Grapes of Wrath

The Novel “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck could be classified as one of despair with bits a hope every now and then. As the book begins to unfold, we see signs of tragedies with people losing their farms to an industrial monster, each replacing dozens of families at a time. Then hope strikes with job opportunities in the fast blooming state of California. California becomes a giant magnet for those few farming families in hope of a new and improved life. Even though the trip there would be long and rigorous, the hope would remain high as their spirits. When the Joads venture to California they would meet their share of hardships.

In the Beginning, the Joads have lost their house to new farming technique using a tractor. In need of work to keep the family going, they turn to the vast ocean of opportunity in California. Every thing that they owned would be sacrificed to buy a used car, food, and extra cash. As the trip goes on, grandpa gets sick and then dies from a stroke that hits him. The family is devastated suffering such a loss. Not to long after the car breaks down and would take a timely repair. After they where able to fix it the continued their journey towards their new homeland. As they reach the border of Arizona and California grandma begins to become ill. And not long after they were stopped by an

Jaramillo 2

agricultural inspector. Ma quickly used grandma being ill as an excuse to by pass the inspector quicker. They succeed. But not to long after Ma breaks the news to the family that grandma is in fact dead. The family is devastated the can only spare five dollars for her burial in Bakersfield. Preceding the burial, they stay at a camp where they work in the weed patches. Then right after the little work they have the have trouble finding any sort of work. After leaving the camp, the Joads come across a flat tire which is unfortunate. Luckily, a well dressed man offers them a job at as peach pickers at 5 cents a boxes. That brought great joy to the family. After supper, Tom attempted to find the reason behind the angry men at the gate. A man by the name of Casy