Grapes of Wrath 1

A book as long as The Grapes of Wrath reveals many things about the author’s values. A major thing it reveals is family. The story follows the Joad family as a collective group. Some members of the family do not make it to the end, but they are still family. When Tom leaves he says “I’ll be ever’where¬¬—wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there” (Steinbeck, 419.) Tom is basically always going to be with his family. The Joad family tries hard to stick together throughout their long travels. Granma and Granpa end up dying, Connie leaves, Noah lives on the river, and Tom has to run away. Other than them the family sticks together the whole time. The story shows that Steinbeck values a strong, loving family.
Steinbeck also shows a positive attitude toward the poor. The Joads along with every significant character is poor. They are all hardworking, friendly people who will do their best to help other people who are in the same boat as them. The rich people are landowning, cynical, and hateful towards all people that come to California to work. They seem to be completely ignorant to the situation the poor are in. They do not realize that these “Okies” or “Reds” have no choice but to live the way they do. The only work these people can get is on farms or any other manual labor and there is just nothing they can do about it. The only way any of this could change is if the rich and the landowners change things such as the wages. The Joads, along with a very large amount of other families and people, are in a mass conundrum that needs to be solved. Steinbeck shows that he values the poor by showing that it is the fault of the rich that things are the way they are.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.