The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath
By John Steinbeck
Read in 8th Grade
One of Steinbeck's more difficult books, this book explores the troubles of farmers in 1930s Midwest. What was once fertile land cultivated for generations is now desolate and being taken over by conglomerate banks. Tom Joad, recently freed from prison, finds that his family has already been evicted. With no home and nowhere to stay, they sell everything and join the Dust Bowl migration to California. But when they get there, they find that all the rumors of good wages all wrong. The Californians hate the "Okies", who work for just a few cents to a pound of picked fruit/cotton. Few survive the test of these times, and many starve, head back, or die. But the Joads get luck after luck, and just barely, they survive.