John Steinbeck And The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a major depression after World War 2. It began in the 1930s and ended in the late 1930s or mid 1940s. The Great Depression had horrible effects on wealthy and poverty-stricken countries. International trade went down 50%, while personal income , tax revenue, profits and prices dropped. Cities with heavy industry were pounded by the effects of the Great Depression. Farms and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by 60%. Most economies recovered in the mid 1930s but some didn’t recover till after World War 2.

Farms were majorly affected because crop prices fell by 60%. Many farmers were kicked out of their home because they couldn’t pay the bills for groceries or their home. Weather also made it a hard time for farmers. Dust, insects, summer’s heat and winter’s cold affected farms. When the dryness, heat, dust and grasshoppers destroyed the crops, farmers were left with no money. Large amounts of farmers left the Great Plains because of the depression.

John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 and lived in Salinas, California. John Steinbeck went to Stanford University but left without a degree in 1925. He became a professional author. His purpose to write about the Great Depression. Steinbeck grew up in Salinas, California a culturally diverse location with a lot of immigrant history. This added a regional style to his writing. Ben Joravsky is a professional writer from Chicago, Illinois. His purpose for writing is to entertain the readers. Lee Hopkins was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He got a masters degree from Bank Street College of Education. His purpose was to educate children and teenagers.

The Grapes of Wrath is a wonderful book. In the beginning, when Tom Joad gets released from priso...

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... the beginning of Grapes of Wrath to the end. I thought the Great Depression was only bad for farmers but I realized it was hard for all Americans. My thoughts were saying that the Great Depression wasn’t really bad for all Americans but now after reading I knew it was hard for all Americans. I would recommend The Grapes of Wrath to others. The story captivated my attention. I liked The Grapes of Wrath a lot, I would rate it a 8/10 because it was so interesting. Hoop Dreams I would not recommend to others. This book was boring and really didn’t have anything interesting happening. I would rate Hoop Dreams a 4.25/10. I wouldn’t recommend America at War either unless the person really liked war and poems. It was boring and the poems seemed to go on forever. It did teach me a lot about the war and poverty though. I would rate America at War a 6/10 because it taught me.