Published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1902–1968) is one of the most celebrated Great Depression era (1929–41; see entry under 1930s—The Way We Lived in volume 2) novels. It tells the story of the fictional Joad family. Following the loss of their crops during the dustbowl, the Joads leave their Oklahoma farm and head west to California. The novel won Steinbeck the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1940. Written in the tradition of the documentary movement of the late 1930s, the novel alternates narrative chapters with descriptive passages. An Oscar-winning film of the novel appeared in 1940, starring Henry Fonda (1905–1982) and directed by John Ford (1895–1973). Between them, the novel and film began a national debate about migrant workers and farming.

Steinbeck believed in the power of literature to change society for the better. The Grapes of Wrath is both a human story...