The Depression Caused by the Great Depression

My first impression of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is that Steinbeck is attempting to portray a society that no longer has anything to live for. Once I began reading, the nature of the novel depressed me. Descriptions of the roads, the houses, and the people were all overshadowed by one thing: loneliness. The dusty, empty roads seemed relatively irrelevant to me. But then I realized something: this particular novel was on Mr. Martin's dreaded ID Paper Book List. Thus, I concluded that this novel was a portrayal of something greater than what it seemed. Then it became obvious to me. This novel was intended to be depressing--it was a portrayal of the Great Depression.

Tom Joad, an ex-convict, has just been released from prison after having been locked up for four years for having "killed a guy" (13). Little does he know how much things have changed since. On his journey home, his encounter with the truck driver is meant to foreshadow the hopelessness of the situation. The truck driver lives a monotonous life. He drives his truck day after day only to hear stories of more families falling apart. Which is why he expresses his concern to Tom Joad when Joad tells him of his family farm. The trucker tells Joad of the many farms and fields that have been destroyed by the infamous Dust Bowl. Joad begins to feel disillusioned. He almost denies that anything would happen to his family's farm that was built on hard work and sweat.

Joad then encounters Jim Casy, a preacher he once knew in his youth. Casy's complete reversal of character is just another indication of how much things have changed since Joad's imprisonment. Steinbeck puts these two characters in the beginning of the novel to make two distinct points. His introduction of the novel with a complete stranger to Joad is simply there to throw Joad off. He is returning to his seemingly perfect life when someone who he has completely no relation to tells him that everything has changed. For this very reason, Joad does not pay attention to the trucker's warnings.

However, when he is reconnected with Casy, a childhood figure, he realizes that the warnings of the trucker must have had some validity. Joad then begins to understand the magnitude of what has happened since he has been away. Casy is somewhat of a wake-up call. Things aren't as perfect as he once imagined.

While I have not gotten extremely far in the novel, I have read enough to understand the point Steinbeck is trying to make about the Great Depression. Steinbeck is attempting to show the extent to which this event in history affected the lives of millions of people. As I read more, I will be able to prove that point better (469).