Grapes of Wrath Book Review - Essay Example

The condition was so ghastly and it had ruined the crops and instigated massive foreclosure on the land. The time was harder particularly in Oklahoma. It was a faulty farming method and drought which resulted into wind erosion of the topsoil. Consequently the Great Plains in the region became “The Dust Bowl.” “The Dust Bowl was caused by agricultural malpractices as well as years of sustained drought and incessant strong winds.” (Bernd Steiner 2007) It was the worst condition especially for the tenant farmers.

They had been pushed off their land, as they were not able to pay the rent to the banks. Many agricultural workers left for California in search of a rich and fertile land. The journey towards California is very long and gruelling. Grandpa of the family does not want to live his original place and he is constantly complaining bitterly. He dies during their journey. Sairy is sick and showed inability to move forward to the journey. Their dreams of good fortune get shattered as soon as they reached to California.

The number of jobs was lesser than the number of farmers, i.e. 800 jobs against 20,000 people. The entire family experienced another adversity of life when they reached to California. . Tom Joad is the protagonist of this novel. He is a man of thirty and has just come out of prison. He had been convicted for murdering a man during a fight four years back. He is good natured and a source of vitality for his family, apart from his 4 years’ stay in prison. He earns honour from his family as well as from the other workers whom he assembled together to form workers’ organization.

Other characters include Tom’s parents Ma Joad and Pa Joad. Ma Joad is like a citadel of the family. Pa Joad though sensible and good natured, sometimes feels ashamed of his weaker position. Jim Casy is depicted as a former preacher and a staunch friend of Tom. Rose of Sharon is the eldest daughter of Ma and Pa Joads and she is depicted earlier as a romantic lady but then she has to face many troubles in her life. She faces harsh realities after the death of her new born baby, and the abandonment from her husband, she become quite matured and sensible.

She represents the harsh life of the migrants. The character of Joad’s grandfather is sketched in a black shade. He is violent tempered and mean. This meanness is now limited to his tongue, probably due to his old age. He gets pleasure in tormenting others by his harsh talk. Unlike him his wife Grandma Joad is pious. Ivy and Sairy Wilson is a good couple who met the Joads during their journey to California. They helped them by lending their tents to the Joad family so that Grandpa could have got comfortable place to die.

There was a good relationship and mutual cooperation between the two families. Other members of Joad family included Tom’s elder brother Noah, uncle John, and second younger daughter Ruthie and Winfield Joad. Muley Graves is another character who is the