Steinbeck uses a few techniques to keep The Grapes of Wrath interesting. One thing he uses is a type of suspense. You do not know what is going to happen most of the time, but you always want things to get better. The Joads are constantly having bad luck, and not very often do things work out for them. It almost makes you want to keep reading until things get better and they get away from the shit they have to deal with.
This may not be engaging to most people, but every other chapter veers away from the main story and gives a little background information. I found it to be interesting to read all of those passages. Some were more interesting than others, but I still enjoyed a lot of them. I think it is a cool technique that was used in the book.
Another technique Steinbeck uses is strong dialogue. The conversation just feels natural between the characters. They talk about their problems, ideas, plans, emotions, and how they are going to make it through the day. The way they talk is also realistic in the way that is an old timey, southern language. It is all very engaging and very personal. It feels like you are there listening to the character talk to you. Sometimes there is repetition in the dialogue. They will talk about the same problem more than once, or explain an idea they have a few times. This is not really a problem because that is just how real people are. After four hundred pages you should hear some repetition.
Through reading the story you also get a great sense of what is going on. It is so descriptive that you form your own opinions of what people should do. You want people to do certain things and not do others because the story, in its entirety, is that engaging. The author makes certain things happen like Tom killing a cop, and the reader should really be able to grasp why that happens.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
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