Reading The Grapes of Wrath

First Reading Journal entry: Name............................

1. The idea of a literary "classic": note not "classical"

"well known, a standard for others, quotable, memorable, of lasting value, demonstrating universal themes...."OED

"outstandingly important or authoritative" Fowler 1986

"of generally acknowledged excellence" Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms

Even now before you've read it, how is The Grapes of Wrath touted as a classic?

2. List novels you regard as English classics: Bleak House, Moby Dick, Pride and Prejudice, .....

3. List good attitudes to have when encountering a classic: humility, patience, ......Why?

4.. List other novels Steinbeck wrote. Click here

5.. Ch 1: Note how often dust, crust, scarred occur. Why?

6. What's the feeling you get reading this first chapter?

7. Comment on Ch 2 Tom Joad and the driver

8. Comment on Ch 3 The turtle's misfortunes

9. For futher consideration, do you agree with Steinbeck's citation on receiving the 1962 Nobel Laureate in Literature? which read: ". . for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." Would this consistute sufficient evidence of being a classic?