GRAPES OF WRATH By John Steinbeck 1939 20th Century Classics PULITZER PRIZE
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GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck 1939 20th Century Classics PULITZER PRIZE!!
This book is on the MUST READ LIST.
Excellent copy. Outer cover shows very mild handling wear. Interior is white & brite. Binding is tight. No writing in this book. No rips, tears, or stains. Later printing of Steinbeck's 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning classic published by 20th Century Classics.
From Wikipedia:
The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by... John Steinbeck and published in 1939.[2] The book won the National Book Award[3] and Pulitzer Prize[4] for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962.[5]Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they seek jobs, land, dignity, and a future.The Grapes of Wrath is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy.
Plot (SPOILER ALERT!)The narrative begins just after Tom Joad is paroled from McAlester prison, where he had been imprisoned after being convicted of homicide. On his return to his home near Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Tom meets former preacher Jim Casy, whom he remembers from his childhood, and the two travel together. When they arrive at Tom's childhood farm home, they find it deserted. Disconcerted and confused, Tom and Casy meet their old neighbor, Muley Graves, who tells them the family has gone to stay at Uncle John Joad's home nearby. Graves tells them that the banks have evicted all the farmers, but he refuses to leave the area.The next morning, Tom and Casy go to Uncle John's. Tom finds his family loading their remaining possessions into a Hudson sedan converted to a truck; with their crops destroyed by the Dust Bowl, the family has defaulted on their bank loans, and their farm has been repossessed. Consequently, the Joads see no option but to seek work in California, described in handbills as fruitful and offering high pay.The Joads put everything they have into making the journey. Although leaving Oklahoma would violate his parole, Tom decides it is worth the risk, and invites Casy to join him and his family.Traveling west on Route 66, the Joad family find the road crowded with other migrants. In makeshift camps, they hear many stories from others, some returning from California, and the group worries about lessening prospects. The family dwindles as well: Grandpa dies along the road, and they bury him in a field; Grandma dies close to the California state line; and both Noah (the eldest Joad son) and Connie Rivers (the husband of the pregnant Joad daughter, Rose of Sharon) leave the family. Led by Ma, the remaining members realize they can only continue, as nothing is left for them in Oklahoma.Reaching California, they find the state oversupplied with labor; wages are low, and workers are exploited to the point of starvation. The big corporate farmers are in collusion and smaller farmers suffer from collapsing prices. Weedpatch Camp, one of the clean, utility-supplied camps operated by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal agency, offers better conditions but does not have enough resources to care for all the needy families. Nonetheless, as a Federal facility, the camp protects the migrants from harassment by California deputies.“How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him – he has known a fear beyond every other.”— Chapter 19In response to the exploitation, Casy becomes a labor organizer and tries to recruit for a labor union. The remaining Joads work as strikebreakers in a peach orchard, where Casy is involved in a strike that eventually turns violent. When Tom Joad witnesses Casy's fatal beating, he kills the attacker and flees as a fugitive. The Joads later leave the orchard for a cotton farm, where Tom is at risk of being arrested for the homicide.Tom bids his mother farewell and promises to work for the oppressed. Rose of Sharon's baby is stillborn. Ma Joad remains steadfast and forces the family through the bereavement. With rain, the Joads' dwelling is flooded, and they move to higher ground. In the final chapter of the book, the family takes shelter from the flood in an old barn. Inside they find a young boy and his father, who is dying of starvation. Rose of Sharon takes pity on the man and offers him her breast milk to save him from starvation.Characters[edit]Tom Joad: protagonist of the story; the Joad family's second son, named after his father. Later, Tom takes leadership of the family, even though he is young.Ma Joad: matriarch. Practical and warm-spirited, she tries to hold the family together. Her given name is never learned; it is suggested that her maiden name was Hazlett.Pa Joad: patriarch, also named Tom, age 50. Hardworking sharecropper and family man. Pa becomes a broken man upon losing his livelihood and means of supporting his family, forcing Ma to assume leadership.Uncle John: Pa Joad's older brother (Tom describes him as "a fella about 60", but in narrative he is described as 50). He felt guilty about the death of his young wife years before, and has been prone to binges involving alcohol and prostitutes, but is generous with his goods.Jim Casy: a former preacher who lost his faith. He is a Christ-like figure, based on Ed Ricketts.Al Joad: the third youngest son, a "smart-aleck sixteen-year-older" who cares mainly for cars and girls; he looks up to Tom, but begins to find his own way.Rose of Sharon Joad Rivers: childish and dreamy teenage daughter (18) who develops into a mature woman. Pregnant in the beginning of the novel, she delivers a stillborn baby, perhaps due to malnutrition.Connie Rivers: Rose of Sharon's husband. Nineteen years old and naïve, he is overwhelmed by marriage and impending fatherhood; he abandons his wife shortly after they arrive in California.Noah Joad: the oldest son, he is the first to leave the family, planning to live off fishing on the Colorado River. Injured at birth and described as "strange", he may have slight learning difficulties.Grampa Joad: Tom's grandfather, who expresses his strong desire to stay in Oklahoma. His full name is given as 'William James Joad'. Grampa is drugged by his family with "soothin' syrup" to force him to leave, but he dies during the first evening on the road. Casy attributes his death to a stroke, but says that Grampa is "just' staying' with the lan'. He couldn' leave it."Granma Joad: Grampa’s religious wife; she loses her will to live after his death. She dies while the family is crossing the Mojave Desert.Ruthie Joad: the youngest daughter, age twelve. She is shown to be reckless and childish. Quarreling with another child, she reveals Tom in hiding.Winfield Joad: The youngest male in the family, age ten, "kid-wild and calfish".Jim Rawley: manages the camp at Weedpatch, and shows the Joads surprising favor.Muley Graves: a neighbour of the Joads; he is invited to come along to California with them, but refuses. The family leave two of their dogs with him; a third they take, but it is killed by a car during their travels.Ivy and Sairy Wilson: migrants from Kansas, they attend the death of Grampa and share the journey as far as the California state line.Mr. Wainwright: the husband of Mrs. Wainwright. Worries over their daughter Aggie.Mrs. Wainwright: mother to Aggie and wife to Mr. Wainwright. She helps Ma deliver Rose of Sharon's baby.Aggie Wainwright: sixteen-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wainwright. Intends to marry Al.Floyd Knowles: the man at the Hooverville who urges Tom and Casy to join labor organizations. His agitation results in Casy being jailed.
This book is on the MUST READ LIST.
Excellent copy. Outer cover shows very mild handling wear. Interior is white & brite. Binding is tight. No writing in this book. No rips, tears, or stains. Later printing of Steinbeck's 1939 Pulitzer Prize winning classic published by 20th Century Classics.
From Wikipedia:
The Grapes of Wrath is an American realist novel written by... John Steinbeck and published in 1939.[2] The book won the National Book Award[3] and Pulitzer Prize[4] for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962.[5]Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, agricultural industry changes, and bank foreclosures forcing tenant farmers out of work. Due to their nearly hopeless situation, and in part because they are trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they seek jobs, land, dignity, and a future.The Grapes of Wrath is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes due to its historical context and enduring legacy.
Plot (SPOILER ALERT!)The narrative begins just after Tom Joad is paroled from McAlester prison, where he had been imprisoned after being convicted of homicide. On his return to his home near Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Tom meets former preacher Jim Casy, whom he remembers from his childhood, and the two travel together. When they arrive at Tom's childhood farm home, they find it deserted. Disconcerted and confused, Tom and Casy meet their old neighbor, Muley Graves, who tells them the family has gone to stay at Uncle John Joad's home nearby. Graves tells them that the banks have evicted all the farmers, but he refuses to leave the area.The next morning, Tom and Casy go to Uncle John's. Tom finds his family loading their remaining possessions into a Hudson sedan converted to a truck; with their crops destroyed by the Dust Bowl, the family has defaulted on their bank loans, and their farm has been repossessed. Consequently, the Joads see no option but to seek work in California, described in handbills as fruitful and offering high pay.The Joads put everything they have into making the journey. Although leaving Oklahoma would violate his parole, Tom decides it is worth the risk, and invites Casy to join him and his family.Traveling west on Route 66, the Joad family find the road crowded with other migrants. In makeshift camps, they hear many stories from others, some returning from California, and the group worries about lessening prospects. The family dwindles as well: Grandpa dies along the road, and they bury him in a field; Grandma dies close to the California state line; and both Noah (the eldest Joad son) and Connie Rivers (the husband of the pregnant Joad daughter, Rose of Sharon) leave the family. Led by Ma, the remaining members realize they can only continue, as nothing is left for them in Oklahoma.Reaching California, they find the state oversupplied with labor; wages are low, and workers are exploited to the point of starvation. The big corporate farmers are in collusion and smaller farmers suffer from collapsing prices. Weedpatch Camp, one of the clean, utility-supplied camps operated by the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal agency, offers better conditions but does not have enough resources to care for all the needy families. Nonetheless, as a Federal facility, the camp protects the migrants from harassment by California deputies.“How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him – he has known a fear beyond every other.”— Chapter 19In response to the exploitation, Casy becomes a labor organizer and tries to recruit for a labor union. The remaining Joads work as strikebreakers in a peach orchard, where Casy is involved in a strike that eventually turns violent. When Tom Joad witnesses Casy's fatal beating, he kills the attacker and flees as a fugitive. The Joads later leave the orchard for a cotton farm, where Tom is at risk of being arrested for the homicide.Tom bids his mother farewell and promises to work for the oppressed. Rose of Sharon's baby is stillborn. Ma Joad remains steadfast and forces the family through the bereavement. With rain, the Joads' dwelling is flooded, and they move to higher ground. In the final chapter of the book, the family takes shelter from the flood in an old barn. Inside they find a young boy and his father, who is dying of starvation. Rose of Sharon takes pity on the man and offers him her breast milk to save him from starvation.Characters[edit]Tom Joad: protagonist of the story; the Joad family's second son, named after his father. Later, Tom takes leadership of the family, even though he is young.Ma Joad: matriarch. Practical and warm-spirited, she tries to hold the family together. Her given name is never learned; it is suggested that her maiden name was Hazlett.Pa Joad: patriarch, also named Tom, age 50. Hardworking sharecropper and family man. Pa becomes a broken man upon losing his livelihood and means of supporting his family, forcing Ma to assume leadership.Uncle John: Pa Joad's older brother (Tom describes him as "a fella about 60", but in narrative he is described as 50). He felt guilty about the death of his young wife years before, and has been prone to binges involving alcohol and prostitutes, but is generous with his goods.Jim Casy: a former preacher who lost his faith. He is a Christ-like figure, based on Ed Ricketts.Al Joad: the third youngest son, a "smart-aleck sixteen-year-older" who cares mainly for cars and girls; he looks up to Tom, but begins to find his own way.Rose of Sharon Joad Rivers: childish and dreamy teenage daughter (18) who develops into a mature woman. Pregnant in the beginning of the novel, she delivers a stillborn baby, perhaps due to malnutrition.Connie Rivers: Rose of Sharon's husband. Nineteen years old and naïve, he is overwhelmed by marriage and impending fatherhood; he abandons his wife shortly after they arrive in California.Noah Joad: the oldest son, he is the first to leave the family, planning to live off fishing on the Colorado River. Injured at birth and described as "strange", he may have slight learning difficulties.Grampa Joad: Tom's grandfather, who expresses his strong desire to stay in Oklahoma. His full name is given as 'William James Joad'. Grampa is drugged by his family with "soothin' syrup" to force him to leave, but he dies during the first evening on the road. Casy attributes his death to a stroke, but says that Grampa is "just' staying' with the lan'. He couldn' leave it."Granma Joad: Grampa’s religious wife; she loses her will to live after his death. She dies while the family is crossing the Mojave Desert.Ruthie Joad: the youngest daughter, age twelve. She is shown to be reckless and childish. Quarreling with another child, she reveals Tom in hiding.Winfield Joad: The youngest male in the family, age ten, "kid-wild and calfish".Jim Rawley: manages the camp at Weedpatch, and shows the Joads surprising favor.Muley Graves: a neighbour of the Joads; he is invited to come along to California with them, but refuses. The family leave two of their dogs with him; a third they take, but it is killed by a car during their travels.Ivy and Sairy Wilson: migrants from Kansas, they attend the death of Grampa and share the journey as far as the California state line.Mr. Wainwright: the husband of Mrs. Wainwright. Worries over their daughter Aggie.Mrs. Wainwright: mother to Aggie and wife to Mr. Wainwright. She helps Ma deliver Rose of Sharon's baby.Aggie Wainwright: sixteen-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wainwright. Intends to marry Al.Floyd Knowles: the man at the Hooverville who urges Tom and Casy to join labor organizations. His agitation results in Casy being jailed.
