The Book That Shaped My World: 'The Grapes of Wrath'

by Daisy Sissons

A novel that shaped my world is The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck which was first published in 1939. This book is special to me because it re-ignited my love of reading after a dry spell during Year 9 and the start of Year 10.

One of the main reasons I love this book is how cleverly Steinbeck mixed and intriguing and engaging plot with his elaborate descriptions of the characters and the landscape that surrounds them. This Novel is primarily about The Great Depression which occurred between 1929-1933, but also about family and human morals. 

Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902, where the start of this novel is set. Therefore he is able to give an insightful view into the lives of families living on farms and the struggles they faced. Previous to reading this novel I didn’t know much about The Great Depression or how severely the lives of people occupied small holdings were affected. I think Steinbeck gives a personal slant on this because he lived through this era. At the time it was published this book was brave and controversial because the government at the time probably didn’t want the horrific truth of the era to be exposed. It was published very soon after the end of The Great Depression so, many people would’ve personally felt the troubles he vividly describes. 

The Grapes of Wrath is about a large family called the ‘Joads’. It is set in the 1930s and due to the families loss of their farm which has been in the family for many generations, they are forced to leave. They collect a few precious possessions and set off to California in a desperate search for work and money. However they find nothing but hardship and hunger. 

I chose this book because it changed my view on descriptive writing, i used to find it quite difficult but now i really enjoy it. It also educated me on The Great Depression. This book led me to read several other Steinbeck novels and he is now my favourite author. 

A classic I would like to read is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, this book interests me because after reading a brief overview it seems to have themes of appearance not equally reality and I find that particularly interesting. 

A modern novel i would like to read is ‘How To Be Both’ By Ali Smith because I think the idea of reading a stream of consciousness is intriguing because you get to learn a lot about a character.