The Grapes of Wrath

Hello novellover, welcome to the Literature Network :)

I've moved this topic of yours from the Book Requests section to the General Literature section, you will get more responses here.

Hi, novellover--
I love the Grapes of Wrath and John Steinbeck. Some people rave about his East of Eden, but for me G of W is his best.
You're right that he does a good job of description, but unlike some authors who seem only to focus on description (of setting or characters or both), Steinbeck also keeps a really good plot line going.
G of W is good right to the end, so keep with it!
:nod:

This is acyually the last book I finished reading, and I enjoyed it. The characters are all colourful but my favorite parts of the novel are the chapters that cut up Steinbeck's narrative of the Joads' journey to describe the entire population's living conditions. The very first chapter is incredible, so weird to open a book with a description of the movement of dust.

Hi Novellover,

Welcome to the Forum! :)

I can easily say that GoW is one of my favorite books. I have read some other books of Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, Canary Row, Moon is Down) but I think GoW exceeds others in both writing and subject matter. Steinbeck is one of those rare authors, who can describe a single tree for two pages, without boring the reader. And his style is not forced. I hope you carry on reading and share your thoughts with us when you finish the book.

There are some other discussion threads on GoW:

http://www.online-literature.com/for...t=grapes+wrath

http://www.online-literature.com/for...t=grapes+wrath

I've also read The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden just recently.
Earlier I has also read Of Mice and Men.Of the first two which one did you prefer?Which character do you find most appealing or well written?
I have yet to read any other Steinbeck books , but am aware of the others.

Thanks for the interesting remarks on the book. I've read the introduction of another book of his, Tortilla Flat, which seemed quite interesting though I had to return the book before I got to reading it. Anyways, once I'm done with G of W, I think I'll try to get a hold of another copy of Tortilla Flat. Anyone read it?

the chapters in between the ones describing the Jodes are called interchapters. im reading this book right now in my american literature class. its not really my type of book but its a good one. i assume that they are making us read it for a reason.

Nobody had to make me read this book. I started and I couldn't stop - wait till you get to the end - the last scene is so touching I cried for a week - and I'm a big, hulking, supposedly-insensitive bloke!

It's one of those books that shows you another way of life so vividly that you can feel yourself living it. I don't think there can be a higher goal for an author than that they can achieve that. :nod:

This is a fantastic piece of work. I saw this thread and diving into it to read your comments. Thanks for reminding me. Compulsory reading.

I really liked how in the very very beginning of the book, Steinbeck said that the men were "figuring". I was confused as to what exactly this meant until later when he explained that the men were computing mortgages, deeds and such in the dirt.

This book was so depressing. On the bright side, it makes us appreciate the situations we're in more!

Proof that it sucks to be poor at any point in time, in any place. And I thought the Victorians had it bad.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Xamonas Chegwe

Nobody had to make me read this book. I started and I couldn't stop - wait till you get to the end - the last scene is so touching I cried for a week - and I'm a big, hulking, supposedly-insensitive bloke!

It's one of those books that shows you another way of life so vividly that you can feel yourself living it. I don't think there can be a higher goal for an author than that they can achieve that. :nod:

---

The end is beautiful, I'll not say anything else cause I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Since I last posted I've read "Of Mice and Men", a while back now, and although it's good I think "The Grapes of Wrath" is far better.

How is this line written; 'no effort is spared in suppressing people's reaction to suffering while the cause of that suffering goes unheeded' ? It's driving me crazy and I lost my book!!

You can scan the text for certain words here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0141...words=unheeded

How about this quote?

"And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed."

And the only the means to destroy revolt are considered, while the cause of revolt goes on. I feel much better after a trip to the library and 1q5 minutes of scouring through the book for a 17 word sentence. I noticed how the book goes from narrative to plot to narrative in intervals... interesting.