A strike in a peach orchard turns sour and Casy is beaten to death, but Tom Joad kills the attacker and escapes. It exists to this dayĬasy tries to organize a labor union to resist exploitation. Weedpatch Camp was inspired by the Arvin Federal Government Camp near Bakersfield. The Federal Resettlement Administration, which offers some protection to the needy. The exiles find refuge in Weedpatch Camp, run by Once in California the prospects are grim, jobs are scarce and wages low and migrants are exploited by the large farming concerns. Ma Joad leads them onwards, as there is nothing to go back to. The group splits up when the eldest son Noah and the husband of the pregnant Joad daughter (Rose of Sharon) depart. Granpa dies on the way and so does Granma.

As they travel, they meet other migrants, and many returning without having found jobs. The road they take is no other than Route 66 which Steinbeck names the ' Mother Road': ' 66 is the mother road. They pack their scant belongings into the family's car reconverted to a truck and start a journey to California where, apparently there are jobs available. The Dust Bowl caused crops to fail and the lack of cash led farmers to default on their loans, their farms were repossessed and with nothing left, the Joads must move on. They find the farm deserted and learn that the family has moved over to Uncle John Joad's place: they and other farmer have been evicted by the banks, but Uncle John refuses to budge. He returns to his home in Oklahoma in the company of a roaming preacher (Jim Casy).

Tom Joad is paroled from prison (he was serving a term for homicide). 'Okie' Car heading west, 1941, Farm Service Agency

He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord: You may not recognize the song by its title, but its lyrics will sound familiar: It became popular and was adopted as an anthem by the abolitionist cause and the Unionist soldiers during the American Civil War. 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' was written in 1861 by Julia Ward Howe. Suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense'. An intense emotional state of displeasure with someone or something, 2. The novel describes the fate of a family of sharecroppers, the Joads: they lose their land and home, pack their scant belongings and head west, to California seeking a new start. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought have disrupted the American economy and millions are unemployed. The Grapes of Wrath is set in the mid-1930s, in the United States.

John steinbeck the grapes of wrath 1939