Grapes of Wrath Travel Journal Ch. 1-10 (A)*

The 1930s (A)
In the 1930's a horrific event, known as the Dust Bowl, consisted of droughts that prevented many families from producing crops. The Dust Bowl mainly affected the southern plains, such as New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Often the dry weather and the strong dry wind blew the roots of crops, such as corn, out of the soil, destroying all sources of income from families. Farmers never gave up hope in their land, continuing to plough and plant, when in the end nothing had grown. With no source of income, families often suffered from starvation. As a result of the Dust Bowl, illustrated in the picture above, many families decided to migrate west to California for job opportunities and for better results in planting. Families gathered all of their belongings in search of a better lifestyle for their families. Unfortunately, for most families, California did not turn out to be the place they had imagined. Most families ended up homeless or living in dirty homes known as "Hoovervilles". Not only did the Dust Bowl affect the agricultural aspects of a farmers' family, but it also affected their health. The excessive amount of dust produced by the blown dust blew into the lungs of small children, resulting in common cases of pneumonia. Similarly to the family sufferings stated above, in chapter 1 of the Grapes of Wrath, the husband looks outside to see that all his corn had been destroyed by the dust. He was questioned on what the family will do and how they will recover from their lack of production. But instead of breaking down he decides to hold in his sorrow due to his remaining hope. This hope is similar to the hope of the migrants above because rather than giving up on life they still continue to move west in hopes of a better lifestyle. Also in chapter 6 of the Grapes of Wrath, it illustrates that Myles Graves' family decided to migrate to California, similar to the families above. He claims that they had migrated to California because there had been no food to eat. These reasoning are similar to the reasons stated above such as starvation and no source of income. They hope to find a job in California which could lead to a home and a good amount of food.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm

http://useconomy.about.com/od/criticalssues/p/The_Dust_Bowl.htm

http://www.travelok.com/article_page/dust-bowl-days-the-oklahoma-california-genealogy-connection