Rating:  Summary: Voice of The Migrants for Generations to come! Review: "The Grapes of Wrath" is a powerful indictment of the oppression endured by the migrant families of the American mid-west during the depression years of the 1930's. The farming-belt of the mid west had suffered severe drought. "Dusters" swept across the farmland, skimming off the topsoil, leaving behind a dust bowl, only a few sparse sprigs of wheat surviving. The tenant farms were foreclosed and the families forcibly tractored off the land in a ruthless drive to maximise profit margins. Circe 250,000 migrants, "refugees from the dust", pulled up stakes and headed west on route 66, the road of flight to California, the golden land of dreams and opportunity, drawn by the prospect of picking work, harvesting oranges and peaches. The influx of rootless migrant workers centred on the San Joachin valley, California, and the huge farms therein, drifting in search of work from squatter camps to government camps to shacks in tied labour camps charging excessive rents and inflated company-store prices. The overwhelming glut of migrants flooding through the valley swamped the harvesting work available, driving down wages to peanuts level, as they desperately scrabbled "to pull, to pick, to cut - anything, any burden to bear, for food".This is the destiny that fate had in store for the Joad family in "The Grapes of Wrath". Forced off their farm, truck piled high with their meagre belongings, the Joads set forth on an epic 2000 miles haul from Sallislaw in Oklahoma through the western desert states of New Mexico and Arizona and onto the San Joachin valley. The gut-wrenching story of the Joads heroic journey is interspersed with short "relief" chapters on peripheral aspects of their route 66 experience, the trickery of used-car salesmen or a snapshot of life in a truck-stop diner, to give but two examples; other chapters function as social commentary on, for example, the stomach turning practice of spraying mountains of oranges with kerosene or dumping potatoes in the river under armed guard to protect market prices, at a time when hundreds of thousands of migrants were literally starving. This structure enables Steinbeck at once to follow closely the fortunes of the Joads and cast a wider eye over what is happening in society during the depression years. However, Steinbeck's narrative, in my view, is at its most powerful and compelling on the road, chronicling the Joads suffering and misfortune trucking along the endless narrow concrete miles to Bakersfield, California, revealing qualities of grit, guts and resilience in their desperate struggle for survival in the face of death, starvation, hostility, exploitation and harassment. Ma Joad's indomitable spirit and dogged determination to hold her family together is truly inspirational. Steinbeck's powerful voice depicting the plight of the migrants during the hard times of the 1930's depression years, the hardship and oppression endured by thousands upon thousands of families like the Joads, will resonate for generations to come. It is a voice that packs a powerful punch!
Rating:  Summary: What Is Up With That? Review: If you don't mind getting dropped at the end of a story, The Grapes Of Wrath is the novel for you. It is a marvelous story of the Joad's struggle across the country to California to make a living for themselves after their farm was reposed by the bank. You follow them every step of the way through different problems; death, starvation, jobs, and cops. You gain a kind of bond with and empathy for the characters. You care about what happens to every member of the Joad family. You would be sad if they never made it, but at least you would know what happened to them. You never find out. In the middle of a crisis Steinbeck decides to drop you like yesterday's sour milk. It drove me nuts. If Steinbeck had had some sort of ending to the story, it would have been the best story I have ever read. It has no ending. The book is like one of those really annoying sequels that draws you in, gets you addicted, and then says to be continued. Well it is just your luck that you don't get a sequel; there is no to be continued. Other than the minor detail with the terrible ending, it is well written with a style that is easily comprehended. Anyone could read this book. It has what I like to call "story relief chapters"; that is a chapter between each chapter on the main story. These specific chapters give you a view at the world around the Joads smoothly. These chapters don't even mess up the flow of the story. So in conclusion, this book is well written with no ending. I give it three stars because a book can't only have a good story, but it must have a good ending (or any ending for that fact). You can judge it for yourself if you do read it, but that is my review.
Rating:  Summary: Sour Grapes Review: I've never understood why Grapes of Wrath is so highly acclaimed among the Steinbeck works. I was forced to read it the first time in a high school English course. I believed, then, that I hated the writing of John Steinbeck. Later, after I'd come to know his other works I went back for a re-read, thinking I'd been jaundiced by an HS English teacher presentation. I still didn't care for it. Of the Steinbeck works it's the only one I've never read repeatedly as I aged.
Rating:  Summary: Grapes of Wrath Review: I felt that this book was amazing. The story came to life as the characters traveled through hard times. Not only did they work together physically, but they also used their minds to oversome the many obstacles they encountered on their journey. It truly was an excellent read, and I encourage everyone to read it.
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful! Review: This book is the story of the Joad family, a family that has been forced off of their land in Oklahoma during the 1930's. Like hundreds of thousands of others, they decide to migrate to California where work supposedly is. Throughout their tale they face prejudice, hatred, and injustice. But, through these trials, they learn the imporatnce of family and strength in unity. The structure of the story is amazing and a sure bet for a good read.
Rating:  Summary: Get off Steinbeck, he's the the man, ... Review: The Grapes of Wrath was a great book filled with both a great story line and fantastic descriptions of the land and people of this era. John Steinbeck used, what i consider to be one of teh most amazing literal stratagies in all teh books I've read. Followinbg each chapter of dialoge involving the charcters, he places a discriptive chpater descibing both the land, and other situations invloving characters who help to reinfoursce teh changing and diverse lifestyles at the time. This book is amazing and i am glad it is part of the curiculem reading for my school.
Rating:  Summary: the graps of wrath Review: The Grapes of Wrath is the story of Tom Joad and hai family moving to California during the Dust Bowl and thier stuggles both during the trip and once they arrive in california. The book demonstrates wht it was like to be an Oakie.
Rating:  Summary: The Grapes of Wrath Review: This novel takes place during the "Great Depression" and gives a general view of the 1930's, but also follows the Joad family as they endure many struggles on their way to find work in California. Like thousands of other families, they encounter hunger, violence, and despair during these troubled years of our history. This was kind of a difficult book to get through, but if you want to learn about the affect the "Great Depression" had on everyday families and the struggles they encountered during this time, then you have found the right book.
Rating:  Summary: Grapes of Wrath Review: Grapes of Wrath in an inspiring story, which takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930's. Farmers strived to support their families, though many were forced from their land and homes. The novel focuses on the Joads, a typical family suffering the brutal effects of the Depression, their journy West, and struggle to survive.
Rating:  Summary: The Grapes of Wrath Review: The Grapes of Wrath captures the life of many people in this time period. It is a descriptive novel, which gives a good insight as to what living was like during the Great Depression by telling the story of the Joad family, whom are moving out West looking for work because the bank has kicked them off the land. It was a good novel about the struggles of life in the 1930's.
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