The Grapes of Wrath
(John Steinbeck)

Change

Change is one of the biggest themes in this novel because it is something that greatly affected the migrant workers who were moving west. They were uprooted from the lives they had worked hard for and sent off to live day to day. They had to learn an entirely new life aside from the one they had always known.

Every single day the farmers and their families were faced with new living and working conditions, never knowing if they would make enough money to eat that day. The families found themselves constantly having to adapt to changing environments all while keeping a positive outlook.

Family

The migrant workers’ families are important to them in their journey because it gives them something to keep working for. The Joad family tries to stay together at all times and despite the hardships and deaths they face along the way they always try to protect one another and stay strong.

The communities that the migrant workers form act as family units, which is an immense comfort for all involved. Without the family ties, blood or not, the migrant workers who did survive would probably not have had the emotional strength.

Lies

The migrant workers are constantly follow lies that promise them a better future in California.Despite the fact that the workers hear stories that things are not as they are advertised to be, they constantly cling to the hope that things really will be better where they are headed. The entire promise of a future is based on a lie and the migrant workers believe the lies because they have to believe in something. Ma is always optimistic that things will get better, but there is a good chance she is only telling her family this lie because she wants them to believe it.

Gender Roles

The gender roles are split quite specifically in this novel, with the men providing for the family and the women taking care of things at home. However, in the face of strife the women are forced to work as well because every extra bit of income helps the family to survive. The gender roles become blurred as it is necessary, as is illustrated by Jim Casy giving a helping hand to Ma when she is salting the meat. He tells her that when there is so much work to be done there are no longer any “women’s jobs” or “men’s jobs”.

Religion

Religion becomes important to the migrant workers, but not because their religious beliefs gets stronger in the face of struggle, but because their religious beliefs wane in the face of everything being taken from them. While Jim Casy does believe in God, despite the fact that he is no longer a preacher, but he sees the power in the human body and mind as being just as important as a higher power. People become very confused about their religious values and wonder why God would take everything from them, but they try to hold on to whatever faith they have because everyone needs something to believe in.

The Law

The migrant workers, especially the Joads, try to avoid breaking the law at all costs because they do not want to cause any trouble for themselves. The Joads try to stay out of trouble because Tom is on parole and has already broken it by leaving the state. The problem is that the police officers want people to break the law so they have a reason to push the migrant workers back to the Midwest, and so they will cause riots whenever they can. The law is supposed to be a representation of peace but for the migrant workers the law is the source of much turmoil and disruption.

Money

Money is a great cause of strife for the migrant workers. The people who have money are the ones who have run the workers off of their own land and who pay them meager wages for their work once they get to California. Money is something that the migrant workers are desperate for because they need to keep themselves and their families alive, so those who have money or supplies that are needed are at liberty to do what they want. The landowners can pay the migrant workers as little as they want because the migrant workers are in no place to argue, and those who are selling items can charge as much as they want because the things they are selling are necessities.

Inhumanity

The migrant workers are not treated as humans but rather as pawns in a game. They are forced to make moves as those who are in charge see fit and can only move in the directions that are paved out for them. They are forced to work for much less than they deserve, they are not given enough money to feed and clothe their families, and they are treated disrespectfully by everyone who holds more power. The migrant workers are given no chance to live civilized lives after they lose their homes and are forced to live off meager food supplies and camp out in tents.

Dignity

Dignity is one of the few things that the migrant workers and their families possess. Their refusal to succumb to the realities that face them and always hope for the best is the motivation they need to keep trudging forward in search of something better. The Joad family manages to carry themselves with dignity but is only strengthened and magnified by the wrath they feel toward the wealthy men who have wronged them, rather than allowing their anger to hinder them. Despite the fact that the Joad family has lost some members along the way, they manage to keep their dignity and always move forward.

Migrant Workers

This novel is one of a series that Steinbeck wrote about the migrant workers in California. It documents the very real struggles that migrant workers faced during the great depression when their own crops dried up and thus left them poor and homeless. All of the farmers headed out west because they heard that is where they would find work, not realizing the poor conditions and prejudice they would face at the hands of those who do not welcome them or are not willing to pay them fair wages.