American History

The 1940 movie The Grapes of Wrath is based on the novel by John Steinbeck that was also published in that same year.  Set during the time of the Great Depression, it tells of the story of the Joad family who left their home in Oklahoma to seek greener pastures in California hoping to alleviate their current situation after losing their farm and suffering from the  Dust Bowl  that swept the Midwest.

There are several themes in the movie which mirrors that of Steinbecks novel.  One is greed which brings out the inhumanity of man towards another.  This is how it is depicted as the Joads and other families like them lost their farms to greedy land-grabbers who take advantage of their poverty and ignorance.  This is also apparent when the Joads arrived in California as they moved from one camp to another seeing the same scene of greed and exploitation.

The other theme that would offset this theme of greed is of fellowship and the  dignity of wrath.   The Joads came to California with solid family values and this served them well when they faced the harsh realities of life.  Instead of breaking them and reducing them into despair, they remained strong despite the departure of some family members.  The suffering they endured made them indignant but not in the sense of being bitter but it made them stronger as the Joads are driven by  righteous anger.  This is reflected in the lines spoken by Tom (Henry Fonda)

Ill be all around in the dark. Ill be everywhere. Wherever you can look, wherever theres a fight, so hungry people can eat, Ill be there. Wherever theres a cop beatin up a guy, Ill be there. Ill be in the way guys yell when theyre mad. Ill be in the way kids laugh when theyre hungry and they know suppers ready, and when the people are eatin the stuff they raise and livin in the houses they build, Ill be there, too (Ford).

Tom left the family to escape the authorities after killing a strikebreaker who killed his friend Jim Casy (John Carradine) but vowed to continue the fight for social justice.  His anger over the injustice he saw made him stand up for what is right.  Ma Joad (Jane Darwell)  later became the familys anchor following Toms departure and she had this to say

I aint never gonna be scared no more. I was, though. For a while it looked as though we was beat. Good and beat. Looked like we didnt have nobody in the whole wide world but enemies. Like nobody was friendly no more. Made me feel kinda bad and scared too, like we was lost and nobody cared.... Rich fellas come up and they die, and their kids aint no good and they die out, but we keep on coming. Were the people that live. They cant wipe us out, they cant lick us. Well go on forever, Pa, cos were the people (Ford).

Despite differences between the movie and the novel, the movie remains faithfully accurate to the historical context. It can also be said that this film has relevance to the present which appears to be facing a similar situation.  It also helped that Steinbeck was born and raised in California during that period and could be said to be an authority.  The film as well as the novel is highly recommended supplement for the study and understanding of the Great Depression to help understand what happened and to enable the present generation to cope with the present and prepare for the future.