John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, was first written and later published in the 1939. From the time of its publication to date, the exemplary yet a simple book has seen Steinbeck win a number of highly coveted awards including Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and later on Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. Set at the time of the Great Depression, the book most remarkably gives a descriptive account of the Oklahoma based sharecropper Joad' poor family in the light of economic hardship, homelessness, and the impacts of worst changing agricultural and financial sectors to the poor in America then. Throughout the chapters, the book brings into sharp focus the dehumanizing individual lives of the lower class during the time of Great Depression and lack of political goodwill among the rich political class to reverse the trend. The aim of this paper therefore is to provide an in depth review of The Grapes of Wrath.
The book begin with the aftermath of the Midwestern dustbowl and the great economic depression on the lives of the poor farmers in Oklahoma, America after the World War I. the commercial banks under the directives of the ruling class introduced a loan scheme in which the poor farmer were empowered to acquire tractors and other expensive agricultural equipments so as to fully mechanized their agricultural production operations. In the process, productive lands were used as a security to guarantee repayment of the advanced loans. The author puts it out rightly that the aim of this loaning scheme to the farmers as given by the bank was an economical tool preplanned and effected by the top ruling elites to rob the farmers of their lands.
As the American Economic depression set in purportedly under the contrivance of the ruling and banking elites, the poor farmers defaulted in paying back their loan and they all lost their lands to the banks in a forceful operation called The Dust Bowl. In addition, all the farmers who dared oppose the violent operations the Dust Bowl for instance destruction of crops and physical assault like Joad were arrested and jailed. All the farmers consequently lost their lands and in turn faced a chronic form of famine, starvation, and abject poverty. The helpless resorted to migration from Oklahoma to California to adequately counteract the economic impacts of prevailing landlessness on their individual lives as well as families.
As given by Steinbeck in the book, the lives of the poor families in America were pathetic at the time. The living conditions were a nightmare. Driven by drought from their home in Oklahoma by adverse prolonged drought, the subsequent famine and economic exploitation, the Joads and other "Okies" (as the poor were commonly referred to) set off for California in search of land, fairly well paying jobs, dignity and hope for their future generations. however, on arrival at their final destination they realize that life is no better. Just like in Oklahoma, there living conditions of the poor "Okies" were not any better. Suppression coupled with economic exploitation by the ruling landlords and banking elites took reign over their lives. They had no otherwise but to survive the cruelty of the bestial landlords; work for longer hours for the landlord farmers at a negligible wages; could not afford basic healthcare and education; and most significant had no place in their new supposed society. Unfortunately, not a single trade union was in place to fight for their rights and bring their exploitation to a complete end.
The book also illustrates the painful experiences the migrating poor farmers experienced in the course of their movement to California, a trek that took several months as mass of migrating people move and camp at different point along the way. Weak and aged ailing family members such as Joad's grandpa, and grandma died on the way because of the long distance, starvation and adverse weather. On the same line, other several families split on the way like Noah and Connie. These problems further deepen their misery notwithstanding the saddening information at the camps that California already has oversupply of labor and worse still the prices for the agricultural products drastically collapsed. The future of the migrants grew bleaker day by day as they approached their final destination.
The Grapes of Wrath offers a political dispensation characterized by the collective movement of the lower class to stand firm against their oppression by the ruling and banking elites together with the biased public policies that were simply geared towards profit maximization. It is ironical that "the public policies of land share tenancy only enriched the minority landlords but starved the majority of the poor farmers who directly contributed their efforts towards food production to death," (pg. 117). Even though the laborers lived a life full of destitution due to their reduced state of landlessness, they were determined to soldier on and lived better lives. Led by Joad and Casy, they rose up against the oppressive landlords, and joined Unions against the demands of their masters. Through the series of successful strikes and incessant advocacy efforts of Joad, the laborers finally got some justice from the landlords at the end despite the demise of Casy.
This The Grapes of Wrath is known to have received an overwhelming popularity from the general public due to the historical landmark it precisely presents but the few ruling class find it quite offensive thus its existing ban in some states to date. It is most remarkably that Steinbeck clearly highlighted the reality of harsh living conditions of migrant farmers making the story to stick even more in the memory as depicted in the political novel. As a matter fact, I find this book very useful in developing my understanding of the history and how the American Economic Depression led to the stratification of the societies whereby many became the landless laborers while minority is the minority dominant landlords and the ruling elites.
Once again, the novel is highly captivating and full of various literary techniques for instances symbolism, metaphor, simile and illustrations. These techniques coupled with carefully chosen descriptive language bring out the reality and the actual mood of the book. Steinbeck artistically used literary techniques to develop his theme against a hostile environment. Apparently as one reads the book, it creates mental visualizations of the true feelings held by the exploited migrants. Nevertheless, the critics of Steinbeck maintain that the book is more of a fiction because he incorporates very limited independent references and historical evidence about the subject matter of his book. It is therefore dismissed as a pure work of socialist propaganda particularly in Oklahoma and California.
In conclusion, the book not only plays a very important role in exposing the miserable lives of the poor farmers: Okies in America but it also captures the detrimental effects of the American Great Economic Depression on the lives of the lower class. It is on this basis that I recommend this book for general readership.
