Grapes of Wrath- Setting

I think that the setting in the book Grapes of Wrath has a very important meaning to the books relation with history. This book was set in the late nineteen thirties in Oklahoma and in California. The years in which this story was told in tells us a lot about what these farmers went through. In the nineteen thirties, there was a huge drought that is often referred to as the Dust Bowl. This drought left many farms destroyed and was the reason so many farmers had to pack up their families and head to California in search of better jobs and ultimately a better life for them and their families. One big problem all of the farmers faced on their journey to California was people telling them there were no jobs left and that they should just go back where they came from. I know that this does not seem like it would be much of a problem, but think about it. If you just left your entire life behind to come to California and then when you get there people tell you there are no more jobs left and to go home, you would be pretty upset. I know that if I went through all the trouble to pack up my family and we all made the hard journey there, but then people just tell me to go back home I know that I would be extremely mad. A quote from the book shows how much the Joad family struggled "An' now these her folks been nice to me, been awful nice; an' what's the first thing I do? I go back over the sad things-- that night Grampa died an' we buried him. I was all full up of the road, and bumpin' and movin', an' it wasnt so bad. But I come out here, an' it's worse now. " I think that this quote shows how much this family went through on the journey to California. It is saying that even though the people are nice to them, they always go back to the sad things. Also it says that they come out to California, looking for a better life, but it only got worse for them.

Bibliography

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print