Grapes of Wrath Background Notes

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Grapes of WrathBackground Notes

• English 6C
• March 20, 2009

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John Steinbeck Childhood and Education

• Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902
• As a teenager, he would work as a farm hand on
  local ranches - this gave him knowledge of ranch
  life he used in novels such as Of Mice and Men
• Steinbeck attended Stanford University as an
  English major in 1919
• He left in 1925 without graduating to go to New
  York to pursue his writing
• Steinbecks first novel, Cup of Gold, was
  published in 1929 received little attention

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Stanford Film Clip
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B. John SteinbeckWriting and Later Life

• 6. Steinbecks first literary success was with
  his novel Tortilla Flat in 1935
• 7. Grapes of Wrath was published in 1939 and won
  the Pulitzer Prize
• 8. During WWII, Steinbeck served as a war
  correspondent for the NY Herald Tribune
• 9. In 1962 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature
• 10. Steinbeck died in NYC in 1968 of a heart
  attack

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C. Dust Bowl

• 11.The Dust Bowl was a series of dust storms
  sometimes called black blizzards
• 12. The Dust Bowl lasted from 1930-1936
• 13. Caused by severe drought conditions along
  with decades of extensive farming without crop
  rotation
• 14.(Video)
• 15. Caused many farmers in Great Plains area to
  migrate West, 200,000s moving to California -
  called Okies although many of them also from
  Kansas and New Mexico
• 16. (Video)
• 17. Steinbeck learned firsthand about the
  experience of Okies from touring rural California
  Hoovervilles in 1936

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Dust Bowl and Migration Clips
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D. Hoovervilles

• 18. Hoovervilles were shantytowns found
  throughout the US during the Great Depression
  when millions lost their homes
• 19. They were named after Hoover because people
  were disappointed and frustrated with President
  Hoovers attempts at relief at the beginning of
  the Great Depression
• 20. Authorities occasionally removed residents
  for trespassing on private land, but frequently
  tolerated out of necessity
• 21. Residences were mostly built out of
  cardboard, but also stones and scraps of metal

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D. Hoovervilles continued

• 22a. Hoover blankets old newspaper used as
  bedding
• b. Hoover flags an empty pocket turned inside
  out
• c. Hoover wagons cars with horses tied to them
  because the owners couldnt afford gas

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E. Labor Movement

• 23. In 1933 there were 3 million union members
• 24a. Most unions, such as the AFL, were
  associated with skilled crafts
• b. Most workers were in mass production such as
  steel, mining and automobile industry
• 25. Some blamed Great Depression on the unions
  because they fought for higher wages and better
  working conditions, which caused a rise in
  production costs

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E. Labor Movement Continued

• 26. During the 1930s, many business owners
  considered workers who tried to organize to have
  socialist tendencies - called them Reds or
  Commies
• 27. The CIO (Congress of Industrial
  Organizations) split from the AFL and gave
  greater representation to unskilled workers

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F. New Deal

• 28. The New Deal refers to relief and recovery
  measures enacted by FDR during the Great
  Depression
• 29a. National Industrial Recovery Act (1933 - aka
  Wagner Act) provided for collective bargaining
  with unions
• b. Fair Labor Standards Act (1938) set minimum
  wage and maximum hours for certain types of work
• 30a.the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
• b. FERA (Federal Emergency Relief
  Administration)
• c. WPA (Works Progress Administration)

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F. New Deal Continued

• 31. (Video)
• 32. (Video)