I had this book assigned for high school reading years back. Out of all of the books that I read in high school, and we read a lot, this is one that really stayed with me. It’s so sad and wonderful that I still find myself thinking about it from time to time. The ending is haunting, and made me sympathize with the plight of characters who I may have otherwise written off.

I will never use the term “cotton-pickin’” in a negative context again! The way Steinbeck discribes the plight of the migrant workers in the depression, and the evil captitalist tactics made me wonder that there wasn’t a revolution.

Much like the Motor-cycle Diaries, I find myself wanting to effect change after reading it. O God, may we find ways to bring justice, equitability, sustainability and righteousness to something so mundane and so pervasive as economy!

I love the way Steinbeck alternates between the story of the Joads and the story of mankind as a whole in essays of essoteric discription. As much as I enjoyed following the story of the Joads, it was those essays between chapters that I most anticipated, and most shaped my feelings.