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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the guard of the Weedpatch camp say that the Central Committee voted regarding preachers in the camp?

2. By what name does the waitress call the truck driver Bill in Chapter 15?

3. What word from Chapter 21 refers to a disease caused by a lack of niacin (B3) and causes sores in the mouth?

4. Who is the waitress that the narrator says "really smiles with all her might at truck drivers" in Chapter 15 (155)?

5. Who offers Tom some Durham tobacco for a smoke at the meeting of the men at the camp in Chapter 26?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are the Joads' neighbors in Chapter 28? How are they described?

2. What does the committe discover before the Weedpatch dance in Chapter 24?

3. What are Rose of Sharon's hopes for the new land in California in Chapter 16?

4. How do the families respond when they learn of Al's proposal for marriage with Aggie? Why?

5. What are Al's objectives at the Weedpatch camp's Saturday dance?

6. What does Ruthie do that puts Tom in danger in Chapter 28?

7. What cruelty does the narrator describe in Chapter 25?

8. How does the narrator describe California's history in Chapter 19?

9. What leads to Jim's death and Tom's flight in Chapter 26?

10. Where do the Joads and Wilsons stop to camp after crossing the California border? How is this setting described?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the setting of Oklahoma as depicted in the novel. When did the dust storms begin in Oklahoma? What impacts did they have on the region agriculturally? How did the Dust Bowl affect the farmers of the land?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the different settings of roadside diners and restaurants that frequently arise in the novel. Why does the author make these interludes? What characters are described at the diners? Why are truck drivers so revered in these settings?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the narrative style of The Grapes of Wrath. From what narrative point of view is the novel related? How does the author indicate shifts in this narrative perspective? How do you think the novel would differ if it were related in a different narrative style?

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