The Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath
The Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath
During the early 1930s, a severe drought destroyed a massive amount of farmer’s agriculture particularly in western Oklahoma. By the mid-1930s, the drought had ruined most family farms, and America had fallen into the Great Depression. The farmers unable to pay banks or keep up with the industry competition forced many Dust Bowl farmers to leave their land. In the novel The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck , he tells the story of a families struggle to move to the west. This novel explores the Great Depression through social and economic conditions through the eyes of the Joad family.
Into the lonely country of Oklahoma Tom Joads walked down a silent road back towards his home. Tom Joads was just released from the McAlester State Penitentiary where he served four years for a manslaughter conviction. He hitches a ride with a trucker. The trucker tells Tom that a lot has changed while he has been gone and is surprised to hear that Tom’s farm hasn’t been “fractured out”. The trucker drops him off and Tom is on his way down his road. He meets Jim Casey, a former preacher who has lost his call on becoming a preacher. Casey talks to Tom and asks Tom if he could come along with him. Tom enjoys his company and they walk to the farm.
When they approach the farm no one is to be found. An old neighbor named Muley Graves wanders by and tells them that everyone has been forced off their land. Muley tells them most families including his have left to California to look for work. Muley also tells them that the Joad clan is at Tom’s Uncle John’s house. Tom finds Ma and Pa Joad packing up the families things. His parents were very surprised to see and are happy he is home. He tells them his out on parole and didn’t break out illegally. The family is on their way to California to start a better life. Steinbeck introduces the reader to Joad family at this time. Pa Joad is Tom’s father who has been evicted from his farm. Ma Joad is the mother and acts as healer of the family. Tom’s two youngest siblings Ruthie and Winfield are dependent on each other and don’t really understand everything that is going on. Rose of Sharon, another sister, is married...