1. Overview; Study Questions
Grapes of Wrath
Overview; Study Questions

2. Structure of the Novel Chapters 1-11 = Time in Oklahoma
Chapters = Experiences on the Road
Chapters = Time in California
Inter chapters – depict the experience of ALL migrants (universal/philosophical/thematic)
Narrative chapters – depict the struggles of the Joad family (details/imagery/philosophy in action)

3. Philosophy Naturalism graphic detail “survival of the fittest”
man compared to animal
Determinism: belief that one’s choice of actions is not free, but predetermined
Regionalism: “local color” techniques, accuracy of detail in description of people
Steinbeck authentically portrays Okies: dialect, dress, lifestyle, etc.
Agrarianism: close identification with and love for the land

4. Politics
Proletariat: injustices of the laboring classes. Pitting social classes against one another
Communism: “We’re the People, we go on.” (Ma Joad)
cooperation/collective efforts
group work increases individual self esteem
laboring man held in high esteem
references to Marx, Lenin, and Thomas Paine
Pragmatism: test truth by looking at the outcomes of actions. Tendency to create as you go, based on current need/circumstance

5. Transcendentalism
Look inside yourself for divine guidance in understanding the nature of God
Living close to nature allows you to understand your reason for being
Search for meaning in life and personal growth, not to material possessions
Be both physically and intellectually active throughout life
Become a person of principle and then live by those principles. Follow dictates of your own conscience; practice civil disobedience
“Government is best which governs least”
Determine Truth for Yourself: Each generation should question for itself all previous teachings until it finds ideas, institutions, and persons worth believing in.
Now is the only reality; all else is illusion or conjecture

6. Symbols, Allusions, and Literary Devices
Symbols: dust, turtle, tractor, car, even the title!
Allusions and Parallels (often Biblical)
Exodus
Tom and Jim Casy
Themes of self sacrifice, love for mankind, rejecting old religion for new, personal rejection, discipleship
Meditation in the wilderness; their final words

7. A Deeper Reading
Level One: Joads’ struggle for survival (narrative chapters)
Level Two: migrants’ struggle for survival (intercalary chapters)
Level Three: America as it struggles to define its capitalist identity
Level Four: Moral – Philosophical Meanings – how are right and wrong / good and evil determined?
Level Five: Ontological Questions – what duty do I owe others? What is my relationship with the earth? What is my purpose?

8. Study Questions, Chapters 1-2
Why does the first chapter deal with the effect of natural disasters on the country folk?
What is the significance of the title?
Chapter 2
What is the significance of the slot machine?
What is the role of the truck driver?

9. Study Questions, Chapters 3-4
What is the significance of the turtle?
Chapter 4
Why does Tom break the cap to make it look older?
What is the significance of Casy’s song?
What is implied by Tom’s remark that he should have been a preacher himself?
What is Casy’s new moral code, and how did he come up with it?
How does the recollection of the Christmas card reinforce his feeling?

10. Study Questions, Chapter 5-7
What hierarchy is established in this chapter?
What point does Steinbeck make about qualifications for ownership?
How is the tractor described?
Chapter 6:
Why does Tom mention, for the second time, that the Joad’s weren’t people to write?
What is the significance of the turtle’s release?
How does Tom describe prison?
Why does Tom refuse to sleep in the cave?
Chapter 7: What is the significance of the car dealer?

11. Study Questions, 8-11 Chapter 8: What is the significance of the dogs?
What is the meaning of the reference to Pretty Boy Floyd?
What change does Ma notice in Tom?
Chapter 9:
What “bitterness” is being bought?
What is the significance of Pilgrim’s Progress?
Chapter 10:
What foreshadowing emerges from the conversation between Tom and Ma about California?
What characterization is given of Ma?
Chapter 11:
What is important in the placement of the interchapter closing Part I?

12. A Close Reading
Walt Whitman