The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck is a novel that is abundant with accurate depictions and allusions to various events in history. It is a fictional story that accurately describes the conditions that many people experienced during the Dust Bowl Migration and the Great Depression. In addition to a truthful illustration of the 1930's, parallels are made to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the French Revolution, both through the theme of class separation. Another historical allusion that can be found is through the theme of prejudice. The story also brings to mind the ethics of modern technology and the problems associated (in contrast with the Industrial Revolution). The novel merits a brief summary of the plot, as well as a description of prominent characters and events in the story. .
John Steinbeck's novel tells the specific story of the Joad family in order to illustrate the hardship and oppression suffered by migrant laborers during the Great Depression. The novel begins with a description of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. All the crops are destroyed and the bank is forcing the removal of farmers from their land in an attempt to organize a collective maintained by a fraction of the work force and modern technology. Tom Joad, a late twenty year old man has just finished serving his prison sentence returns to his family in their impoverished conditions. The bank representatives have just evicted the Joad family. They purchase a car and decide to migrate to California in response to rumors and advertisements that there is job opportunity. Along the journey some family members are lost. When the Joad family arrives in California they find that there is no employment. Then they go to a government camp and their needs are taken care of. In search of employment they then travel to Hooper Ranch, where the entire family picks peaches. The wages they receive are higher than normal, since they are breaking a strike.