Grapes of Wrath Classwork Packet
Name: _________________________________
Period: _______
Date: ___________
Chapter 1: The Land at War
1. The first chapter describes the Midwestern United States during the Dust Bowl and the
effects the weather and climate had on the land. For each of the following natural elements,
indicate the diction and imagery Steinbeck uses to further this symbolic war on the land.
Make sure to use quotations and page numbers.
a. Sun:
b. Corn:
c. Weeds:
d. Wind:
e. Dust:
2. Steinbeck uses colors in this chapter to paint a picture of Oklahoma during the drought of the
1930s. Tell what each of the following colors describes:
a. Red:
b. Gray:
c. Pink:
d. White:
e. Green:
f. Brown:
3. What does the progression of color (e.g. from red to pink) tell use about what is happening to
the land?
4. This chapter is filled with the sounds of nature. Indicate what sounds each of the following
things make:
a. Wind
b. Corn
c. Dust-filled air
d. Roosters
5. In the last paragraph of chapter 1, Steinbeck writes: “The women studied the men’s faces
secretly, for the corn could go, as long as something else remained.” Why must the women’s
observations be secret? What do you think this “something else” is?
6. What happens to the men’s faces? Why does it make the women and children feel safe?
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The Tale of the Turtle
1. In chapter 3, Steinbeck continues to describe the natural world of Oklahoma. The main
character of this chapter is a turtle, slowly traveling with his house on his back. Two drivers
encounter the turtle and react to it very differently. Explain how each reacts:
a. The woman:
b. The man:
2. What do we learn about both of those people from their interactions with the turtle?
3. How would you describe this turtle in your own words? Use at least 4 adjectives.
4. What might the turtle symbolize? What might the two drivers symbolize?
5. Jim Casy appears in chapter 4 and compares himself to a turtle. How does he feel he’s like a
turtle?
6. Casy also has physical similarities to the turtle from chapter 3. In the boxes below, compare
the two (using quotations):
Jim Casy
The Turtle
Head
Feet
Nose
General Appearance
7. Steinbeck uses insect and animal imagery and metaphors throughout the novel. Going back
to chapter 2, explain the figurative use of each of these animals. What do each of these
animals actually refer to?
a. “My dogs”
b. “cat”
c. Cow
d. Elephant
e. Ducks
f. sheep
8. At the end of chapter 2, what does Tom Joad do with the grasshopper? What does he do with
the turtle in chapter 4? Why do you think he treats them differently?
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Linking the Intercalary Chapters
Of the 30 chapters of The Grapes of Wrath, 16 are considered “intercalary”; they do not deal
with the story of the Joads specifically, but they provide a broader social and historic background
for the story. Each chapter connects in a specific way to the chapter before it. As you read the
novel, fill out the chart below (the starred chapters are intercalary.)
Ch
1*
2
Summary of chapter
Description of the poor state of the
Oklahoma farms and how the families are
fighting for survival
Tom Joad is released from prison and
makes his way back to his family’s farm
3*
4
5*
6
7*
8
9*
10
11*
12*
13
14*
4
Link to the chapter before it
Tom alludes to the fact that he hasn’t heard
from his family lately, foreshadowing a
problem on their farm
15*
16
17*
18
19*
20
21*
22
23*
24
25*
26
27*
28
29*
30
5
Machines and Animals
Though this novel is primarily concerned with people and their struggles, Steinbeck makes
frequent references to the machines and the animals that surround them, both literally and
figuratively. For each chapter listed, find references to animals and machines. Make sure you use
quotations and page numbers.
Ch
1
Machines
Animals
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
6
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
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Chapter 9: Leaving It All Behind
You suddenly have to leave your house or apartment. You must leave your belongings behind,
and, aside from a few clothes, you can take only four of your possessions. Answer the following
questions below:
What would you take?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Below, explain what each of the items mean to you and why you chose as you did. How would
you keep the item safe on your long journey? How would you feel if that item was damaged or
lost?
Item 1:
Item 2:
Item 3:
Item 4:
Now write about your feelings about the items you had to leave behind and any anger or
frustration that you felt, as well as sadness. How would it feel to leave your belongings and your
old life behind?
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A “Fambly” Photo
By Chapter 10, we’ve met the entire Joad clan from Grandfather William James Joad to the
unborn child of Rose of Sharon Joad Rivers. Throughout the first part of the novel, Steinbeck has
taken great pains to describe the land of Oklahoma. In the same way, he has produced keen
images of the novel’s main characters from their physical features to their mannerisms to their
eccentricities. Before the Joads leave for California, summarize each of the characters, including
their ages (when given), relationships to each other, and physical and personality descriptions.
Grampa:
Granma:
Uncle John:
Noah:
Tom:
Rose of Sharon:
Ruthie:
Winfield:
Connie:
Jim Casy:
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Chapter 14: From “I” to “We”
The second part of the book, beginning with chapter 12, shows the transitions in the Joad family
as they leave their old lives behind. The transformation in their family structure and
understanding of what a “family” is mirrors the general change in the consciousness of all of the
migrant workers during The Great Depression.
1. The first changes occur within the Joad family itself. Describe why each of these changes
occurred and how they have affected the family members.
a. Leaving their home and Oklahoma
b. Adding Jim Casy to their car
c. Traveling with the Wilsons
d. Grampa’s death
2. The attitudes of some of the Joad family members have changed as well. How have each
of these characters transformed their way of thinking?
a. Ma’s opinion of what constitutes a family
b. Tom Joad and Casy’s message of universal compassion
3. In chapter 14, Steinbeck writes: “For here ‘I lost my land’ is changed; a cell is split and
from its splitting grows the thing you hate—‘We lost our land.’…This is the beginning
from ‘I’ to ‘we.’” Summarize what you think this quotation means. What is Steinbeck
saying about independence and inter-dependence?
4. The character of Mae is introduced in chapter 14 and in chapter 15, she shows an act of
kindness to a migrant family. Why does she do this? How does the trucker reward her?
Do you think she’ll treat future poor people who enter the restaurant any differently?
Why or why not?
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Dialect and Idiomatic Expressions
Sometimes an author has his/her characters speak in a dialect that is particular to the region of
the country they live in. Here is a list of words and phrases used by the Joads and other Okies.
For each of the words below: write what the expression means
1. Meetin’ (as in a meetin’ held by a preacher):
2. Burning Busher:
3. Sperit:
4. Talkin’ in tongues:
5. Mosey:
6. Tar’d:
7. Dogs (as in “my dogs is barkin’”):
8. Tractorin’:
9. Touched (as “in the head”):
10. Jack (as in “some jack in my pocket”):
11. Sidemeat:
12. Grace:
13. Whole shebang:
14. Get shut of this:
15. Figger:
16. Booted off:
17. Somepin’:
18. Shif’less:
19. Pitchers (as in “go to the pitchers”):
20. Bull simple:
21. Shoat:
22. Yourn:
23. Git sholt on yaself:
24. Hug-dance:
25. Crick:
Why do you think Steinbeck has his characters use these words? Does it help them seem true to
life? Why or why not?
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Chapter 19: A History Lesson
Chapter 19 tells the story of California from the days when it belonged to Mexico, through the
“invasion” of the early settlers in the Gold Rush days, through the era of cheap foreign workers,
to the early 20th century when the Joads and other migrant workers arrived. Consider this stream
of “invaders” as you read the questions below.
1.
How does Steinbeck compare this early Western history to that of Rome and the
barbarian invasions? Explain whether you agree with this analogy and why.
2.
Why did the migrant workers believe that they had as much right to the land as the
earlier settlers? Do you agree with their opinions? Why or why not?
3.
How are the Okies “new barbarians”? Explain. What did the Okies want?
4.
How does Steinbeck compare the Okies to the freed slaves and their descendants in the
South? How are they “just as dangerous”? How does Steinbeck predict the uprisings in
the African-American communities in the 60s?
5.
How do the residents treat the migrants in the Hoovervilles? Why? What are they
afraid the migrants will do?
6.
How are the migrant workers living in the Hoovervilles thieves? How do they justify
stealing?
7.
Chapter 19 ends with these lines: “And the association of owners knew that the praying
would stop. And there’s the end.” Who was praying and what were they praying for?
What happens when the praying stops and why would the owners fear it?
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“A Woman’s Place”: Female Characters in The Grapes of Wrath
While the women in this novel are, by custom, the social inferiors of their men, they are
remarkably well drawn, with Ma Joad as one of Steinbeck’s most memorable characters. While
the women in this novel are dependent on men, they are a source of strength and endurance for
them. Fill out the chart for the female characters below, giving an example of how each of the
characters exhibit strength, leadership, and morality, and then give your overall impression. If
they lack the quality listed, give an example of how they did NOT exhibit this trait.
Character
Strength
Leadership
Ma Joad
Rose of Sharon
Mae (waitress)
Mrs. Wilson
Mrs. Wainwright
Lisbeth Sandry
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Morality
Overall Impression
Saints and Sinners: Steinbeck’s male characters
If Ma Joad is the moral center of the Joad family, the male characters are not unaffected by
morality. The book opens with Tom and Casy and their discussion on morality. Though
Steinbeck’s women often exhibit nearly superhuman internal strength, the men are more
complicated and conflicted in their opinions of right and wrong. Fill out the chart below for each
of the prominent male characters and answer the questions at the end.
Character
Views on Morality
(put a quote here)
How has this character
sinned?
How is this character
moral?
Tom Joad
Jim Casy
Uncle John
Connie Rivers
Grampa
1. Despite the men’s social superiority, it is with the men that the Joad family starts to fall
apart. Who is the first person to “leave” the family and why? Who is the first person to
voluntarily leave the family and what effect does his departure have?
2. Is Pa Joad a weak or strong character in the novel? Explain. What changes does he go
through and what causes them?
3. Al is not generally considered a significant character in the novel. How would you
describe his personality? Why is he better equipped to survive more than any other
character in the story? How does he represent “the future”?
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Chapter 22: The Okie as the Other
As the Joads move out of their home territory and head west, they encounter a variety of types of
people who react to them in different ways. One memorable reactions is the use of the term
“Okie” as a pejorative term of disdain at their poverty and homelessness.
1. We grew up with a rhyme that says: “words will never hurt you.” Do you find this to be
true? How can words be hurtful? Write about a time when words hurt you.
2. Which hurts more: when unkind words are used by strangers or loved ones? Why?
3. In chapter 18, a returning migrant farmer tells the Joads: “Well, Okie used to mean you
was from Oklahoma. Now it means you’re a dirty son-of-a-bitch. Okie means you’re
scum. Don’t mean nothing itself, it’s the way they say it.” How has the meaning of the
word “Okie” changed? Why did it change?
4. At various points in the novel, people deemed “troublemakers” are called “reds,”
“Bolsheviks,” or “communists.” In chapter 22, an owner named Hines defines a red as
“any son-of-a-bitch that wants thirty cents an hour when we’re paying tweny-five.”
Explain what this definition means.
5. What is today’s common definition for “communist”? How is its use similar to how
Steinbeck’s characters use the term “Okie”?
6. What are some other negative labels used today? What do these labels have in common?
7. Looking at the quotations above (and in chapter 21,) have the views of poor people in
America changed? Explain.
8. Why do you think people believe that poor people or homeless people are somehow
subhuman, unfeeling, or stupid?
9. Today there are no more Okies traveling west in poverty, but we do have modern
equivalents. Who are today’s “Okies”?
10. Has reading The Grapes of Wrath changed any of your perceptions about the poor and
homeless of our time? Explain.
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Chapter 25: Biblical Imagery
The title The Grapes of Wrath comes from “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” which is a direct
reference to the Book of Revelation. The line from the song goes: “He is trampling out the
vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored,” and the verse from the Bible goes: “And the angel
thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great
winepress of the wrath of God.” This is one of many Biblical references in the novel.
1. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck makes references to grapes, the most notable one
appears at the end of chapter 25: “In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filing
and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” What does this line mean in the
greater context of the book?
2. Compare these other Bible verses to the themes in the novel:
a. Deuteronomy 32:32—“The grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.
Their wine is the poison of serpents.”
b. Jeremiah 31:29—“The fathers have eaten sour grapes and their children’s teeth
are set on edge.
3. The novel’s three sections (drought, journey, California) correspond to the Israelite’s
oppression in Egypt, exodus from slavery, and arrival in the promised land. Compare this
journey to that of the Joads. In what way is California not the promised land?
4. The name “Joad” is often compared with Biblical character of “Job” who was made to
suffer to show is faith in God. How is this reference appropriate? How do the Joads suffer
and how do they show their remaining faith?
5. God gave the Israelites 10 Commandments during their desert exodus. In chapter 17, the
migrants develop “new laws,” which the Joads receive at the government camp. What are
these laws? How are they similar to and dissimilar from the 10 Commandments?
6. In chapter 20, Ma says: “Us people will go on livin’ when all them people is
gone…We’re the people—we go on..” How are the Joad’s God’s “Chosen People”? How
can they be compared with the Israelites, the Chosen People from the Bible?
7. When the Joads first see their Promised Land from the mountains in chapter 18, Tom
comes upon a snake in the road and kills it. What is the reference to the Bible and what
sinister future does it foreshadow?
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The Controversial Ending
Nothing outraged the first readers of the The Grapes of Wrath as the ending where Rose of
Sharon breastfeeds a man dying from starvation. Although the ending may seem puzzling, it is,
in fact deeply symbolic. Each of the major characters in the novel has undergone a substantial
change: one from self-absorption to regarding the human race as part of their extended family.
For each character, indicate their early selfish views of self-preservation, how they have changed
by the novel’s end, and what event(s) caused that change.
Character
Early Views
Changes in views
Tom
Ma
Pa
Rose of Sharon
Al
Jim Casy
Uncle John
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Events that caused
change
The Grapes of Wrath: An American Novel
When writing The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck borrowed from a myriad of philosophies, some
older, some modern, all American. Some of the philosophies that influenced him include
Transcendentalism, naturalism, pragmatism, rugged individualism, and Marxism. Examine the
threads of these philosophies below:
1. Steinbeck directly references Emerson’s Oversoul from Transcendentalism throughout
the book. For each of the characters below, explain how the concept of the Oversoul is
exemplified through their actions (use a quotation for each one):
a. Casy
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
b. Tom
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
c. Ma
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
d. Rose of Sharon
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
e. Wilsons
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
f. Wainwrights
i. Actions
ii. Quotation
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Steinbeck is a naturalist in two ways: a lover of nature and a believer of realism in his writing.
As a naturalist, he applied principles of scientific determinism (all events can be predicted by
analyzing past events and using the laws of nature) to his fiction. In realism, authors portray
everyday life as realistically and objectively as possible. In naturalism, realism is taken to an
extreme where characters are reduced to their animal natures, responding to external forces and
internal stresses, none of which they have any control over or understand.
Give 5 examples of naturalism in the novel and explain how each fits into this definition:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Though the characters are often beset by circumstances over which they have little control, there
are moments when, unlike animals, they make humane choices or when they overcome obstacles
and move forward.
Give 5 examples of these choices or overcome obstacles in the novel. For each example, explain
how the characters move beyond pure naturalism:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Putting the Pieces Together
After finishing the Machines and Animals chart for the book, we can begin to understand how
these thematic elements add to the meaning of the book. Take a look at the animal references
used throughout the novel and answer the questions below:
1. Why might Steinbeck have used so many references to animals in describing the
characters (hint: look at naturalism on a previous sheet)?
2. The animals in the early chapters are pets. List all of the pets in the beginning of the
book:
3. What happens to these animals?
4. Animals are also used as omens in the story. What might the buzzard in chapter 16
signify? What about the rattlesnake as Tom prepares to enter California?
Steinbeck’s use of machinery is quite complex. For every destructive tractor there’s a helpful
truck that moves the family along. In the end, it is not machines that are evil, it the people that
are using them to disenfranchise others or who limit other’s access to helpful or working
machinery.
1. In what ways does the condition of the Joad’s truck reflect their sad situation? Give at
least 3 examples.
2. Why would abandoning farm machinery in favor of teams of horses be impractical?
3. How would the migrant farmers’ attitudes toward the tractor be different if they owned
it? (see ch 14, paragraph 2)
4. Is living in a technological world still problematic for us? Explain your answer.
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