review #4 grapes of wrath by john steinbeck
john viril on goodreads wants to 'find every copy of this book, [...] bundle them up and hurl them into the nearest nuclear reactor. bit harsh john?
dear reader,
it's hard to rate a book like the grapes of wrath, because what do you say when everything has already been said, and what do your critiques matter when the book has been critically acclaimed for a century? when i saw this book on the lit booklist, i sighed. the grapes of wrath is a huge book and i just didn't know if i was ready to read it. it feels like the type of book you need to read at exactly the right time to properly absorb what it's trying to say. in retrospect, i think i got lucky; i feel like our current political and social climate is the perfect backdrop for the events of this story - but it also makes you think, is there any time where this story is not relevant?
what is the grapes of wrath even about? on the surface, it is about the joad family travelling across of america in search of a better life. set in the 1930s, the great depression is the catalyst for the move, and also looms over the events of the entire book. the family leaves oklahoma with high hopes, stars in their eyes when thinking about the prospects california must hold, but at every turn, the joads run into trouble. the book is a pulitzer winner, and steinbeck has so many books that are absolutely revered today. reading this, i totally understand why (and i can’t wait to explore more of his stuff!)
some of the issues the joads run into during their journey are heartbreaking, and they consistently lose members of the family ( which is depicted in horrific detail - or at least, too much for me). the family is consistently cheated our of a job, cheated out of fair wages, and cheated out of hope. and it’s not just this family. the manipulation of those who own the business and employ workers are on fully display; the business owners send out flyers, and when they have tons of applicants, they can lower wages and prey on the desperation of struggling families they owners know those struggling will work for the most menial salary, as long as it’s something. stuff like that makes this read relevant and relatable at all times. businesses preying on the desperations of those less well off occurs every day, all the time, by the biggest and most well-off people in the world (cough cough, H-1B visas).
'“If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it 'cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he's poor in hisself, there ain't no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an' maybe he's disappointed that nothin' he can do 'll make him feel rich”
-The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
one of the best things about grapes is that it actually is an easy read. there are some long, dense chapters. and those take time to fully understand, but for the most part, the novel is super digestible. this is important considering how relevant the subject matter has always been and probably will always be. in between thirty page chapters are depictions of fleeting moments in time: descriptions of the land, conversations between two random, unnamed characters, and general reflections on life. these vignettes provide so much context regarding society at the time and were actually so enjoyable to read (with some absolutely banger lines). these things are absolutely central to what happens to the joads and how their life plays out but the people and situations described has no direct link to them, illustrating the universality of what the joads were going through (making it even sadder to read at times).
i can only finish this off with a summary and some thoughts about its relevance today. all the joads really want is a source of income - it only needs to be enough to provide them with shelter and some food. the work can be hard work, but as long as the wages suffice for basic needs, people will work. and still, these people are taken advantage of and end up struggling. during the 30s, in the great depression, the rich hoarded their power, offering so little to the ones clawing for a sliver of the resources afforded to those wealthier than them. we always claim to learn from our mistakes, solemnly shaking our head when thinking of the errors of the past - we would never let this happen today. however, when you read the grapes of wrath, a suffocating dread comes over you; how much has changed since then?
love,
ann