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T HE G RAPES OF W RATH

J OHN S TEINBECK

International High School at Lafayette American History Mr. JoelUnit 7²Booms and Dust

Meimei, Shi Ting

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THE GRAPES OF WRATH

J OHN S TEINBECKFebruary 27³ December 20, 1968He was of German and Irish descentHe was an American writer

He was a regionalist, naturalist, mystic,but also a proletarian(low-class) writerWrote a total of twenty-seven books.His novel and stories often detail the live of agricultural communities in central California.He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1940and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

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J OHN STEINBECK

Publish in 1939

Main idea:The novel tells the story of the J oads, a poor Oklahomafarming family, who migrate to California in search of abetter life during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Anddescribe how their life was difficult during the GreatDepression and Dust Bowl.

In 1936, J ohn Steinbeck traveled the Dust Bowl with otherimmigrants on the torture drive to California. So, withthese experiences. He wrote The Grapes of Wrath whichawakened the nation·s comprehension and compassion.

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J OHN STEINBECK

Quotation

The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the

monster. Men made it, but they can't control it.

Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in theuniverse, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of hisconcepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.

They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air,without side-meat. [referring to the banks]

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J OHN STEINBECK

The Reaction1. First published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath summed up

its era in the way that Uncle Tom·s Cabin summed up theyears of slavery before the Civil War.

2. Many people have recognized it as such over the yearsthough, and The Grapes of Wrath has passed nearly intolegend.

3. Many people bought that book but also many of themdidn·t want to face the social injustice that described inthe book.

4. It has firmly lodged itself within American culture, andreferences to the novel continue to be made in movies,music, art, and TV.

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J OHN STEINBECK

The Effect on PolicyIn 1933, the Agriculture Adjustment Act passed, itcontrolled the supply crops by offering payments to farmersin return for taking some of their land out of farming.

Better farming practices on the Great PlainsThis included soil studies and tree lines, plan more trees inthe Great Plains to prevent the wind and storm and makethe environment better.

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J OHN STEINBECK

The Book Today

1. This novel frequently read in American high

school and college literature classes.

2. This novel continues to be one of the mosthighly praised and vehemently criticized pieces

of American literature

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J OHN STEINBECK

The Author·s Last Words´ This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of theindividual human is the most valuable thing in the world.

And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to takeany direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fightagainst: any idea, religion, or government which limits ordestroys the individual.µ

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And allplans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We

find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip;a trip takes us.

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