The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
When I taught American Literature, I found myself especially drawn to the Modernist Movement.
For me, it was the first literary era that truly felt as though American literature had found its own unmistakable voice. It wasn't merely borrowing from the great traditions of Europe or Britain—it was contributing something uniquely American to the world's literary conversation.
The questions became deeper. The characters more complex. The settings more authentic. Writers like John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T.S. Eliot wrestled with questions of identity, loss, justice, faith, ambition, and the human condition in ways that still resonate today.
Perhaps that's why I continue returning to these books. They don't simply tell American stories; they ask timeless questions.
The Grapes of Wrath is one of those books.
Steinbeck's classic was always one of the books I hoped students would read—not because everyone would enjoy it, but because everyone would be forced to think.
Published in 1939, the novel follows the Joad family as they are driven from their Oklahoma farm during the Dust Bowl and travel west to California in search of work, dignity, and a better life. It is a story of hardship, family, perseverance, and the struggle to retain one's humanity when everything familiar has been stripped away.
Like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it was also made into a remarkable black-and-white film. John Ford's 1940 adaptation, starring Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, captures the emotional weight of Steinbeck's story with extraordinary simplicity. There is something about those classic films—their deliberate pace, unforgettable performances, and quiet moments—that allows the story to breathe. If you've never watched it, it's well worth your time.
So why include The Grapes of Wrath in a series called How Nations Flourish?
Because every flourishing nation must answer an uncomfortable question:
What do we owe one another when our neighbors fall on hard times?
Steinbeck has often been pulled into political debates. Some celebrate the novel because they see it as an indictment of capitalism. Others dismiss it because they disagree with Steinbeck's economic conclusions.
Steinbeck was not a communist (he explicitly disliked them as people and rejected rigid ideology). He distrusted big business and favored humanistic reforms, community, and New Deal-style interventions more than revolutionary overthrow. Some scholars argue he attacked "proto-fascist" agribusiness and unchecked greed rather than capitalism as such. His views blended individualism, sympathy for the common man, and skepticism of both mob rule and concentrated power
But I believe trying to boil this down to arguments over systems, is missing the point....
Steinbeck reminds us that before we argue about economic systems, we should learn to see people. Behind every statistic is a family- poverty impacts children as much as anyone- Behind every policy debate is someone trying to make it through another day.
Whether one leans toward free markets or greater government involvement, that truth remains. The measure of a civilization is not simply how much wealth it creates. It is also how it treats those who struggle to share in that prosperity.
As a Christian, I can't read The Grapes of Wrath without hearing echoes of Scripture. Again and again, the Bible reminds us to care for the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor—not because hardship is always caused by injustice, nor because prosperity is always deserved, but because compassion is one of the defining marks of a healthy people.
A flourishing nation will always debate the best way to create opportunity. But it should never stop caring for those who have lost it.
Steinbeck's voice as well as the other American Modernists ask us to see and car for others.... to love our neighbors- and that appears to be lacking in this current polarized culture.
And civilizations that stop seeing the weak and vulnerable eventually lose something far more valuable than wealth—they lose part of their soul.
When I taught the book in class, I never showed the entire film adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. There simply wasn't time. Just a few clips here and there. But there was one scene I showed every semester.
It's the moment when a poor Oakie dad breaks down as he realizes he cannot provide enough food for his family. Five classes a day- that same heartbreaking scene
And almost every time, I would quietly slip to the back of the classroom, sit in the darkness, and wipe away tears. That scene has stayed with me for years because it forces a question that every flourishing society must answer:
What do we do when our neighbors are in genuine need? I don't pretend to have a simple answer.
How much belongs to families?
How much belongs to churches and local communities?
How much belongs to charitable organizations?
How much belongs to government?
Those are difficult questions, and thoughtful people have wrestled with them for generations.
But perhaps there is a prior question that comes before all of those.
Do we still have hearts that are moved by another person's suffering?
If we lose that, it hardly matters what policies we adopt.
Steinbeck's greatest achievement wasn't convincing people to support a particular economic system. It was reminding us that before we debate solutions, we must first see the people who are hurting.
Perhaps that's why The Grapes of Wrath still matters.
Do any of our politicians see it that way?
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