The Grapes of Wrath (original) (raw)

BACKGROUND
April 14, 1989 was the 50th anniversary of the publication of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath .

The novel illustrates the diginity and spirit of man in desperate circumstances. It follows the fictional Joad family on their journey from Oklahoma's “dust bowl” of the 1930's to the “promised land” of California. The Joads, like hundreds of thousands of farmers and sharecroppers in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and other states, were driven off the land during the “dust bowl” and Depression.

• Won the 1940 Pulitzer Prize.
• Was the cornerstone of Steinbeck's 1962 Nobel Prize.
• Translated into nearly every language of the world. Is an accepted masterpiece of world literature. Considered one of the most enduring works of fiction by an American author.
• 200,000 words.
• In the past 50 years, the novel has sold more than 14 million copies. It still sells 100,000 paperback copies a year.
• Manuscript of the book was written in the house on Greenwood Lane, Monte Sereno, a suburb of Los Gatos, CA. June-October, 1938. Carol, Steinbeck's first wife, did the typing and came up with the title.

Steinbeck kept a journal while writing The Grapes of Wrath. It recently was published as Working Day: The Journals of “The Grapes of Wrath,” edited by Robert DeMott.

The novel was controversial when it was published. Banned in certain places inthe United States, it was burned twice in Salinas.

Steinbeck was extremely angry about the plight of the migrant workers. He knew the conditions in the camps and had seen the people suffering. He saw people starving in Visalia. The author made four trips to the migrants, getting to know the people. He learned their speech patterns, reactions, expressions and stories first-hand.

One of the precursors of The Grapes of Wrath was a series of seven articles written for the San Francisco News. The series, called The Harvest Gypsies, was published later as a pamphlet entitled, “Their Blood is Strong.”

Would you like to buy a copy of _The Grapes of Wrath ? Visit the National Steinbeck Center Museum Store!

Compiled by Pauline Pearson
June 5, 1990
Revised 6/95