Summary A well-kept transport truck is stopped outside a roadside diner. Tom Joad, freshly paroled from McAlester Penitentiary, walks down the road and pauses by the diner. Clad in new, cheaply made clothing, he sits down on the truck’s running board to loosen his new shoes. When the driver walks […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 2Summary and Analysis Chapter 1
Summary After early May, no more rain came to the red and gray country of Oklahoma. Soon the earth crusted and clouds of dust surrounded all moving objects. Midway through June, a few storm clouds teased the country but dropped very little rain. The wind became stronger and soon the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Chapter 1Character List
Tom Joad The novel’s main character and second Joad son. As the novel opens, he is returning to his family after his parole from the McAlester State Penitentiary. Among the novel’s characters, Tom shows the most growth in his realization of the concept of human unity and love. Jim Casy […]
Read more Character ListAbout The Grapes of Wrath
Introduction Steinbeck’s background and previous writing experience found him well prepared to tackle the chronicle of the dispossessed Joads as they search for work in Depression-era California. Much of Steinbeck’s young adult life was spent around the ranches of California’s Salinas Valley. Working as a ranchhand, he gained firsthand knowledge […]
Read more About The Grapes of WrathBook Summary
In Depression-era Oklahoma, Tom Joad hitchhikes home after being paroled from the state penitentiary. Along the road, he encounters Jim Casy, a preacher Tom remembers from childhood. Casy explains that he is no longer a preacher, having lost his calling. He still believes in the Holy Spirit, but not necessarily […]
Read more Book SummaryThe Grapes of Wrath at a Glance
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad and his family are forced from their farm in the Depression-era Oklahoma Dust Bowl and set out for California along with thousands of others in search of jobs, land, and hope for a brighter future. Considered John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, The Grapes of […]
Read more The Grapes of Wrath at a Glance