John
Steinbeck
Life: born in California 1902 he did a series of menial
jobs (close contact with American working-class, material for his works). His
masterpiece is The Grapes of Wrath
(39) that increased his popularity and reputation. During the 2°Ww he worked as
a correspondent and in 1962 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The Grapes of Wrath
-Structure: 3° person omniscient
narrator, the novel is set during the Depression in the America dust bowl (South, x overworking); the
Joads travel from Oklahoma to find work in California.
-Themes:
condemnation of the exploitation of agricultural workers in Usa during
the Great Depression, attack to the production system that destroys excess
produce instead of feeding starved people.
-Style:
naturalistic and detailed descriptions.
-Story:
the Joad family, leave their farm in Oklahoma
in search of a better life in California.
When they reach it, they soon realised that life in the West is no easier then
it was at home; they find work picking peaches and cotton. In the end, they
settle in a makeshift camp and Tom is forced to hid
himself because of his involvement in trade union agitation.
