The year 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the
publication of John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath. The book won the National Book Award in 1939
and, a year later, the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Many Americans only know this great American
classic because of John Ford’s 1940 film that starred Henry Fonda as Tom Joad.
The book has inspired folk songs, theatrical adaptations, the
film, and much discussion. Steinbeck’s
title is taken from Revelations 14:19 and the 1861 song “The Battle Hymn of the
Republic.” It provides a symbolic
connection with the story as Steinbeck moves his characters to “the promised
land” of California. This movement provides an excellent connection because the author created The
Grapes of Wrath to focus on economic exploitation in
Depression-era California.
As a result,
the book angered and moved Americans when it appeared in 1939 and has since
remained one of the most widely debated novels in
American letters. It has been called “painstakingly accurate, utterly false,
obscene, utopian, apolitical, and profoundly political.” When it was written, the text brought about questions regarding the apparent
failure of the American Dream. It was banned from schools and libraries in Steinbeck’s home county of
Salinas California until 1941.
The Grapes of Wrath leaves
us with much to discuss and consider regarding the events of the Depression. Come by the library to examine the display
and take a look at the resources that relate to Steinbeck and his work as well
as resources about the Great Depression in America. Check out one of these resources and discover that there is much to be learned from the
events of America’s past.
