Reading Log Questions
Each entry should serve to help you summarize what you have read and to reflect on the themes of The
Grapes of Wrath. Respond to the questions for each entry as you read the novel. Include page numbers where
appropriate. Use MLA format to word process your reading log. The entire log should not exceed five pages
double-spaced.
Entry 1:
Point of View
Who is telling the story? What can you conclude about the narrator from the first few chapters? What
effect does the point of view have on the novel?
Entry 2:
Setting
Where and in what time period does the novel take place? How does the setting affect the characters
and the choices available to them?
Entry 3:
Character
Describe the main character(s) in the novel. Include age, appearance, and relationships to other
characters? What do others think about them? What do they think about themselves? How do you know?
Entry 4:
Style
What characteristics of language does the author employ? How does the author’s choice of words,
sentence structure, and use of description and dialogue distinguish the novel?
Entry 5:
Tone
What word or words describe the author’s attitude toward the characters, setting, or conflict in the
novel? What specific diction does the author employ to communicate this attitude?
Entry 6:
Symbolism
What person, place, thing, or event had meaning beyond itself? List and explain these symbols.
Entry 7:
Resolution
How does the end of the book resolve the major conflicts? Why did the characters make the choices
that led to the resolution? Did you expect this to happen? Explain why or why not?
Entry 8:
Theme
What insights about human life are revealed through the story? Use three events from the novel to
support your understanding of the possible themes.
Entry 9:
Intercalary Chapters
Choose one of the intercalary chapters. Explain the purpose of the chosen chapter and its importance to
the novel as a whole.
Entry 10:
Opinion
State your opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of the novel and offer three specific reasons as
evidence for your position.
The summer reading for sophomore honors students is John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath. In
this story thousands of migrants, having been driven off their farms, travel to the Promised Land of California.
It portrays a nation reeling from the excesses of the roaring Twenties and the losses of the Great Depression.
The Joad family seeks a new vision of the American Dream and, having been stripped of all material
possessions, finds the courage to survive in the love they share.
To tell these stories, Steinbeck alternated short chapters called “interchapters” or “intercalary chapters”
(Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29) that present relevant background information
about the migrants as a group, with narrative chapters that detail the Joad family’s journey to California.
Because of these complexities, the novel demands a close reading. John Steinbeck said:
I’ve done my damndest to rip a reader’s nerves to rags; I don’t want him satisfied... I
tried to write this book the way lives are being lived not the way books are written...
Throughout I’ve tried to make the reader participate in the actuality, what he takes from it
will be scaled entirely on his own depth or hollowness. There are five layers in this book, a
reader will find as many as he can and he won’t find more than he has in himself.
This summer, as you read the novel, pay particular attention to the “stories” and the multiple layers of
interpretation and understanding. Complete the Reading Log assignment to be collected the first day of class in
August.
During the first week of school you will be given a test on the book. The test will concern details about
setting, characters, conflicts, and themes. Therefore, you will need to read carefully, paying attention to details
and important passages. To facilitate your understanding of the novel, we strongly suggest that you “bookmark”
(highlight important characters, details and passages) as you read each chapter of the novel.
To facilitate discussion, it would be helpful if everyone purchased the same edition of the novel. We
suggest Penguin Classics ISBN #978-0-14-303943-3.
We hope you enjoy the novel, and we look forward to discussing it with you in September. Feel free to
contact us if you have any questions. We will be checking email periodically through the summer.
Michelle Tucci
David Smith
[email protected]
[email protected]