Grapes of Wrath Context

(In collaboration with Jonathan)

1. John Steinbeck: Relevant authorial context and life experiences, inspiration and purpose for writing the novel etc.

• American author (1902-1968)
• 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Wrote 'Dustbowl fiction'
  • Realist literature set in the 'Dust bowl' period, i.e. 1930s dust storms in North America.
• Grew up in Salinas, California, which informed his future writing (Of mice and men)
• Researched on the plight of agricultural workers in making The Grapes of Wrath
• New Deal democrat
  • Financial reforms which lifted the United States out of the Great Depression

2. Historical context: The Great Depression in the USA including political and social contexts

• Severe global economic downturn
• Evident after fall in stock prices in US leading to economic depressio
• High unemployment rates
• Business failures
• Worldwide GDP fell by 15%
• Countries began to recover in mid-1930s
• Crop prices fell by 60%
  • Farmers and crop growers suffered
• Areas affected by primary sectors suffered the most
  • Less demand, few job opportunities
• International trade fell by 50%
• Unemployment in US rose to 23%
• Cities relying on heavy industry were affected heavily
• Hoovervilles
  • Settlements of destitute people living in shared apartments/makeshift homes
  • Named after Herbert Hoover, President widely blamed for the Great Depression

3. The dustbowl: States involved and causes. Social, political and economic impacts

• A period of severe dust storms affecting the United States and Canada
• Caused great damage to agriculture in both countries
• Destitute families in the most affected areas (Oklahoma) migrated en masse to California, which was perceived as economically fruitful and saved from the depression
  • 'Okies' referring to people who migrated from Oklahoma to California, and were often very poor
• Immense economic repercussions, with American households losing an estimated $550 million a day (adjusted for current value)
• Government's response to the dust bowl was a significant part of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal

4. Tenant farmers, migration to California, migrant/itinerant workers

• Almost 300 thousand people, mainly from Oklahoma migrated to California
• Primarily used 'Highway 66'
• Found little prospects in California, which had been saturated by countless others looking for work

5. The American Dream

• Ethos of US
• Every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life
• Coined by James Truslow Adams during Great Depression in 1931
  • "That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. [...] It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognised by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position"
• Different meanings over time
• Originally emphasis was on democracy, liberty and equality
  • Recently has been on achieving material wealth and upward mobility.
• Originates from the Declaration of Independence, which states that "all men are created equal", and have an inalienable right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". 
• The Preamble to the Constitution states similarly that the Constitution's purpose is to, in part, "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity"

6. Steinbeck’s religious context: he was associated with the Episcopalian Church throughout his life.

• Was affiliated to St. Paul's Episcopal Church and stayed attached throughout his life to Episcopalianism
• Highly conscious of religion and incorporated it into his style and themes.
• Shaping of his characters often drew on the Bible and the theology of Anglicanism, combining elements of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism
• Distanced himself from religious views when he left Salinas for Stanford. 
  • However, the his work still reflected the language of his childhood at Salinas, and his beliefs remained a powerful influence within his fiction and non-fiction work

7. Literary awards, praise and criticism past and present. Include relevant quotes.

• 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature
  • "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception."
  • Slightly controversial, NYT said Steinbeck was an author whose "limited talent is, in his best books, watered down by tenth-rate philosophising"

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