You don’t always need a plane ticket to travel; sometimes, all you need is a book. Fiction allows us explore worlds beyond our own, taking us out of life’s everyday tangles, and allowing us to move forward with a wider perspective. So rather than travel physically, Good Scribes Only is traveling to Europe, Africa, Central America, North America, Oceania, the Middle East, and Asia by way of literature. Fourth stop, North America!
Published in 1939 and set against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, the Grapes of Wrath follows one family's repeated collisions with the hard realities of America at the time, and what emerges is an intensely human yet majestic, tragic, stirring view into those who find (or fail to find) dignity in hard times. A snapshot of the tension between high and low class Americans, of one man’s inspired responses to injustice, and one woman’s unyielding courage, the novel probes the very core of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic tale, road novel, social commentary, and philosophical discussion, Steinbeck’s magnum opus may be the most American book in the canon of North America's best literature.
Hosted by novelists and entrepreneurs Daniel Breyer & Jeremy Streich, Good Scribes Only is a podcast for curious minds to explore, challenge, and think differently through books. Sometimes even traveling to a place doesn't permit you to see it for how it really is for those who live there. Fiction, on the other hand, can. And thus, season 3 is about widening our perspective. We hope you're coming along can help do the same. Be sure to check out the Episode Cheat Sheet for an overview.
We hope you enjoy this discussion about Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Episode Notes
0-5 min — Introductory comments
5-10 min — Background on the time
10-15 min — Casting our movie
15-20 min — Character introductions
20-30 min — Religion and runaway capitalism
30-35 min — The “fambly” leaves Oklahoma
35-40 min — California and the American dream
40-45 min — Classism in Grapes of Wrath
45-50 min — The family struggles in California
50-55 min — Themes and devastating conclusion
55-60 min — Title meaning and final thoughts
60-65 min — Ratings and conclusion