The Grapes of Wrath
A story of The Great Depression
Thanks to Ms. Kitchens (Vallhalla HS in El Cajon, CA)
Quick Check
Tell me 3 things
you know about the
Great Depression
The Great Depression
Causes– 1920’s economy not in balance– Debt– Speculation on the rise– Overproduction slows industrial growth– Stock market crash-- October 1929
The Dust Bowl
“Plant more wheat! Wheat will win the war!”
4 million acres of grassland turned into wheat
New technology--tractorsWheat prices fell in early 1920’s
The Dust Bowl
Severe droughtNo grasses to protect topsoil Included eastern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,
New Mexico and Texas “Black blizzards”60% of Dust Bowl families lost their farmsThousands of families moved westNo relief for these families until WWII
The Dust Bowl
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck – Grew up in Central California– Went to Oklahoma and rode with Dust Bowl
migrants to California
The Grapes of Wrath
Lived with migrants in HoovervillesPleaded for a more tolerant help for
migrantsConsidered a novel of protest/social
document
The Grapes of Wrath
The story of the Joad family moving from Oklahoma to California
Lots of extra material not included in family struggle– Intercalary chapters
• general picture of the society
• Background of the Dust Bowl, about Route 66, selling property, etc.
• Support for the narrative; historical information
