great depression. Tom is the hero of the novel as he’s encountered fighting one or the other man who forges against him. The novel marks the plight of the workers who were abandoned by society.
Genre
Literary realism
Tone
Passion, anger, and desperation
Type
Novel
Year of publication
1939
Important characters in The Grapes of Wrath
Tom Joad:
Tom is the male protagonist of the novel. He is a generous and sensible person who readily accepts what life offers to him. He lives his present moments happily without bothering about the past and the future.
Ma Joad:
Ma is the mother of Tom, who serves his role as the “citadel of the family.” She is the strength of her family as she backs them up in all the life events. She binds the family together in hard times too.
Pa Joad:
Pa is the father of Tom, who works as a tenant farmer in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, he’s evicted from the farm and fails to find another work for him. He’s a generous and good-hearted man. His lively attitude has been inherited by his son too.
Jim Casy:
Jim is a close friend of Tom. She, as a character, portrays the significant themes of the novel through her screenplay. She had to go to the prison in Tom’s place because of his involvement between the laborers and the California police.
Rose of Sharon:
Rose is the eldest sister of Tom. Her character begins the journey as a pregnant lady, and soon in the mode of a harsh life, her husband leaves her, and her first child dies too. But, towards the end, she becomes a strong character.