Listen to NPR: Grapes of Wrath
*Post your blog in the comment space on this page.
On Monday, you will listen to a transcript from an NPR special on The Grapes of Wrath. Your assignment is to listen to the interview, take notes, and decide one aspect/topic to discuss. I'm asking for no more than two students to write about any given topic. Please keep in mind, you can select a topic addressed in the packet as a starting point and add your previous knowledge or expand to the topic by researching additional information. In addition, you can disagree or criticize with the position/topic addressed.
Assignment specifics: Respond to (reflect, agree/disagree with, speculate about...) a topic addressed in your packets . Responses should be 200-250 words and must include specific quotes from the article. In addition, unless you are the first student to respond, you should address a comment made by one of your classmates. (What you choose to address from your classmate does not necessarily need to be directly related to your topic of discussion.) As always, follow the conventions of standard written English. This is an academic assignment, not a Facebook posting...
Due date: (prior to class) Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
Assignment specifics: Respond to (reflect, agree/disagree with, speculate about...) a topic addressed in your packets . Responses should be 200-250 words and must include specific quotes from the article. In addition, unless you are the first student to respond, you should address a comment made by one of your classmates. (What you choose to address from your classmate does not necessarily need to be directly related to your topic of discussion.) As always, follow the conventions of standard written English. This is an academic assignment, not a Facebook posting...
Due date: (prior to class) Wednesday, October 8, 2014.
*Post your blog in the comment space on this page.
I think the most interesting aspect of the NPR program about The Grapes of Wrath is the fact that it was so controversial. When The Grapes of Wrath was first written and published in 1939, it was an instant best seller, however within a few years, the book was highly controversial and hated among many. People believe that The Grapes of Wrath was so controversial because people in America did not want to admit the horrible poverty that was present in the Great Depression. Another interesting aspect of why people were so hating of Steinbeck's novel is that they thought he was a communist. The way the characters stick together and help one another, they say, is similar to communist ideals.
ReplyDeleteTo this day, Steinbeck's Great novel is still highly controversial and still one of the most banned books in the US. Although it is one of the most popular novels in American History, it still must battle the taboos of society if it wants to survive as a classic. The aspect that I can’t understand is how people can be so opposed to a book. The Grapes of Wrath has survived book burnings and public protests but still it survives as one of the greatest American Classics.
It is very interesting how the book’s popularity relates to The Great Gatsby. People thought Gatsby was too risque for its time and hated it and people also hated The Grapes of Wrath. It is interesting how the most popular novels in American Literature are some of the most ill-received and hated books of all time as well.
Adding onto Alex's comment, I also didn't know that Steinbeck was commonly referred to as a communist; that was new for me and does make sense in terms of the additional hatred for him and the novel. However, I think many people misunderstood Steinbeck's purpose, grasping at straws to delegitimize the book because they were in denial of such horrible things happening in their nation. The threat to their individualism, as the NPR mentioned, also hurt the pride of Americans who were against Steinbeck; they didn't want to be reminded of the terrible event, and that started a chain reaction towards disapproval.
DeleteAs for the present day, I think Alex is correct in mentioning the current controversy surrounding the book. The NPR discussed how it's still being banned in high schools. But one of the purposes of a great American novel is to highlight taboos and to show the effect of these on the nation and its people. Many aren't aware of their ignorance because they're too busy living in it. Writers like Steinbeck help bring this matter to light. Those who understand this also understand the novel's purpose and help preserve it against attacks such as burnings and protests.
What I find interesting is how the book was banned as Alex pointed out. Both The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath were both books that were looked down upon, which is very odd considering how truthful they were. However, it would make sense because no one would want to read a book that commented on their lifestyles or any other lifestyle except the one they’re familiar with. And for The Great Gatsby there were characters written in the novel that many didn’t like, lowering the sale rate of it too. Something that I also found surprising that Karma had also mentioned above is how the novel is still banned in some high schools across the nation today. It’s surprising that people are still not ready to read about what happened in the past, most importantly, the hardships that people went though, and the thoughts behind it.
DeleteMy main interest about this NPR podcast was the same thing that Alex L discussed which is the idea that at first it was popular but then as time continued people recognized that it actually told the truth about California and how it wasnt the promised land that people have dreamed for. The negative feedback caused a faint decrease in the popularity of the book similar to The Great Gatsby which took a few years to become widely known.
DeleteThe most interesting point the article points out is the idea that the themes from the Grapes of Wrath translate to today. They pointed out during the article that the time period was a time of migrant workers from destitute farms, people who needed work so they could live. In the words of filmmaker P. J. Palmer, “...we still have these huge problems with people unable to work or find a job, and people who don't have a home, and we're sort of still stripping things back politically.”
ReplyDeleteWe still have people wandering down 66 with nothing to their name trying to find a better life. These workers are still not being represented by our government and still being repressed and forced to live an extremely hard life. The ideas that the book translates is that the whole idea of being a poor person is still in the United States.
The article points out that many of these workers are being misplaced by personal problems, rather than huge environmental disasters, but still there is no protection for such people in the world. The book therefore still applies to the modern world, and as a result still important for people to read.
I agree with Asher, I found the fact that people can still relate to themes and ideas presented in the novel even today to be profound. The main theme of the novel being poverty and struggle will always resonate with one group of people or another because whether we like it or not there will alway be impoverished people in the world and the ideas going through the minds of impoverished people of the 30's and now are the same. They are worried about how they will survive and how they are going to get out of the situation that we are. The quote from the woman who was talking about searching for a job from before the sun came up until after it set really struck me. It made me realize that people in our own back yard are struggling just as they did almost 100 years ago.
DeleteI also thought it was particularly interesting how people did not like the novel when it was first published because they thought that Steinbeck was a communists and that the book didn't truly reflect the state of the average American during the time. It seemed to me that people were in a state of denial such that they couldn't believe that the supposed greatest nation on earth could be going through economic troubles and that people were in poverty because of it. They even made up stories such as a ploy to get America to move towards communism by exaggerating the state of some people and showing how the movement to get people to work together solved the issue or at least made it better.
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DeleteI agree with what Asher thought was really interesting, although I thought it was interesting mostly because of how specific it was. The filmmaker P. J. Palmer didn’t just focus on the whole idea of the homeless and/or people who had lost their jobs and were struggling financially, but also pointed out that many people were just struggling to get by due to personal struggles. People were/are dealing with losses and family struggles altogether.
DeleteI believe that by stating this Palmer really formed a more broad understanding of the book, Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It highlights that almost anything that has a group of people or even just one person struggling with the way that they are living their lives, they may be able to connect back to the book as a whole which, to me, is very interesting.
I agree with both Asher and Lola. The way the filmmaker did not only focus on poverty itself, but the emotional and personal factors that played into it was really interesting. It helps to understand that poverty was not the only thing going on, but personal struggles, which everyone and anyone can go through.
DeleteFor me, what stood out was how The Grapes of Wrath takes such an emotional perspective on the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. History often depicts these events as undoubtedly morose, but Steinbeck has illustrated the situations from the inside looking in, not just from an informative stance. In the NPR, Lynn Neary says, “...if you want to get a visceral feel of how it all began, and of the way it affected the people who experienced it, you need go no further than the opening pages of The Grapes of Wrath.’”, which really displays how the novel gives off the true emotion behind the history of it all. The effect on fellow Americans is displayed, which was meant to rally up those more fortunate to aid in poverty relief. However, many took this the wrong way, labeling Steinbeck as a communist rather than a humanitarian, which I feel is more appropriate.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, the book is considered “a story of survival and resilience; a powerful plea for people to work together with a sense of shared responsibility for those who have fallen on hard times.” Although this is one of the aspects that labeled Steinbeck as a communist, it really struck me as salient to the point behind the 450 pages. By showing the tragedy of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, how many lives were affected, and how they were affected, Steinbeck hoped to help the higher class understand the predicament that the lower class had to suffer. For some, it worked, and the book became a best-seller. However, shortly after, it fell under attack from those in denial of such bad things happening and those who didn’t want to help since it threatened their individualism, which was a significant American value at the time. The effects of avoiding the novel’s purpose shows to this day; not enough people are helping, and, thus, poverty and unemployment rates are dangerously high.
One of the interesting things the NPR broadcast on the 75th Anniversary of The Grapes of Wrath covered was how true Steinbeck related the events to what actually happened in the Great Depression. As many know, the Great Depression was a time of turmoil for the nation where many couldn’t find jobs because of the terrible stock market collapse due to the Roaring 20s; and on top of that, the Dust Bowl causing there to be a lack of crops for farmers to harvest.
ReplyDeleteAn example that the broadcast summarizes is how P.J Palmer, who is creating a documentary on the trip from Oklahoma to California, travelled from Oklahoma to California in ten days. He recounted that “Every type of weather you can think of, we experienced in those ten days. It's not a comfy ride and so I don't understand how they pulled in off in the 1930s. It must have been really, really crazy.” The kind of weather that was experienced when going travelling to the west coast is something that was unreasonable and wasn’t really done. Yet the Joads had done this long, persistent journey, along with many other families back then that were devoid with hope because of the Depression.
Another topic that Steinbeck covers is the emotions in the characters that are in the book. Many can relate to the characters written in the novel even to this day which shows how well Steinbeck captured each personality and the upheaval they faced.
I agree with Chandra’s comment pertaining to the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Grapes of Wrath written by John Steinbeck. The greater representation of the book still holds its power in today’s society. According to the NPR Radio speaker, “When the book was first published — 75 years ago Monday — it was a best-seller,” This statement is actually quite ironic. The book had, “also came under fierce attack.” There was a sense of denial that was very evident during the time of the 1940’s, after the novel had been published in 1939. There is great comparison concerning the two novels, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (published fourteen years prior), had never acquired the highly acclaimed status that the Grapes of Wrath had achieved during its time. The Great Gatsby could be seen as the precursor the Grapes of Wrath. Through his writing, Fitzgerald had forewarned his readers of the future of the failures of the stock market and the industrial lands. Fitzgerald had done more than illustrating this severe issue of what was to come, but even went so far as to explain through his hollowed characters of the upper class. The sort of “hollowness” exhibited in his characters, can be likened to the state of mind that the people of America had felt during the time prior to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
DeleteA very interesting and significant fact that was pointed out in the Grapes of Wrath NPR broadcast was that the book was able to send messages within it. Filmmaker P.J. PAlmer states that it’s a “story of survival and resilience; a powerful plea for people to work together with a sense of shared responsibility for those who have fallen on hard times”. This entire statement is very thought provoking in the sense that it brings to attention the idea that the people of America stand together the most during very tough times and that is usually the way that Americans are able to stand tall at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteThe statement made me think of the many events in America in which many lives were lost. During the traumatic days after 9/11, America had stayed together, people from everywhere lending helping hands trying to help others keep their heads above water. It is significant how people are able to help themselves by helping others in times like these. That idea of a “shared responsibility” is not taken lightly. It promotes the idea that by keeping each other stable, the people as a whole are getting stronger. The quote really brings out the great American saying, “United we stand. Divided we fall.”
As Karma pointed out, Steinbeck gives the reader a "visceral feel" for what it was like to live in the Dust Bowl, and it’s emotionally as opposed to something factual. One piece of advice I recall about writing a piece of fiction is to, in most cases, either write about a strange character in a familiar place or a familiar character in a strange place, so that the reader may relate to what they are reading. Given that this NPR segment opens with just how emotional and exact Steinbeck’s work is, it is no far stretch of the imagination to say that he succeeded in this.
ReplyDeleteWhile this piece of information on its own is not so astounding, what is interesting is that Steinbeck evidently managed to achieve this throughout the years. So many of the other books that we’ve read in high school has not had this; The Scarlet Letter and Great Gatsby, to name a couple, bring us to both a time with which we are unfamiliar and characters with morals that are so very different from our own. By the sounds of it, The Grapes of Wrath does not lose its relatability, even aged to a ripe old seventy five.
I think think the most interesting thing that the director of the documentary talking about doing the trip today. It took the director about nine days to complete the entire trip to get from Oklahoma to California. And on the road, he notices that people who live on that road are still living in poverty or just don’t have a home. This fascinated me because this book is widely popular, controversial, but yet extremely popular. and I would assume that people who read the book would feel a little bit guilty and try to help the people on the side of the routes.
ReplyDeleteTo go off what Karma said, the book was able to stir up such strong emotions that Steinbeck was able to provoke. As Lynn Nearly said you don’t even need to go farther than the first paragraph to find a strong emotion. WIth the strong emotion, it would be hope that there would be more of a reform to the financial aid to Route 66, and yet, it is still proverish. While the director talk to to the other people the were talking about how people are just barely living by the skin on their teeth. “I was basically on the streets before light, so long after dark looking for a job and trying to survive the hunger.” The issues is there is some much environmental issue that doesn’t allow anything to happen as Palmer, the director said “If it wasn't that they were unemployed or in an environmental disaster, they still had their own personal traumas and tragedies that they were working through”.
I agree with Lola that the descriptions in The Grapes of Wrath had secret meanings. “Women came out of the houses to stand beside their men, to feel whether this time the men would break. The women studied the men's faces secretly, for the corn could go, as long as something else remained.” This elucidates the emotions felt by the people during the Dust Bowl, and further adds to pathos of the book. Steinbeck was able to capture the composure of the people, as well as their situation. This quote points out corn, as it shows that there is a decrease in a food source. By having no food, there were subsequent growing tensions between men and women.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, despite the growing tensions between people, there was still a sense of unity and altruism among families. This made me think back to Hurricane Katrina, and how the disaster brought together families. If victims of the hurricane did away with helping others, they wouldn’t be able to survive; the collective of the people helped the future success of everyone. This relates back to The Grapes of Wrath, because it shows how the people of Dust Bowl had experienced the oppression of natural disasters but had still retained the altruism of like groups, such as the lower class unity.
What I found interesting about the NPR interview is how many question if the events that Steinbeck writes about in the novel, are true to the actual Dust Bowl. The opening statement of the NPR referring to the Dust Bowl is, “If you want to get a visceral feel of how it all began and of the way it affected people who experienced it, you need go no further than the opening pages of The Grapes of Wrath.” Though there are many depictions of the Dust Bowl such as paintings, pictures, movies, and music, The Grapes of Wrath is thought to be so accurate that all one would have to do is read the first pages to get a feel of what the Dust Bowl was like. This makes me wonder why so many people question its accuracy and is it just Steinbeck’s novel that they question, or other depictions of the Dust Bowl as well. As Alex L stated, The Grapes of Wrath is very controversial and disliked. Part of the reason was because Americans did not want to admit just how bad things were at the time. This makes me think that maybe it’s not that people questions whether these events were real, but if they do not want to believe these events occurred because of how sad and real it was.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jaileene on the whole idea that people believed the events discussed in The Grapes of Wrath were thought to be lies. People believed that it was fictional because they did not want to believe that which actually occurred. To be honest if I lived during the dust bowl period also I would not have enjoyed someone discussing the hardships, because it would remind me of how much I strived when it came to just having food, and shelter.
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ReplyDeleteI found many parts of this NPR interview podcast interesting. I agree with Asher, and would like to add that Both The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby have universal themes and really no time period constraints to them. I personally think that what makes some of the best literature out in the world is whether it has the ability to encapsulate a theme or instance in which, as a people, we know the struggle and hardships life embraces. We all at some point are, or already have experienced a hardship in our lives. The Grapes of Wrath gives the reader a glimpse of what it was like, the brutality of the Dust bowl and the Great depression. But, as Shillinglaw addresses, whether it’s the, “98 percent of Americans who seem to be losing ground.” Or as Palmer addressed in todays economy that we still have a lower to medium class, which is struggling to attain an adequate living. I also found it interesting, as Jaileene and Alex also commented on, that The Grapes of Wrath was not liked by many and was banned and burned. It was an eyebrow lifting moment when I heard that some called Steinbeck a communist, as to ultimately suggest that these events did not take place in time. Which is hard to believe that some people would rather hide the truth, rather than fess up and live with reality, but as Ms. O'Donnell stated, someone always gets in trouble when some truth is exposed.
I thought that it was very interesting how they discussed the fact that for many people there is still no work. As videographer P.J. Palmer’s observations that there are still people who walk on the side of the road from dawn until dusk just trying to survive and keep going despite the hunger shows how relevant the book still is in the modern world. Today, it is only necessary to open your eyes to see the poor conditions which still exist all over our modern society. In the times of the Dust Bowl the hunger was more widespread due to major droughts but similar unbelievable weather is seemed quite often in our modern society. Droughts, hurricanes, and blizzards have become common the past few years even though they used to be a rare occurrence. This parallel between the rare weather of years of drought and the commonality of natural disasters today and the way they impact the affected areas parallels very nicely. This relates very nicely to Greg’s comparison between Hurricane Katrina and the Dust Bowl and the strife, sense of community and the strength during this time. These parallelism suggest as many other people have suggested that the book was controversial because it pointed out to the things people didn't want to see. The book served as a wake up call which is very important and is part of why it became a classic piece of literature.
ReplyDeleteOne of the interesting themes that comes up in the NPR broadcast is the popularity of the book from when it was first released to the present day. In fact Alex brings up an interesting point that when the book was first released, it was seen as a great piece of writing, but as time went on it became less and less loved to people because it was a written reminder that was talked about everywhere, even to students. The NPR broadcast even provides a description of how the book became seen as when it elaborates “ It’s a powerful reminder of a past that no one wants to see repeated”. This is explaining to the audience that people did not want to read literature that made them think of such a horrible time. This could be viewed the same way as how people thought of 9/11. It was an unforgettable event that people would rather have behind them, but it is difficult due to the great emotional toll that it carries with it. The same goes with the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression where people want to move on without having constant reminder of what happened in the past. Unfortunately that means destroying any reference to the events such as “The Grapes of Wrath”. So what was once seen as a great piece of writing has now been undermined to now only being seen as a visual into a cruel past in American history.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how Keshon explains how The Grapes of Wrath was put into fierce attack by people because of the depictions of poverty portrayed in it. After this terrible event in history, no location would want to be depicted as terribly and gruesome as Steinbeck's portrayal of California, which is why it was banned for a time.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that PJ Palmer had a difficult time on the trip taken today because of the poverty found along the road. Although the Dust Bowl is completely gone away with today, many people on the journey from Oklahoma to California are still having difficulty with finances and living destitute. Something that this reminds me of stories from family history. They weren't from California; my family, during that time, were inhabiting Arizona. I remember hearing stories about how they grew up in tents, having difficulty having a steady supply of money, let alone food and other necessities of life. It was no surprise that out of 6 kids, only 2 individuals in one of my lines survived to adulthood. These stories are based in the time period of The Grapes of Wrath. The way the environment is portrayed in the interview is exactly the way I remember my family’s history being presented to me.
I find it interesting that the environment is portrayed as timeless, seeing as people will always live destitute like the characters in Grapes of Wrath. I disagree with that, however. Poverty today is completely different than poverty back then, from my experience. Today, it seems that the average family that is struggling has a roof over their head, cell phones and a TV. The average family that was impoverished in the time of the Dust Bowl had severe difficulty scraping by comparatively. Today, there are government programs to help out those people, unlike back then, which helps explain this difference, along with better farming techniques and technology.