The Grapes of Wrath!

Before you read:

This book takes place in the 1930's, during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time before the war when everywhere was in financial crisis. There were a lot of problems with droughts (no water) causing a lot of farmers togo bankrupt. Most farming was done in Middle America. Unemployment was so high; there were no other options, so as a result there were a lot of migrations from Middle America to the west, towards California. People thought that California was a wonderful place with a lot of jobs and opportunities, but, the reality waiting for the migrants was quite different from the promises. After such a difficult journey, migrants had to stay in campsites that were overcrowded (too many people) and miserable. These campsites were called 'Hoovervilles', after the President of the USA at that time, Herbert Hoover. Things only got worse! There were too many workers looking for jobs, so wages (the money they receive for a job) became lower and lower. The wages were unacceptable, and often called 'starvation wages' because it was never enough money to eat! However, because people were desperate for jobs, landowners who needed cheap labour knew that they would accept the pay. Most of these jobs were only temporary, such as picking fruit or cotton. After the job was finished, homeless families had to move again.

The government responded to these problems by trying to establish temporary camps with clean toilets and bathhouses, a store (shop) that would give families credit until they get work, and power to make rules for their own community. These camps were like miniature states, and if well-managed, gave families a good opportunity to re-start their lives. Sadly, the camps could only accept a limited number of families, and were opposed by people who profited from the cheap labour of the migrants. These people were worried that giving people a healthy life and decent living conditions would make them unhappy with their wages and living conditions provided by the job (because truthfully they were unfair).

This is the situation that Tom Joad, from the novel, and his family, are in. They recently arrived at a government camp called Weedville after a terrible journey halfway across the nation, and a short stay in Hooverville.

Now, chapters one and two really set the scene for the novel, so let me put in a few words of wisdom to help your reading:

The introduction of the book opens with the quote “we’ve never been paupers before”. A pauper is another word for beggar, or poor person. This is a theme that is really important to bear in mind (a common idiom meaning to remember a piece of information) throughout this novel. The Joad family lived comfortably. They were never rich, but they’ve never had to sell off their items to make ends meet. (To make ends meet is another idiom meaning to make enough money to survive)

The book has a lot of new vocabulary, and a lot of new characters. It would be helpful for all of you to make a list of the characters, and what their place in the family is.

As for the vocabulary, a lot of you will find it difficult because they use a lot of ‘uneducated English’ in the book. The most confusing of them will be ‘ain’t’, because it is used for both ‘is not’, and ‘are not’. This is completely unacceptable English, never ever use this!!!! They also use things like Ma and Pa for Mother and Father, Grandpa and Grandma for the Grandparents, and fellows or folks as an informal way to say ‘people’. You’ll encounter a lot of uneducated English throughout the book, but it’s important to keep in mind that it was part of the culture in the area of the USA where this book takes place. There are still people in the USA that use ‘ain’t’ regularly, and you’ll see it in songs, but it is not considered real English.

Please keep lists of the vocabulary and if you need to make a sticky note with the main events after each chapter to make it easier to discuss in class, do it.  :)

Happy Reading!