The Grapes of Wrath Movie Adaptation

For this bonus assignment I chose the The Grapes of Wrath. This movie is based on the novel written by John Steinbeck. It was directed by John Ford. It was produced in 1940. The stars of the movie include: Henry Fonda ( Tom Joad), Jane Darwell (Ma Joad), Charley Grapewin ( Grandpa) and many more. The movie can relate to the discussion over civil liberties and civil rights and being protected by the federal government. The people in the story were not protected by the government and were forced off their land during the great depression.

The familys farm is taking by the bank because they were not able to pay the bills due to the drought that caused everything to die (hints where the protection from the government would have been nice here). Tom Joad returns home after being let out of jail to find his family in quite a predicament. The Joad family decides to pack up and look for a better life in California. On their journey they meet many other families suffering from the great depression on their way to the promise land as well in hopes to find some of that gold. But the trip is not easy, they have many hardships and release that when they reach California it isnt exactly what they had hoped.

I think the government should have tried to step in and help out the people suffering from the Great Depression instead of forcing them off their land. I think this movie ties in to our discussions in a way of showing that we as Americans do have troubles and that the Constitution and the rules, we have now , have been set there to help us in a time of need. Back in the 1940s there was not much assistants for the people to receive and this movie is a great piece of history. We as a nation have came so far since this time and this story and we should remember it and keep continuing to work to improve every day. History is a way for us to learn from our mistakes ( as a nation, government, peoples) and to learn how to not make them again in the future.

Cite this page