By John Steinbeck

Began 1928 Farming techniques and how they affected

the soil and nature
Severe economic downturn
Abuse of nature
Causes and implications
Rural hardships
Stock market crash of 1929
Falling crop prices
Black Tuesday
Urban hardships
Prospects
No work/ no food
How did this affect rural families vs. urban
dwellers? How were the dust bowl and the stock
market connected in the Great Depression?
Further questions answered by student:
Further questions by students:

• The Great Depression

• Dust bowl and changing agriculture
• Individualism vs. Community
• Changing family and social
dynamics in America
• The American Dream and its
historical effects on American
society
What social problems were created by the
mechanization of agriculture in the
Midwest?
Main theme of novel: The need for
community in the solving of social
problems.
Further questions from student:
Changing family dynamics in America
Rural families
Urban families
Great migration westward
What were they searching for in “Grapes of
Wrath?”
How did industrialization change urban
America and how was this shown in the
novel?
Historical effects on American society
Individualism vs. community
What types of ideas persist even
today?
What ideas was America founded
on?
Is America individualistic or socialistic?
How is this theme shown in “Grapes
of Wrath?”
Which characters in the novel
exemplify individualistic characteristics and
which show socialistic characteristics?
Further questions and comments by student
and any conclusions: