The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Recently for my history class I read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I had heard a few interesting things about the book before I started it. First, that there is a wholed chapter devoted to a turtle. True. Second, that there is a lot of crude language. True. Third, that this book is boring. False.

Here is a summary from Amazon.com:

Set during the Great Depression, it traces the migration of an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family to California and their subsequent hardships as migrant farm workers. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1940. The work did much to publicize the injustices of migrant labor. The narrative, interrupted by prose-poem interludes, chronicles the struggles of the Joad family's life on a failing Oklahoma farm, their difficult journey to California, and their disillusionment once they arrive there and fall prey to a parasitic economic system. The insularity of the Joads--Ma's obsession with family togetherness, son Tom's self-centeredness, and daughter Rose of Sharon's materialism--ultimately gives way to a sense of universal community.

This work of literature made me laugh, cry, frown, and ponder. Actually, the chapter about the turtle was one of my favorite parts. The writing is steady and scholarly amid the slang, hick talk of the Joad family and other people in the book. There is a good amount of crude language that I strongly disliked, but the history of the text is the important part. The thought that this fictional family was actually real amazed me. Maybe there never was a Tom Joad and a Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon Joad, but there were families just like them, travelling the roads, looking for a better place to live. The true story has been captured here, and it should never be forgotten.