John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath is a classic novel published in 1939 and written by John Steinbeck, who was subsequently awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is frequently read in American high school and college literature classes. A celebrated Hollywood film version was made in 1940, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford. Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath (as well as Of Mice and Men) at his home, 16250 Greenwood Lane, in what is now Monte Sereno, California. Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers, the Joads, driven from their home by drought and destitution. In a nearly hopeless situation, they set out for California along with thousands of other "Okies" in search of land, jobs, and dignity. The novel is meant to emphasize the need for cooperative, as opposed to independent, solutions to the social problems brought about by the Industrial Revolution.