For Morning Edition, NPR’s Brian Naylor reports on the story behind the creation of one of America’s literary landmarks.
February 14, 2010, 2:30 pm
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Filed under: Uncategorized
John Steinbeck arrived at the migrant camps in northern California in the late 1930s with little experience as a political writer. What he found stirred enough anger to convince him to take on the topic in what would become his most famous novel, The Grapes of Wrath.
Even though Steinbeck was immediately inspired by the tough conditions workers endured, the writing process wasn’t always easy. He destroyed his first attempt, a story called “The Oklahomans.” Susan Shillinglaw, the director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University, says that he wasn’t easily discouraged.
“He was determined to tell the story, but I don’t think he knew quite how to tell it because he was so appalled,” she says. “I think it took him a long time to figure out the structure of The Grapes of Wrath.”
Even so, he never stopped writing. During this period he composed letters and wrote in a journal, some of which was later published under the title Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath 1938-1941. The majority of the work never reached publication, but Steinbeck didn’t view writing as a means to an end.
“I feel good when I am doing it and better than when I am not,” Steinbeck replied when asked why he wrote. “I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words and sentences.”
After another visit to the migrant camps for research, Steinbeck finally mapped the novel’s course and gave himself a schedule of 100 days in which to finish it. His wife at the time, Carol, came up with the title — from the lyrics of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored… “) — and typed up the manuscript as he wrote. What emerged became an instant hit. The story of the Joad family and its journey from the Dust Bowl to California sold nearly half a million copies in its first year of publication.
Critics hailed the 1939 novel and The Grapes of Wrath won a Pulitzer Prize. Steinbeck — whose other works included Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and East of Eden — was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962.
Even though Steinbeck was immediately inspired by the tough conditions workers endured, the writing process wasn’t always easy. He destroyed his first attempt, a story called “The Oklahomans.” Susan Shillinglaw, the director of the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University, says that he wasn’t easily discouraged.
“He was determined to tell the story, but I don’t think he knew quite how to tell it because he was so appalled,” she says. “I think it took him a long time to figure out the structure of The Grapes of Wrath.”
Even so, he never stopped writing. During this period he composed letters and wrote in a journal, some of which was later published under the title Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath 1938-1941. The majority of the work never reached publication, but Steinbeck didn’t view writing as a means to an end.
“I feel good when I am doing it and better than when I am not,” Steinbeck replied when asked why he wrote. “I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words and sentences.”
After another visit to the migrant camps for research, Steinbeck finally mapped the novel’s course and gave himself a schedule of 100 days in which to finish it. His wife at the time, Carol, came up with the title — from the lyrics of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” (“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored… “) — and typed up the manuscript as he wrote. What emerged became an instant hit. The story of the Joad family and its journey from the Dust Bowl to California sold nearly half a million copies in its first year of publication.
Critics hailed the 1939 novel and The Grapes of Wrath won a Pulitzer Prize. Steinbeck — whose other works included Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and East of Eden — was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962.
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Hooverville and Weedpatch Camp
Hooverville was the popular name for shanty towns that were built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after President Herbert Hoover who through the eyes of history was responsible for allowing the nation to slide into depression and the lack of government help. The small amount of resources that the federal government actually made available often did not go to the sick, hungry and homeless. That was simply because many city officials were corrupt, and kept those valuable resources to themselves. The term Hooverville was coined by Charles Michelson, publicity chief of the Democratic National Committee. The name Hooverville has stuck to this day.
While writing the book, John Steinbeck visited Bakersfield, California and based his book on the Arvin Federal Government Camp which he portrayed as “Weedpatch Camp”
February 13, 2010, 7:07 pm
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Filed under: Uncategorized
Hooverville was the popular name for shanty towns that were built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were named after President Herbert Hoover who through the eyes of history was responsible for allowing the nation to slide into depression and the lack of government help. The small amount of resources that the federal government actually made available often did not go to the sick, hungry and homeless. That was simply because many city officials were corrupt, and kept those valuable resources to themselves. The term Hooverville was coined by Charles Michelson, publicity chief of the Democratic National Committee. The name Hooverville has stuck to this day.
While writing the book, John Steinbeck visited Bakersfield, California and based his book on the Arvin Federal Government Camp which he portrayed as “Weedpatch Camp” Weedpatch Camp was built by the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1936 to house migrant workers during the Great Depression. On January 22, 1996 several historic buildings at the camp were placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Many Oklahoma farmers was especially hard hit by the drought. They migrated to California where they moved from farm to farm looking for work as farm laborers that included migrant workers from Texas, Arkansas and Missouri. Housing for the migrants consisted of either squatter camps (tents pitched by the side of a road) or camps established by the farmers and growers. Because of the lack of hygiene and security that these types of camps offered, the FSA built labor camps consisting of permanent buildings with running water, schools, libraries…
DRAMATURGY : The Literary Arts provide Inspiration for the Performing Arts
February 13, 2010, 6:54 pm
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October 29th 2009 marked the 80th anniversary of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Also known as “Black Thursday” this financial crash is still considered one of the most catastrophic events in the history of the United States and resulted in the Great Depression, The depression spread worldwide in 1930 resulting in the most ruinous collapse of businesses in history.
John Steinbeck‘s 1939 novel is the wrenching story of the “Okies,” the Oklahoma farmers dispossessed from their land and forced to become migrant farmers in California during the Great Depression. First regarded as a protest novel and later as a work of art, Steinbeck emphasized that only through unity, dignity, family, and selflessness can people survive. Despite their grueling problems, the Joads move from a concern for their own welfare to a concern for everyone. This is especially obvious in the development of the main character, Tom Joad.
As the novel opens, Tom has returned home after serving a jail sentence. The Dust Bowl has decimated the region; foreclosures have forced the farmers off the land. Tom and the itinerant preacher Jim Casey decide to accompany Tom’s family to California to find work. Tom’s initial narrow concern only for his own problems slowly moves to a concern for his family and by the end of the novel, to a concern for all the Okies. Thus, the family’s literal journey West becomes symbolic of an acceptance of humanity. To Steinbeck, this inclusiveness is essential because the migrants’ misery is caused by people who benefit from it — the California farmers who deliberately degrade the migrant workers to keep them powerless — not by capricious weather or simple ill fortune.
As the novel opens, Tom has returned home after serving a jail sentence. The Dust Bowl has decimated the region; foreclosures have forced the farmers off the land. Tom and the itinerant preacher Jim Casey decide to accompany Tom’s family to California to find work. Tom’s initial narrow concern only for his own problems slowly moves to a concern for his family and by the end of the novel, to a concern for all the Okies. Thus, the family’s literal journey West becomes symbolic of an acceptance of humanity. To Steinbeck, this inclusiveness is essential because the migrants’ misery is caused by people who benefit from it — the California farmers who deliberately degrade the migrant workers to keep them powerless — not by capricious weather or simple ill fortune.
The book brought controversy as well as success. Detractors accused the author of everything from harboring communist sympathies to exaggeration of the conditions in migrant camps. The uproar drew the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt, who came to Steinbeck’s defense, and eventually led to congressional hearings on migrant camp conditions and changes in labor laws.
WVU Division of Theatre & Dance - The Grapes of Wrath 
