The Grapes of Wrath as a Social Indictment

The Grapes of Wrath is certainly John Steinbeck’s most celebrated work. It is an artistic portrayal of the plight of the agricultural tenants during the Great Depression of the Thirties. Indeed, it is a sensitive work of art. The description of the journey of the Joads alternates with a running commentary on the plight of the refugees or migrants as a pass. The Joads are character types. They suffer from a prolonged drought in the rural areas of the central prairie. This is coupled with acute unemployment in the urban areas and the growing menaces of soulless industrialization. Hence, The Grapes of Wrath is structured at many levels and generates currents of meaning from them all. Steinbeck himself was one of the victims of the Depression and the novel embodies his immediate reaction of wrath and defiance suffused with pity and compassion.