Judging by the amount of awards and recommendation that the novel received, The Grapes of Wrath was able to reflect history in a great and very accurate way. By portraying the real events that occurred during The Dust Bowl of the 1930's and showing the emotional feelings that the migrants had, the novel provides important, historical knowledge for the reader.
The novel reflects many relationships, including that of a family and of fellow Americans. Steinbeck uses the Joad family to tell of the journey and suffrage that migrants had to go through. The roles of each family member are discussed several times throughout the story. Because the novel is set in the thirties, family roles were a little stricter than they are today. The men of the family were always working on the car and fixing things outdoors, while the women were working in the kitchen. Steinbeck wrote the following of ma's role, "She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken (Steinbeck 74)." Each member had his or her role in the family, and that is what kept them so strong on the journey to California. The most publicized relationship at this time was that between the migrant farmers and the California natives. Because The Dust Bowl had made it impossible to grow crops, the farmers had to look for fresh, new places to farm. However, the California natives didn't want all the thousands of migrants on their land, and they had no problem sharing it with them. They used derogatory terms, such as 'okies', to let them know how much they didn't want them in their town. John Steinbeck used great emotion and the real truth to tell of the harassment the travelers received. He used The Dust Bowl to influence The Grapes of Wrath and was able to share the honest events that were taking place in America in the late 1930's.
[Bibliography]
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
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