The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression follows the western moevement of wone family and a nation in search of work and human dignity. This completely updated Viking Critical Library Edition of The Grapes of Wrath includes the full text of the novel, corrected in 1996, as well as extensive and contextual material including: Essays placing The Grapes of Wrath in social context, including a 1942 essay by Carey McWilliams about migrant workers and working conditions and a Martin Schockley piece on the reception of The Grapes of Wrath in OklahomaEight new essays by John Ditsky, Nellie Y. McKay, MimiReisel Gladstein, Louis Owens, and othersAn essay on the background to the composition of The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck's biographer, Jackson J. BensonAn introduction by the editor, a chronology, a list of topics for discussion and papers, and a bibliography

John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was born in Salinas, California, and died in New York City. He remains one of the most prolific and influential authors of his generation and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

The Grapes of WrathEditor's Preface to the Second Edition Chronology A Note on the Text I. The Grapes of Wrath: The Text Map of the Joads' Journey II. The Social Context Frank J. Taylor, California's Grapes of Wrath Carey McWilliams, California Pastoral Martin Shockley, The Reception of The Grapes of Wrath in Oklahoma III. The Creative Context Jackson J. Benson, The Background to the Composition of The Grapes of Wrath Robert DeMott, "Working Days and Hours": Steinbeck's Writing of The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck, Suggestion for an Interview with Joseph Henry Jackson IV. Criticism Editors' Introduction: The Pattern of Criticism Frederic I. Carpenter, The Philosophical Joads Peter Lisca, The Grapes of Wrath as Fiction Robert J. Griffin and William A. Freedman, Machines and Animals: Pervasive Motifs in The Grapes of Wrath John R. Reed, The Grapes of Wrath and the Esthetics of Indigence Patrick W. Shaw, Tom's Other Trip: Psycho-Physical Questing in The Grapes of Wrath John J. Conder, Steinbeck and Nature's Self: The Grapes of Wrath Louis Owens, The American Joads John Ditsky, The Ending of The Grapes of Wrath: A Further Commentary Nellie Y. McKay, From "Happy [?]-Wife-and-Motherdom": The Portrayal of Ma Joad in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath Mimi Reisel Gladstein, The Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck and the Eternal Immigrant Topics for Discussion and Papers Bibliography