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The Grapes of Wrath Study Guide

by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath study guide contains a biography of John Steinbeck, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath tells the specific story of the Joad family in order to illustrate the hardship and oppression suffered by migrant laborers during the Great Depression. It is an explicitly political tract that champions collectivist action by the lower classes over expressions of individualist self-interest and chastises corporate and banking elites for shortsighted policies meant to maximize profit even while forcing farmers into destitution and even starvation.

The novel begins with the description of the conditions in Dust Bowl Oklahoma that ruined the crops and instigated massive foreclosures on farmland. No specific characters emerge initially, a technique that Steinbeck will return to several times in the…

Read the full The Grapes of Wrath Summary

• The Grapes of Wrath Summary
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 1-5
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 6-10
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 11-15
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 16-20
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters 21-25
• Summary and Analysis of Chapter 26-30
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• The Grapes of Wrath: Essays
• The Grapes of Wrath: Questions
• The Grapes of Wrath: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• John Steinbeck: Biography