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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
sad
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Good overall. Not quite as amazing as East of Eden but still very important themes and messages.
The book itself wasn't interesting. The best characters all died, the plot was little to nonexistent, and it just dragged on and on.
If this wasn't a mandatory read, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
There were some things I liked, though.
- I liked the intercalary chapters. It was nice to have some sort of a relief from the Joads' travels. I liked how they all were a preview of what was to come.
- I loved Casey. He was an amazing person, a Jesus-like figure that could preach even though he wasn't sure about his religion. He could stand up for Tom or Floyd or even the migrant workers and exploited Injustices.
- The mysteries surrounding what happened to the characters. What happened to Connie? Tom? Al? What happened to the Wallaces and Muley Graves? It leaves something to resonate with you, an emtpy feeling of uncertainty.
- The medical talk in the book was amazing and accurate. John Steinbeck took a medical class in college, and I'm glad he did. Everything was correct and nicely written.
- The derogatory terms used by the children. It made the innocence and naivete of the situation dissipate. It was bold to write about having a hierarchy amongst the migrant workers.
- I liked that this was based off of a real event and a real family.
Things I did not like
- The plot of the novel. Moving from Oklahoma to California is generic. The hardships along the way were overdramatic, repetitive, and simply childish.
- The dialect of the story wasn't my thing. I understand that people talk that way, but it made the book mind numbing. I had to reread certain pages because of all the dialect.
- The book was anticlimactic. I can't tell you were the climax is. It certainly wasn't when they reached California. It probably was around page 500, when the deputies start killing reds and Tom kills one of them in a bout of rage over the death of Casey.
- The entire book seemed like a filler chapter. You could take entire chapters out and the book would still be the same.
I didn't like it. I don't recommend it. It's not the best American classic I've read, but I don't think it's the worse (although it's close).
If this wasn't a mandatory read, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
There were some things I liked, though.
- I liked the intercalary chapters. It was nice to have some sort of a relief from the Joads' travels. I liked how they all were a preview of what was to come.
- I loved Casey. He was an amazing person, a Jesus-like figure that could preach even though he wasn't sure about his religion. He could stand up for Tom or Floyd or even the migrant workers and exploited Injustices.
- The mysteries surrounding what happened to the characters. What happened to Connie? Tom? Al? What happened to the Wallaces and Muley Graves? It leaves something to resonate with you, an emtpy feeling of uncertainty.
- The medical talk in the book was amazing and accurate. John Steinbeck took a medical class in college, and I'm glad he did. Everything was correct and nicely written.
- The derogatory terms used by the children. It made the innocence and naivete of the situation dissipate. It was bold to write about having a hierarchy amongst the migrant workers.
- I liked that this was based off of a real event and a real family.
Things I did not like
- The plot of the novel. Moving from Oklahoma to California is generic. The hardships along the way were overdramatic, repetitive, and simply childish.
- The dialect of the story wasn't my thing. I understand that people talk that way, but it made the book mind numbing. I had to reread certain pages because of all the dialect.
- The book was anticlimactic. I can't tell you were the climax is. It certainly wasn't when they reached California. It probably was around page 500, when the deputies start killing reds and Tom kills one of them in a bout of rage over the death of Casey.
- The entire book seemed like a filler chapter. You could take entire chapters out and the book would still be the same.
I didn't like it. I don't recommend it. It's not the best American classic I've read, but I don't think it's the worse (although it's close).
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was challenging to read because it was so depressing in parts. Some of the description was so visceral that I felt angry, horrified and disgusted about the situation, and I knew that it would keep getting worse/not getting better. Despite all the terrible things that were happening to them, the characters held the hope of the story together. I especially liked the characters of Tom, Ma and Casy. The latter's death was very jarring. Ma was such a strong person, you could see how she was the one holding the family together (as much as possible). And Tom, even though he's killed two men , came through as a strong person who loved his family and hated injustice, especially when compared to the 'villians' of the narrative, the land owners and the Californians.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as the riots in LA. And with the state the USA is in. People, rightly, are talking about how LA has always been a city of immigrants, which it seems it was, but back in the '30s they didn't seem to value that as much as they do now. Also, in many ways, the US seems the exact same as it was back then. The rich hoard all the money and the poor starve.
The final page of the book was very strange. It made me uncomfortable, but at the same time, I think it perfectly tied up the themes of the book. The idea of a woman breastfeeding a grown man is slightly nauseating, but speaks to the desperate hunger of the migrants and the sorry state of the existence, while at the same time, offering a strange glimpse of hope that not everything is terrible.
It was interesting reading this at the same time as the riots in LA. And with the state the USA is in. People, rightly, are talking about how LA has always been a city of immigrants, which it seems it was, but back in the '30s they didn't seem to value that as much as they do now. Also, in many ways, the US seems the exact same as it was back then. The rich hoard all the money and the poor starve.
adventurous
challenging
dark
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
very tedious to get through, the almost 100 page chapters were not fun. the interchapters were fascinating and poignant, and the whole story really comes to life off the page. beautiful writing, although descriptions of the land got quite boring after 500 pages. interesting metaphors and commentary, i enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would.
adventurous
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
i simply was not prepared for that ending. still gotta process……
um. well. this was… beautifully written, for sure. did i enjoy reading it? no, not really, save for a couple poignant scenes. did i empathize with the joads? some more than others (particularly ma and rosasharn.)
the thing that made this sO hard to read was the underlying misogyny on the part of steinbeck himself — it bled into the writing. girls are viewed as objects. inanimate objects and animals being destroyed/killed are always referred to as “she.” rape/non-con subject matter is treated as a joke by the male characters. girls are referred to as “heifers”.
i’m reading this with some friends, and the guys in the group were absolutely undisturbed by the twisted sexual views. one of my girlfriends, on the other hand, was horrified. i don’t know if it’s if it doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t bother you, but this should bother anyone who reads it.
OH and can we talk about how absolutely screwed up like all of the theology is?? either it’s universalist and spiritualistic and not even trying to masquerade as christian, or it’s the most hateful kind of “christianity” you can imagine, and there’s no good balance.
the plight of immigrants was well-written and sympathetic. it’s important from a historical perspective, but i don’t think it’s quite culturally relevant, if we’re talking about modern-day immigration. but then again, this is a historical fiction piece.
wouldn’t recommend, but it was okay.
c o n t e n t
language: sh*t, godd*mn (like multiple times every page), d*mn, h*ll, b*tch/son of a (at least every page), the n word a few times
sex: ew. nothing narrated, but plenty of the characters have raped girls & are promiscuous. there’s a joke about bestiality. jokes about domestic abuse.
violence: a couple murders, graphic descriptions of animal hunting, starvation
um. well. this was… beautifully written, for sure. did i enjoy reading it? no, not really, save for a couple poignant scenes. did i empathize with the joads? some more than others (particularly ma and rosasharn.)
the thing that made this sO hard to read was the underlying misogyny on the part of steinbeck himself — it bled into the writing. girls are viewed as objects. inanimate objects and animals being destroyed/killed are always referred to as “she.” rape/non-con subject matter is treated as a joke by the male characters. girls are referred to as “heifers”.
i’m reading this with some friends, and the guys in the group were absolutely undisturbed by the twisted sexual views. one of my girlfriends, on the other hand, was horrified. i don’t know if it’s if it doesn’t apply to you, it doesn’t bother you, but this should bother anyone who reads it.
OH and can we talk about how absolutely screwed up like all of the theology is?? either it’s universalist and spiritualistic and not even trying to masquerade as christian, or it’s the most hateful kind of “christianity” you can imagine, and there’s no good balance.
the plight of immigrants was well-written and sympathetic. it’s important from a historical perspective, but i don’t think it’s quite culturally relevant, if we’re talking about modern-day immigration. but then again, this is a historical fiction piece.
wouldn’t recommend, but it was okay.
c o n t e n t
language: sh*t, godd*mn (like multiple times every page), d*mn, h*ll, b*tch/son of a (at least every page), the n word a few times
sex: ew. nothing narrated, but plenty of the characters have raped girls & are promiscuous. there’s a joke about bestiality. jokes about domestic abuse.
violence: a couple murders, graphic descriptions of animal hunting, starvation