The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: Study Questions
Briseida Miranda
Period 3
2/25/13
The Grapes of Wrath Study Questions
1. The importance of the land to the people
a) Why are the Joads and thousands like them thrown off the land? Due to increased demands during the time, the Joads and thousands like them had spent a great sum of money purchasing farming equipment. However as these demands decreased, farmers were left in major debt. Since the farmers were not able to pay off the debt, they were “thrown off” their land. As clearly summarized in the book, any man can “hold the land if he can just eat and pay taxes; he can do that. Yes, he can do that until his crops fail one day and he has to borrow money from the bank,” but due to the Dust Bowl their entire life and system crashed (32). Basically if their crops failed, they would be thrown off the land.
b) What chain of events create this? The chain of events that created this began with the soil and it not being rich enough to grow crops. The weather then came into place and caused many droughts. Soon the economy took action by drastically declining. Once the stock market crashed many faced The Great Depression. Unemployment rose and the market went down. The Joads and many others were then filled with fear, and had no other option but to head for California were many had said they could find a living.
c) What does this action do to the people? This action caused drastic emotional changes in the lives of everyone. Many of the ones who were being thrown off did not agree with what was happening. Many argued, “… it’s our land. We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even if it’s no good, it’s still ours”(33). Once thrown off many grew sick both physically and emotionally, some even died leaving others to suffer even more. Although the migration to California caused many families to suffer it helped them by creating that unity among all of them during
Period 3
2/25/13
The Grapes of Wrath Study Questions
1. The importance of the land to the people
a) Why are the Joads and thousands like them thrown off the land? Due to increased demands during the time, the Joads and thousands like them had spent a great sum of money purchasing farming equipment. However as these demands decreased, farmers were left in major debt. Since the farmers were not able to pay off the debt, they were “thrown off” their land. As clearly summarized in the book, any man can “hold the land if he can just eat and pay taxes; he can do that. Yes, he can do that until his crops fail one day and he has to borrow money from the bank,” but due to the Dust Bowl their entire life and system crashed (32). Basically if their crops failed, they would be thrown off the land.
b) What chain of events create this? The chain of events that created this began with the soil and it not being rich enough to grow crops. The weather then came into place and caused many droughts. Soon the economy took action by drastically declining. Once the stock market crashed many faced The Great Depression. Unemployment rose and the market went down. The Joads and many others were then filled with fear, and had no other option but to head for California were many had said they could find a living.
c) What does this action do to the people? This action caused drastic emotional changes in the lives of everyone. Many of the ones who were being thrown off did not agree with what was happening. Many argued, “… it’s our land. We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even if it’s no good, it’s still ours”(33). Once thrown off many grew sick both physically and emotionally, some even died leaving others to suffer even more. Although the migration to California caused many families to suffer it helped them by creating that unity among all of them during