Rating: 
Summary: The Grapes of Wrath
Review: The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is a classic story about the migrant farm worker's plight during the depression. It begins when Tom Joad, the protagonist of the story, comes home early from prison. What he returns to, however, is not what he left. Because of the droughts, many farmers have gone bankrupt and have been forced off their land by the banks who then plow over the land to plant more crops. Tom comes up on a retired preacher, Jim Casy, and they go together in search of Tom's family who has been relocated to their uncle's house. As soon as Tom gets to his family, he then learns of their quest to go to California, from where they have received handbills promising work and pay, of which the Joads are in desperate need. From there, they begin on their long journey in an old truck, piled high with mattresses and people. Tom's grandfather dies, and then his grandmother dies, right before reaching California. His mother, the matriarch apparent of the family, is worried about how they had to give both her parents a pauper's grave and lose all their money doing so in the process. Also, being misled by the stories the handbills told about the riches in California believes that when they get there, everyone will live in a nice house and everything will be all right. However, that proves not to be the case when she and the rest of the family get a rude awakening at reaching California. They are hit with poverty and injustice, the police wanting to take them in for the smallest deed. Work is scarce, and even if there is work to be had, it is for pennies an hour. The family has no control over anything, something that is new to them, and increasingly frustrating to Ma. On top of things, they are not longer welcome and not very liked, just because they are newcomers, something new to the usually hospitable Joads who had come from Oklahoma. They stay for a little while in a camp, and when Casy and Connie, Tom's brother-in-law runs off, the family goes on the move. They come upon a government camp for the migrants and stay there for about a month until they have to move on north to find work as strike busters. However, they soon have to leave because Tom is once again on the run for almost killing a policeman. When Tom's sister has a stillborn baby during a flood that they have to move out of, they come upon a barn where there are people they need her help.
Rating: 
Summary: A classic of Literature
Review: This book should be considered a classic of literature because it exemplifies realistically on how life was like during The Great Depression, and how it felt to go into a part of your country and not be welcomed, even though they really were the same as everyone else. John Steinbeck makes this book really realistic and you can get a feel on how it would be to be alive back then, and it seems to put everything into more perspective. I would definitely consider this book a classic because of it's historical value, and for the fact on how well it is written. It is in a language that I can understand, while still giving you the feel of the early 1900's.
Rating:
Summary: California dreaming
Review: One of the great novels of the 20th Century. This should be required reading at the high school level.The story is that of the Joad's, a displaced family from Oklahoma who migrate West,looking for work in the rich agricultural areas of California. No novel tells the story of depression era America better than the Grapes of Wrath. The Joad's, like millions of other Midwestern and Southern farmers, lose their land through a combination of generations of bad farming techniques, dry weather that occurred several growing seasons in a row, and the depression. The end of the rainbow is California, rich in agriculture with the promise of plenty of work. Along the way the family endures physical and emotional hardships, as well as ridicule and humiliation. Once they arrive in California, the Joad's find that the labor supply is so plentiful that the promised jobs are either non-existant or the pay is paltry. Furthermore, the California land barons want the 'Okies' to stay only long enough to pick the crops and they employ whatever means necessary to keep workers migrant. There are many poignant scenes in this novel and the character of Ma Joad is truly a classic as she strives to keep her family together and from starving to death. The last scene involving the loss of a child and a straving man are heart rendering. But the real value of this novel is in the social conscience that it attempts to evoke. For his work Steinbeck was villified as a Communist, although his later work showed Steinbeck as a political moderate.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad at all
Review: I was forced to read steinbeck's "The Pearl" in school a few years ago, so recently when I had to read this book, I was dreading picking the book up and starting. I can't believe I was so foolish. This book was a brilliant social criticism and it really makes one feel sorry for the migrant workers from Oklahoma. I especially like how he made the novel as dark as possible to get the point across. This was a brillantly done, trancendental novel, and maybe other students would like it if they gave it a try...
Rating: 
Summary: The Grapes of Wrath, a great masterpiece?
Review: This book was rather long and boring then adventerous and fun. I have read many books written by John Steinbeck such as: The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men and etc. If you want to read this book then go ahead but I would rather recommend Of Mice and Men or The Red Pony.
Rating:
Summary: Who says novels are boring?
Review: Some reviewers accuse Steinbeck of spreading Communist propaganda. That is not the intent of The Grapes of Wrath. He rather bemoans the transformation of agrarian society into an industrialist, capitalist society. In agrarianism, the landowners work on the land; they plow and seed the field, harvest and sell the crops, and keep the proceeds. Through hard labor, farmers better appreciate the value of their work and of their land. By contrast, the spread of corporate-owned farms separated the workers from the owners, and with this division, Steinbeck argues, the land and the labor became less valuable in the eyes of the owners and workers. The Grapes of Wrath is an indictment against the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy and against laissez-faire capitalism. Small, Midwest farmers were uprooted by bankers whose sole motivation was the accumulation of wealth and capital. Worse, unscrupulous businessmen wait alongside the road to California for opportunities to take their remaining savings. Many families are forced to beg or barter for food, water and other essential items. The journey enables Steinbeck to contrast the difference between America's rich and its poor. The Joads, in their overcrowded and antiquated car, encounter fancy and fast cars. On one occasion while resting at a gas station, one of their dogs is hit by a reckless driver in a new car. The car stops and the people inside look back at the animal but then leaves the scene in a blatant display of callousness. Although this book criticizes the abuses of capitalism, Steinbeck does not advocate its dissolution. The displaced farmer seeks to reintegrate himself into the economy by seeking employment in California. The Joads aspire to become middleclass, living in a spacious house and driving a luxurious car. The Grapes of Wrath contains many Biblical images. Chapter three may have been inspired by the Parable of the Sower. The turtle's role is that of protector so that the seed doesn't fall by the wayside and get devoured, or planted in a barren environment, or choked by weeds. Instead the turtle deposits the seed in a hospitable environment for it to sprout and bear fruit. The predominant imagery, however, is from the Book of Exodus. Millions of small farmers, oppressed by a powerful entity, leave the Midwest for the Promised Land of California. The journey of the Joads is analogous to the Israelites' years spent in the Wilderness, both of which are filled with challenges and disappointments. And like the Israelites, the migrants established their own laws and customs to preserve their civility. The deaths of the grandparents prior to the family's first sighting of California's fields correspond to the fulfillment of Jehovah's punishment on the Israelites for constructing and worshipping an idol while Moses was on Mount Sinai. California, being the Promised Land, is analogous to Canaan. However, Steinbeck thinks that California is worse than Canaan and compares it to Rome because it is home to the greedy, exploitative, and rich. The Joads discover after a long and arduous journey that California's agribusiness is more extensive than that of Oklahoma. The promise of abundant jobs is a scheme to create an oversupply of farmhands to keep wages to subsistence levels. Despised by Californians because of their numbers and their potential for social revolution, the Joads and other Midwest migrants live in deteriorated conditions and are frequently harassed by thugs and the police. They move from farm to farm in search of work and a better life, but the reality is that these migrant workers will never become wealthy. Steinbeck is criticizing the federal government's policy of laissez-faire capitalism as harmful to poor Americans. Steinbeck warns that if the federal government does not intervene to improve salaries and working conditions, Marx's predictions might come true. Steinbeck's use of Biblical imagery is not restricted to places but includes the characters. Preacher Casy has multiple Biblical roles. He plays that of the lost sheep, which has lost his faith and joyously indulges in sins. For example, he slept with teenage girls after he had baptized them. Although the Joads still regard him as a preacher, Casy's passion for the Gospel has disappeared. On the journey west, his prayers are forced and performed only after several requests. Ironically, once in California Casy assumes the role of Christ. He volunteers to be arrested so that Tom Jr. can escape punishment. He is a leader amongst the oppressed, organizing worker strikes. And when armed thugs ambush him to end the strike, his last words are the same as those of Christ. Then there is Rose of Sharon. True to her name, she is unassuming but full of love for her husband. She refuses to acknowledge that her husband has abandoned her and their unborn baby. Her love for her spouse is so great that she purposefully engendered a premature delivery because she does not want to raise the child without him. However, Rose of Sharon also plays the role of the husband, illustrating the transformation that hardships had brought about in the Joads' characters. In the last scene of the book, she places her hand under a starving man's head to support it while he feeds. In conclusion, The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent novel that describes the events of the Great Depression from the perspective of those who are socially, economically, and politically impoverished. It also records a period in America when the federal government shifts from the protector of business to the promoter of labor. Arguably, it supports the New Deal by portraying the threat that laissez-faire pose to social stability. Most importantly, The Grapes of Wrath chronicles the lives of a typical Midwest migrant family and how tragedies and triumphs along the journey from the Great Plains to the Pacific Northwest transformed their identities and their definition of a family.
Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This is the first book that succeeded in breaking my heart and giving me hope, both at the same time. It is engrossing, educational and positively unforgetable.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I found the Grapes of Wrath enthralling. The story of the plight of "Okies" towards to end of the depression desparately trying to survive financial and societal collapse. The books provides an argument for communism, although I suppose we all see where that leads a society. The writing is quite polished and captivating.
Rating:
Summary: The most amazing and touching book I've ever read
Review: This book, I believe deserves a lot more than five stars. It's an incredible, and deeply touching tragedy of the Depression era. I loved the contradistinguishing views of life expressed by Tom Joad and Casy. I recommend it to anyone who has ever experienced moving from another country or someone who is just a fan of great novel material. I loved the whole book, and think it as the only book that i've ever read, where I loved the way that it ended.
Rating:
Summary: I don't recommend this book
Review: This book was one of the most incrdibly boring books that i have ever read. Steinbeck goes back and forth from the Joads, to the entire migrant population. It was extremely confusing because in the migrant chapters, he would use quotation marks. It sucked.
|
