The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Short summary

5 seconds

Tom Joad returns home during the Great Depression. His whole family from Oklahoma goes to California and there undergoes many trials. But humanity and kindness are stronger than the greed of the capitalists.

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Tom Joad receives an early release from prison and returns home. The state of Oklahoma is slammed by the Great Depression. The big Joad family is on the road — the prospectuses speak of a prosperous California.

Millions of displaced people are moving along Route 66 — southwest. Not all members of the Joad family reach the promised land. Grandfather and grandmother die and are buried by the side of the road. Tom meets preacher Jim Casey, shaken by social injustice.

But California is not going to accept them. Labor is plentiful, small farmers work the land themselves, and agribusinesses pay little. A family spends a day’s wages, for one meal, but does not give up hope of a decent life.

The concerns drown the potatoes in the river and burn the crops, but do not give them to the starving. Protecting preacher Casey, Tom kills his attacker. He is wanted by the police. The family smuggles Tom out.

His sister gives birth to a stillborn baby. The family enters a barn where a man is starving to death. Tom’s sister gives him a breast.