Influences on "The Grapes of Wrath"

John Steinbeck probably had many influences for writing about the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath. He was living during the Great Depression, so most of his inspiration probably came from his experiences. He was probably greatly influenced by what had happened to him during that time period, and what his family had to go through. He also may have talked to other people to see what had happened to them during that time. He may have had friends that were from some of those camps with him, and The Grapes of Wrath may have come from one of those stories. He may have been trying to find work and lived in a Hooversville for a point of time, and seen sheriffs come trying to scare people out of them. John Steinbeck may have even been burnt out of a Hooversville at some point, and it is very likely that he drew part of his story line from everything that happened to him during the Great Depression. If he had a wife, he may have been kind of like Rose of Sharon and Connie, and he may have even been expecting a child. They might have had a child that was stillborn and caused them both much grief. He may have wanted to leave his wife, and that could be why he wrote that Connie left Rose of Sharon. A different way to take it is that his wife may have been like Ma. She may have wanted the power in the family, and she may have even threatened Steinbeck to get it. Steinbeck may have not even had anything to do with finding work. He may have been a resident of California before the Great Depression even started, and he may have even been a part of the burnings of the Hooversvilles. 304 John Steinbeck may have had many possible influences on him writing The Grapes of Wrath, and we may never know what exactly made him write his book. We do know, however, that he wrote The Grapes of Wrath, and that it is still influential enough that we read it today.