Wow I'm sorry to say that it has been almost a month since I last wrote on my blog! I feel bad, but hey, all that matters is that I'm here now. Part of the reason it has taken so long is because I am reviewing the books I read in AP English (because I don't have time to read anything else). But the book I am about to review is about 500 pages long. So readers be warned: this one is not for the faint of heart: it takes true dedication! So without further ado, here is my review of The Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck.
The Plot: Tom Joad has just finished his prison sentence and wants to rejoin his family. Eager to put his past behind him, he hopes that he will be able to continue out his existence in peaceful relaxation. But in the two years that he has been in prison, much has changed. In the heart of the Dust Bowl, the Joad family was pushed off the family farm and is now homeless and without work. Desperate, the Joad family decides to move to California in a last ditch attempt to find a chance at prosperity. They join the millions of other migrants who have been kicked off their farms, making the journey to the promised land of California. The journey will test them more than they could have ever imagined. Stricken by poverty, causalities and sickness at every turn, the Joad family will continue to ask themselves if there is any way they will ever find a permanent home again.
Characters: Tom Joad: recently released inmate/ oldest child of the Joad family/ is the toughest of the Joad men.
Ma Joad: the true center of the household/ keeps the family together on the trip to California/ tries to keep the spirit up of the family
Al Joad: Tom's younger brother/ a very good mechanic/ is described as "tom cattin'" around
Casy: a former preacher/ likes to think about how everyone is part of the "greater soul/ in the end helps Tom to realize what he should be doing with his life
What I liked: I have to credit this first statement to my Aunt Joanne: she said that after she read Grapes of Wrath she remembers thinking that it was great literature. For me, that perfectly describes the feeling I had while reading this book. I am lucky enough to be studying about the same period in AP Us History, so I understand the context of what Steinbeck was writing. It allowed me to grasp this whole other dimension of Steinbeck's writing. The context I gained allowed me to appreciate not only the struggles of the Joad family but also the atrocities committed on a grander scale. What I really loved is that I had never read any book like this before in my life: I had never read anything about this period, with this story line, or even these concepts. That is what I enjoyed the most. I gained insight into a time of true peril. There was so much apocalyptic imagery in this novel. Filled with riots, floods, fires, and death, this book seemed like it was telling us the story of the end of the world. I can only imagine the pain of the people who actually lived through that time. This book was also divided up very differently. Steinbeck actually had two stories, of a sort, going on at one time. He had the story of the Joad family one chapter, and then the next chapter would show the story of the Joads in a greater context. In these chapters, you heard nothing about the Joads: rather it expanded upon the scenarios which had just befallen the Joads and showed how this was not an isolated incident. Rather, it was a part of the collective whole. On the actual story of the Joads, I thought that this poor family had to deal with the worst of circumstances. SPOILER ALERT: 3 + people die, 2 people leave, some are abandoned, some get sick, and some come out of this experience with a very different view of the world. My favorite characters were Tom and Casy. I liked Ma and Pa as well because each wanted to keep the family together no matter what, which I thought was important.
What I didn't like: Rosasharn is the worst character ever. I hated her. She was so whiny, had such a distorted outlook on the situation, and just complained the entire time. I also found her "transformation" at the end a bit unsettling. Also, I didn't like the ending. I found it to be rather anti-climatic. I understand it was symbolic and what not, but the book had been full of symbols for 400 pages. I think we as readers should get a bit of a reward for sticking with the novel so far. And by reward I mean an ending which actually leaves the reader feeling a sense of closure, good or bad. This just felt like there was a chapter missing.
Overall: 9.5 out of 10. The ending I just cannot get over no matter how much I work around it.
