The Effects Of The Great Depression In The Grapes Of Wrath

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The book “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck describes pretty much what happened in the great depression. Even though some events were not exactly the same in the book as they were in real life, the book was based around what actually went on during the Great Depression. This all being stated; they are still two different worlds. The atmospheric conditions and Dust Bowl is the link between the book and what actually happened. In both worlds, the Farmers were forced off their land by some means, the atmosphere was harmful for people, and the Dust Bowl was the main reason for the start of the great depression. First off, in both the book and in the real world the farmers are forced off of their land by some means. As quoted in the book, “One cat’ takes and shoves ten families out. Cats all over hell now. Tear and shove croppers out” (13). Tom learned that tractors came and destroyed everyone’s farms. This caused every Farmer to move to somewhere where there was work. If you didn’t work, you didn’t survive. The
As quoted in the book, ““But for your three dollars a day, fifteen or twenty families can’t eat at all. Nearly a hundred people have to go out and wander on the roads for your three dollars a day” (50). Steinbeck showed the effect the Dust Bowl had on the farmers. Before the Dust Bowl came, everything was good; every farmer was able to grow crops with no problem. Then when the Dust Bowl came, farms dried out and left farmers with no income or food. This caused almost every farmer in the book to move to California. This mass migration caused problems that lead to the Great Depression. Same in the real world. Every farmer’s farm was torn apart by the damaging winds and the dry weather. The resulting agricultural depression contributed to the Great Depression’s bank closures, business losses, increased unemployment, and other physical and emotional

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