John Steinbeck (1902–1968)

It’s hard to find something to say about The Grapes of Wrath that hasn’t been said, but I’m still going to give it a go. It’s amazing how relevant this book is to major issues today – cost of living, migration, government assistance, banks and big companies, increased automation and just trying to make it through when everything is against you. I really felt for the Joads and everything they went through in the book. The lack of an ending to their plight also makes this book more haunting.

The story is set in the 1930s as the ‘Dust Bowl’ storms and drought make life difficult for the Joad family and their neighbours in Oklahoma. Their son Tom, just released from prison, finds the family farm abandoned after the Joads were forced to leave. Tractors and big business are taking over, and they (nor the banks) care for the humans on it. It’s about money and the companies and banks are relentless in their pursuit of it at all costs. Along with a former preacher, the Joad family leave for California like many other families after hearing about the great weather, growing conditions and plentiful work. What they don’t know is how many thousands of families from the region have the same idea and how big business is taking over the Californian agricultural industry. A reasonable amount of the novel is dedicated to their trip on Route 66 in a secondhand ‘truck’ (I think Australians would be more likely to call it a ute) and the tragedies, losses and problems that come along their way. If you are familiar with the cars of the 1920s and 30s and their basic mechanics, there is a lot here to entertain the reader as Steinbeck knows his engines.

Interspersed with the Joad family’s pilgrimage are shorter chapters taking a wider view of what is happening to America from multiple perspectives – the tractors, roadside diner operators, business owners, rich people and the Californians in residence. It gives a lot of perspective, particularly reading the story from a historical perspective rather than a contemporary one. Although there are kindnesses shared, usually between those who have very little, the book is rife with cruelty. The migrants are very poor, at times too poor to eat with their families starving. Elderly relatives can’t afford to be buried as registering a death costs money, so they are buried in unmarked graves in the wilderness. The migrants also experience a lot of prejudice from the locals, who treat them with suspicion and later anger as the oversupply of workers drives down wages. The business owners see them as labour that gets cheaper and cheaper. The law also sees them as a nuisance and many times deputy sheriffs try to raise the people’s ire in order to arrest them and give move on notices. The government is largely absent in the story, with the exception of some time the Joads spend in a camp. It’s a happier time, but all too short as the work disappears when the fruit and vegetables are picked.

The Grapes of Wrath is not a happy story. Just when the reader thinks things can’t get worse for the Joads, they do and in more cruel and sadder ways. Everything is against them from other humans to the weather. Steinbeck creates fascinating characters with their own faults that you can’t help but wish for something better for. Every word is worth reading and savouring over and it begs the question – have humans really come that far nearly 90 years later? Or do we continue man’s inhumanity to man in the name of capitalism? This should be an essential read for everyone in these times so we can try to be better.

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