I found it to be the most depressing book I've ever read. You think life is going to get better for them, then it becomes worse!! The ending is the most saddiest I've ever read.
2007-02-16 09:15:33 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Sorry, meant Wrarth.
2007-02-16 09:20:42 · update #1
Guess I'm feeling a bit dyslectic this evening
2007-02-16 09:23:54 · update #2
I never heard of that book. I did read one called the Grapes of Wrath once though...
2007-02-16 09:21:12 · answer #1 · answered by Wiseyngsoul 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If the Grapes of Wrath made you sad then its author John Steinbeck acheived much of his objective. It is written about a period of time, different from our own. We enjoy prosperity. The 1930s were really the only time period in United States history when the economy collasped. Captialism failed at this time.
The Joads were typical Oklahoma farmers who lost their farm in the Great Depression. Tom Joad, the center of the novel, leaves jail to find his now landless familiy looking for work in California. The book does have its humor. Upon his return the father exclaims, "You can't keep a Joad in jail."
On the trip the mother and father die. It is one sad event after sad event. There are bits of humor. (Not in the movie) Tom and his brother meet an one eyed man, and the exchange is a little comical. Tom has common sense, determination, a crudeness, and a cynicism. In my opinion one of Steinbeck's most masterful techniques is how he mixes sadness with a humor. Earlier in the novel the character Muley is amusing. Casey, the lost preacher, can be humorous at times, although he is crude, and he dies at the hands of vicious enforcers.
Steinbeck's Okies are very crude people; some people may find the deception too crude. Despite suffering so much abuse and despair, they survive. There are bonds between the poor and lowly who work together. The novel has a few breaks from the tragedies. The family has relatively peacefully and comfortably at a government camp.
The end, Tom's fleeing for murder charges, Rose-Sharon's nursing a old many dying of hunger, the dissoution of the family through death and Rose-Sharon's husband leaving her are all tragic.
Tom Joad, who does make witty comments and understands much of life and then even more, is a powerful figure. A symbol of the strength of the common people in America during their greatest adversity.
I enjoyed the book for its realism and adventurous trip of the Joads. This novel succeeds in showing how terrible The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the plight of the Okies were.
2007-02-16 09:40:03 · answer #2 · answered by Rev. Dr. Glen 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I found it to be one of the most enlightening books I've ever read. I read a lot of John Steinbeck's books and he is the only author that I've ever felt could see into my soul. He was writing about a depressing time so no wonder it was sad. There were lots of uplifting parts in it, too. I suggest you read it again. This time, since you know the end , you can concentrate on the rest of it. I bet you come away with a different opinion.
2007-02-16 11:48:43 · answer #3 · answered by Rachel Maria 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a good book if you want to be sad, and feel en empty sensation at the end. As you said when things apparently will get better, they get worse! this family struggling to survive during the great depression really made me gloomy. They take away their house, some of them die, it's horrible!!! i had to read it in high school 10 years ago, and make a paper on it. I personally like happy endings. It's actually grapes of Wrath. :-)
2007-02-16 09:31:03 · answer #4 · answered by Frank the tank 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Grapes of Wrath reflected the lives of poor people in America. John Steinbeck captured the times, characters and feelings of the time wonderfully even though they may have been depressing to you. Reality is not always pretty!
2007-02-20 03:34:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Steinback was trying to inspire empahty for people whom society had written off as human or worthy of salvage. American refugees, with no hope, at a time when people should have been more into pulling together. Many were in some capacities, but too many people suffered in a country and in a time when we were supposed to be the capstone of the entire civilised world, and nobody cared. People who lived by there own means were stripped of everything they had worked for, left as wonderers, exploited as slaves, beaten as pariahs, and starving to death on the roads. All of this was true to the events of the time.
2007-02-16 21:39:02 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
John Steinbeck is one of my all time favorites for this story. I found it inspiring on many levels. It would have been easy for the family to give up, but they keep pressing despite the challenges brought on by the drought, depression, banks, and prejudice. At times that's all any of us can do. Death is the ultimate reward for life lived. That's just plain fact. The key is always what you make of the time here. Steinbeck used these characthers to illustrate this masterfully.
2007-02-16 09:31:48 · answer #7 · answered by mikie79 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Boring book, but true to the lifestyle of the times. Did you really mean ' The Grapes of Wrath ' ?
2007-02-16 11:46:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They tasted really good. Warth's grapes come in different colours and flavours, and he is a really good greengrocer.
The Grapes of Wrath, on the other hand, is a classic novel.
2007-02-16 09:19:54 · answer #9 · answered by limey_not_lime 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Steinbeck is one of my all time favourite authors and this is his best book.
2007-02-16 10:45:35 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋