The Grapes of Wrath Book Review
Fact Box-The Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Publishers: The Viking Press
Page #: 502
Recommended Reading Level: Mature teens
General Impressions: After hearing it was a great classic, I have to say, I'm just a tad bit disappointed. I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. But I'll give Steinbeck some credit, for he captured the setting and the picture of the Depression Era very well (not that I lived back then, it's just that I got a much better understanding).
Summary: Tom Joad is a young man living in Oklahoma, who's on parole from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, or the McAlester prison, after killing someone. On parole,---which means he doesn't have to be in jail but can't leave the state---he returns to his hometown. He reunites with Jim Casy, a preacher he remembers from when he was younger. The two go to Tom's family's farm, but they find it abandoned. Then they encounter Muley Graves, an old neighbor who tells them that the Joads have been evicted from the bank off their land and are staying at Tom's uncle, Uncle Joad's, house. They travel there and reunite with his family, but the Dust Bowl has destroyed Uncle Joad's farm and his family is financially struggling, like many Americans during the Great Depression. Hearing about job opportunities and "paradise" in California, the Joads---Casy tagging along---pack their bags and go on a road trip to the promise land. Tom, who's still on parole, is willing to start a new life in another state illegally, leaving Oklahoma forever.
What I Liked: Even though I didn't live back in the Depression Era,---and am gladly so---Steinbeck did make me understand the hardships that people lived back then, from makeshift camps and Hoovervilles to the accents and FDR's New Deal programs. He captured the setting, "laying out the land" if you will and describing the history and culture of this poor era in third person omniscient, and I do believe those parts were his best parts, as lots of it sounded like poetry. But are the parts that don't even involve the main story being the best parts a good thing?
What I Disliked: When I said I was a tad bit disappointed, I meant it. I expected a good, engaging story with great characters and detailed, artistic writing and dialogue that makes you think and feel even after you've finished, for that's what I believe what makes a classic book, but it didn't live up to my expectations. For school, I had to read The Pearl, written by the same author, and although the writing was very detailed and artistic, Steinbeck lacked character development and a very interesting story. The same went with The Grapes of Wrath. The character development was terrible. No where in the book did I actually connect with any of the characters, especially the Joads. Also, the story itself lacked, and by the middle, it was all over the place. I couldn't really follow what was happening, mainly because it wasn't even following the Joads at certain points, or at least just Tom and Casy, the protagonists. The accents I appreciated, but it didn't help with trying to decipher what was going on. Lastly, it was repetitive. And I mean, very repetitive. Each chapter started with several paragraphs of describing the setting, telling some history, or capturing the culture of the time in a very well-written way---and sometimes this just filled up an entire chapter---and then cut into the Joads and their story. I understand doing it in the beginning, but every chapter seemed to start this way: Irrelevant sections. The Joads. Irrelevant sections. The Joads. Irrelevant sections. The Joads. And even with the Joad story, well, I already complained about that.
Final Score:
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