Most important quotes:
Gender:
Chapter 1
“The women went into the houses to their work, and the children began to play, but cautiously at first”
In this novel, women keep the details of life going.
“The men sat in the doorways of their houses; their hands were busy with sticks and little rocks. The men sat
still – thinking – figuring”
According to this description, the men are in charge of thinking and figuring things out. Is this true of the Joad
family?
“The women knew it was all right, and the watching children knew it was all right. Women and children knew
deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole”
Do men ever break in this novel?
Chapter 5
“They knew that a man so hurt and so perplexed may turn in anger, even on the people he loves. They left the
men alone to figure and to wonder in the dust”
Are the women hurt and perplexed? How do women who are hurt and perplexed behave in this novel?
“The women and the children watched their men talking to the owner men. They were silent”
Why do you think Steinbeck describes families in this way? Do you believe that the gender roles in these
families are as clearly defined as this description reveals them to be? How does this description make you feel
as a reader?
Chapter 9
“The men were ruthless because the past had been spoiled, but the women knew how the past would cry to
them in the coming days”
The past never goes away. What relationships do characters in this novel have with the past? Do female
characters tend to be more nostalgic than men?
Chapter 10
Ma Joad
“And [Ma Joad's] hands were crusted with salt, pink with fluid from the fresh pork. "It's women's work," she
said finally”
Why is it so shocking that Reverend Casy would attempt to do women's work? How have gender roles changes
since 1930s America?
“Ma looked to Tom to speak, because he was a man, but Tom did not speak. She let him have the chance that
was his right, and then she said, "Why, we'd be proud to have you. 'Course I can't say right now; Pa says all the
men'll talk tonight."
Ma is more of a "man" than Tom or Pa in this situation. She knows how to make decisions. She steps up.
Chapter 17
“Men sang the words, and women hummed the tunes”
Check out this antiquated gender divide. By singing the words, it's almost as if men are in charge of meaning,
and by humming the tunes, it's almost as if women are in charge of emotion.
Ma Joad
[Ma Joad:] "Besides, us folks takes a pride holdin' in. My pa used to say, 'Anybody can break down. It takes a
man not to.' We always try to hold in."
, Do men ever break down in this novel?
Religion:
Chapter 4
Reverend Casy
[Casy:] "Before I knowed it, I was sayin' out loud, 'The hell with it! There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue.
There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing.'"
Does the way in which landowners kick families off of their land and the way in which they pay families dismal
wages count as "stuff people do"? Does this book believe in ideas like "good" and "bad," "virtue" and "sin?"
[Casy:] "I ain't preachin' no more much. The sperit ain't in the people much no more; and worse'n that, the
sperit ain't in me no more. 'Course now an' again the sperit gets movin' an' I rip out a meetin', or when folks
sets out food, I give 'em a grace, but my heart ain't in it. I on'y do it 'cause they expect it."
How do people use religion in this novel? Does Casy become any less spiritual even though "the sperit" isn't in
him anymore? Who do you think is the most spiritual character in The Grapes of Wrath?
[Casy:] "Just Jim Casy now. Ain't got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears – but they seem kinda sensible."
Casy seems to fight against the black-and-white, good-or-bad nature of religion. He likes to swim in the grey
areas in between.
[Casy:] "Here I got the sperit sometimes an' nothin' to preach about. I got the call to lead people, an' no place to
lead 'em."
Casy seems like a very wise character, a man full of interesting things to say. And yet, he is very quiet around
the Joads. Unlike Ma Joad, who always seems to know what to do in a situation, Casy seems more perplexed. He
thinks less about the details of life, and more about the larger philosophical questions that plague humans.
[Casy:] "I figgered there just wasn't no hope for me, an' I was a damned ol' hypocrite. But I didn't mean to be."
Does the fact that Casy is a hypocrite (a.k.a. doesn't do as he preaches) make him less of a spiritual leader, less
of a positive force?
Tom Joad
[Tom Joad:] "Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of."
Why do you think Tom Joad is so taken with Casy's belief in one giant human soul? What exactly does Casy
mean by "one big soul?"
[Tom Joad:] "What the hell you want to lead 'em someplace for? Jus' lead 'em."
Ma Joad seems to us to be a fantastic example of someone who can lead without knowing where she is leading
her people. Do you believe that in order to be a leader you have to know where you headed, or do you think a
leader has a different purpose?
Chapter 6
Reverend Casy
[Casy:] "Maybe I can preach again. Folks out lonely on the road, folks with no lan', no home to go to. They got to
have some kind of home."
Casy genuinely wants to help people. His intentions are good, and his heart is big. Does the fact that he slept
with women when he was a preacher make him lose his credibility as a spiritual leader?
Chapter 10
Reverend Casy
Gender:
Chapter 1
“The women went into the houses to their work, and the children began to play, but cautiously at first”
In this novel, women keep the details of life going.
“The men sat in the doorways of their houses; their hands were busy with sticks and little rocks. The men sat
still – thinking – figuring”
According to this description, the men are in charge of thinking and figuring things out. Is this true of the Joad
family?
“The women knew it was all right, and the watching children knew it was all right. Women and children knew
deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole”
Do men ever break in this novel?
Chapter 5
“They knew that a man so hurt and so perplexed may turn in anger, even on the people he loves. They left the
men alone to figure and to wonder in the dust”
Are the women hurt and perplexed? How do women who are hurt and perplexed behave in this novel?
“The women and the children watched their men talking to the owner men. They were silent”
Why do you think Steinbeck describes families in this way? Do you believe that the gender roles in these
families are as clearly defined as this description reveals them to be? How does this description make you feel
as a reader?
Chapter 9
“The men were ruthless because the past had been spoiled, but the women knew how the past would cry to
them in the coming days”
The past never goes away. What relationships do characters in this novel have with the past? Do female
characters tend to be more nostalgic than men?
Chapter 10
Ma Joad
“And [Ma Joad's] hands were crusted with salt, pink with fluid from the fresh pork. "It's women's work," she
said finally”
Why is it so shocking that Reverend Casy would attempt to do women's work? How have gender roles changes
since 1930s America?
“Ma looked to Tom to speak, because he was a man, but Tom did not speak. She let him have the chance that
was his right, and then she said, "Why, we'd be proud to have you. 'Course I can't say right now; Pa says all the
men'll talk tonight."
Ma is more of a "man" than Tom or Pa in this situation. She knows how to make decisions. She steps up.
Chapter 17
“Men sang the words, and women hummed the tunes”
Check out this antiquated gender divide. By singing the words, it's almost as if men are in charge of meaning,
and by humming the tunes, it's almost as if women are in charge of emotion.
Ma Joad
[Ma Joad:] "Besides, us folks takes a pride holdin' in. My pa used to say, 'Anybody can break down. It takes a
man not to.' We always try to hold in."
, Do men ever break down in this novel?
Religion:
Chapter 4
Reverend Casy
[Casy:] "Before I knowed it, I was sayin' out loud, 'The hell with it! There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue.
There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing.'"
Does the way in which landowners kick families off of their land and the way in which they pay families dismal
wages count as "stuff people do"? Does this book believe in ideas like "good" and "bad," "virtue" and "sin?"
[Casy:] "I ain't preachin' no more much. The sperit ain't in the people much no more; and worse'n that, the
sperit ain't in me no more. 'Course now an' again the sperit gets movin' an' I rip out a meetin', or when folks
sets out food, I give 'em a grace, but my heart ain't in it. I on'y do it 'cause they expect it."
How do people use religion in this novel? Does Casy become any less spiritual even though "the sperit" isn't in
him anymore? Who do you think is the most spiritual character in The Grapes of Wrath?
[Casy:] "Just Jim Casy now. Ain't got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears – but they seem kinda sensible."
Casy seems to fight against the black-and-white, good-or-bad nature of religion. He likes to swim in the grey
areas in between.
[Casy:] "Here I got the sperit sometimes an' nothin' to preach about. I got the call to lead people, an' no place to
lead 'em."
Casy seems like a very wise character, a man full of interesting things to say. And yet, he is very quiet around
the Joads. Unlike Ma Joad, who always seems to know what to do in a situation, Casy seems more perplexed. He
thinks less about the details of life, and more about the larger philosophical questions that plague humans.
[Casy:] "I figgered there just wasn't no hope for me, an' I was a damned ol' hypocrite. But I didn't mean to be."
Does the fact that Casy is a hypocrite (a.k.a. doesn't do as he preaches) make him less of a spiritual leader, less
of a positive force?
Tom Joad
[Tom Joad:] "Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of."
Why do you think Tom Joad is so taken with Casy's belief in one giant human soul? What exactly does Casy
mean by "one big soul?"
[Tom Joad:] "What the hell you want to lead 'em someplace for? Jus' lead 'em."
Ma Joad seems to us to be a fantastic example of someone who can lead without knowing where she is leading
her people. Do you believe that in order to be a leader you have to know where you headed, or do you think a
leader has a different purpose?
Chapter 6
Reverend Casy
[Casy:] "Maybe I can preach again. Folks out lonely on the road, folks with no lan', no home to go to. They got to
have some kind of home."
Casy genuinely wants to help people. His intentions are good, and his heart is big. Does the fact that he slept
with women when he was a preacher make him lose his credibility as a spiritual leader?
Chapter 10
Reverend Casy
