Confession: I never read “The Grapes of Wrath.” Until now, that is. Most people are forced to read it in high school. In Berea High School it was taught in American Tradition, “AmTrad” we called it. I scorned the plebe English course, and took Honors AP Literature. We read “Great Expectations.”
I might have never read “The Grapes of Wrath"— something about migrant farm workers in the 1930s; sounded dreary — without a prod from technology. I signed up for Audible, years ago, because I wanted to read all 21 volumes of Patrick O’Brian’s “Master and Commander” seafaring series. Listening to books is easy, especially when you walk a dog.
But Audible is a stern taskmaster. You pay your $14.95 a month, permitting you to download one book. Those months snap by, particularly when you’re signing up for bricks like “Don Quixote.”
Desperate to knock back a credit, I grabbed “The Grapes of Wrath” just because it seems like one of those books that a person such as myself ought to have read. Honestly, I came to it so unfamiliar, I thought William Faulkner had written it, until I saw that no, it was John Steinbeck. I come clean about that because a person who puts on airs the way I do, with my Dante and my big words, ought to bring himself down a notch or two, from time to time, on general principles.
The book is almost 500 pages long — 30 hours of listening. The plot is simple. The good though poor Joad family loses their Oklahoma farm and goes on the road to California, where they expect to pluck oranges off the trees and enjoy life. Complications ensue.
While I was in the midst of this, in one of those moments where the news becomes a sort of Greek chorus, the New York Times reported on a survey of 2,000 parents, teachers and students, whose findings were neatly summed up in the headline: "Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class."
"By the time teachers get through their required curriculums and prep students for exams, they often have little or no time left to guide classes through a whole book," the paper reported.
Instead they read AI summaries —the modern version of Cliff's Notes — and selected slices.
This is a shame because a great book is like trekking through a foreign land. A 15-minute segment just won't cut it. It's like looking at a postcard of a national park versus spending the day hiking there.
"By the time teachers get through their required curriculums and prep students for exams, they often have little or no time left to guide classes through a whole book," the paper reported.
Instead they read AI summaries —the modern version of Cliff's Notes — and selected slices.
This is a shame because a great book is like trekking through a foreign land. A 15-minute segment just won't cut it. It's like looking at a postcard of a national park versus spending the day hiking there.
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Have you ever seen the movie? Anyway, it shows what a good thing the New Deal was, when you get to the end. Wow, you didn't know it was Steinbeck? prob only read Mice and Men? yes you do put on airs at times but we like you anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteNo, that's next on my list.
DeleteI enjoyed Cannery Row. It came in a double book printing that also included Of Mice and Men. I tried several times before I was able to stomach Of Mice and Men. But I finally finished it. Will probably read Cannery Row again sometime but NO to a second reading of Of Mice and Men. Just not my kind of book.
DeleteI'm sure you found that the film left out quite a bit from the book.
DeleteSame with "Mice & Men." And, of course, I don't mean just editing. So much was censored in the olden days.
I've been watching a great British film from 1946, "A Matter of Life and Death." In the good old US of A, that title wasn't allowed because it included the word "death." Also, a scene was cut entirely in the States because a young goat-herding boy was sitting on a beach without clothes. Let me assure you that you could see absolutely nothing untoward. Prudes controlled us for far too long.
Travels with Charley is another great Steinbeck read
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed Steinbeck a lot.
Delete"The Grapes of Wrath," "Of Mice and Men," "Cannery Row," "Travels with Charley" each mentioned above -- all very good, along with "East of Eden." Of course, as titles go, one could do worse at this point in history, living in this fragile democracy, than "The Winter of Our Discontent," also solid.
First learned about Steinbeck in junior high, when I heard about "The Grapes of Wrath" in a documentary about the Thirties, and later saw it on late-night TV. Didn't read the book until well into middle-age. Have never seen "East of Eden"--with James Dean. Haven't read the book. Perhaps I should have done both.
DeleteWas probably encouraged to read Steinbeck on my own by going through the Skokie school system, which had mostly liberal and democratic (small D) teachers during my eleven years in it (1954-65). We read "The Red Pony" (1937) in eighth-grade English class. Had to deal with "Of Mice and Men" (1937) as a high-school junior. Did not like it, or the movie, either.
But at 14, I found "In Dubious Battle" (1936) on my own. It's about a violent fruit pickers' strike in California. Found it on a rack of paperbacks at the local drugstore. Same place I found "Travels with Charley" (1962), which made me want to see America for myself. Did it six years later. Hitched eight thousand miles in six weeks. Another story for another time.
Chicago's four major TV stations ran movies day and night in the Sixties, so there were opportunities to see the filmed versions of both "Tortilla Flat" and "Cannery Row. Read the books during college, along with "Sweet Thursday"--a 1954 sequel.
According to the American Library Association, Steinbeck was one of the ten most frequently banned authors from 1990 to 2004, with "Of Mice and Men" ranking sixth out of 100 such books in the U.S.
Your reference to the Master and Commander series caught my attention. I have added it to my list of books on Goodreads. I just read a synopsis of Patrick O'Brien's life and he seemed to be a very interesting but enigmatic character. Looking forward to starting to read this series.
ReplyDelete"... a person who puts on airs the way I do, with my Dante and my big words ..." Delightful. I blurted out a guffaw in the quiet of insomnia hour as I scrolled through your post. And yes I do often find myself pausing to lookup up the meaning of a word in your essays. This piece was tremendous in it's advocacy. And, you tie in to a recurring theme in societies - the resistance to needy, striving newcomers. Thanks.
ReplyDelete(I went to track down the quote in the print edition and saw that it had been edited. So glad for EGD.)
Yeah, the sentence in the above blog post: "I come clean about that because a person who puts on airs the way I do, with my Dante and my big words, ought to bring himself down a notch or two, from time to time, on general principles." was trimmed to "We all have voids." in both the paper and the online column at the S-T website.
DeleteI was wondering, because I didn't recognize it when you referred to it, Walter.
if you want a quick read that gives great insight to Steinbeck the man (as well as an interesting perspective on Texas and other Southern states in the nascent 1960's, try his 'Travels with Charlie." I obtained a used paperback version from Amazon on for $3 not too long ago.
ReplyDelete"Or perhaps I just fell in love with her." What a lovely line / thought. It has been almost forever since I read this (it does take time) but this book did make me fall in love with J Steinbeck, that occasional long slog part of the achievement
ReplyDeleteI listened to an audio book of the Great Gatsby and HEARING it versus listening to it also gave me a fully appreciate for the use of language, versus just reading the book for plot. I used to drive to my parents house until they died these past few years, and miss the time in my car listening to podcasts or audio books. I only have a short commute to work, sometimes enough for a 30 min podcast but not enough time for an audio book, sadly
ReplyDeleteAnd the same needs to be done for Shakespeare. Hearing the magic in the words far surpasses reading them off the page.
DeleteIn high school, many years ago, Moby Dick by Melville almost convinced me never to read another classic novel. I remember breathing a sigh of relief when I found the Cliff Notes for it. Thankfully the other required books got me back into loving to read. So yes, I totally understand when a teenager doesn’t want to read a huge brick of a book that might be wonderful for some but boring for them. Cliff Notes got me through a couple other books that year, although I’m not remembering their titles.
ReplyDeleteI managed to write a couple of book reports using Classics Illustrated comic books. Got As on both. But on one godawful novel we were forced to read in HS, I read the whole boring thing, Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis & got an F! I flat out hate anything Lewis wrote!
DeleteHere I thought I was humbling myself, but you surpass me in that department, Clark St. https://www.everygoddamnday.com/2022/09/celebrate-babbitts-100th-by-reading-it.html
DeleteClark, it's too bad they didn't have you read Lewis' "Elmer Gantry" instead. If for any reason you ever decide to give Lewis another chance, I recommend that one. I guarantee you won't be bored.
Delete(Oh, and if you saw the 1960 movie with Bert Lancaster, tell someone who cares, OK? I don't care if he won an Oscar for that role -- he was all wrong for it.)
Neil mentioned a couple of Sinclair Lewis books I've enjoyed.
DeleteI reread "Babbitt" again recently and found it informative, but maybe because I am writing a biography of a businessman from the 20s.
And I recall reading both "Main Street" and "The Jungle" (The entire books) in high school and liking them as well.
The Jungle was amusing to me most likely because I worked at Swift & Co. as a teen and thought, Hey, we still do this."
Minor quibble, Mr. Peanut: "The Jungle" was actually written by Upton Sinclair.
DeleteThe kids no longer have the perseverance or tenacity to read an entire novel. Why?. Not really sure, a change in curriculum, covid, parents, the internet? My guess, a combination of all of them. This I know for sure, if you lower the bar, the kids are sure to meet it. Sad really.
ReplyDeleteI never read a Steinbeck book I didn't like. I too read Great Expectations in high school, and didn't get around to The Grapes of Wrath until I was well into my 40s. I've been thinking about re-reading it for many years. I occasionally see it on the shelf, taunting me, but somehow I haven't yet snatched it down to read. Maybe this column has provided the necessary prodding.
ReplyDelete"I can’t imagine young people being denied the chance to read them." They aren't denied the chance, they decline the chance. Not all, of course. But the instant gratification of the internet, in particular social media, exerts a very strong pull on the adolescent brain.
ReplyDeleteI tried to verify the source of "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them," attributed to Mark Twain, but its origins are murky.
You're quibbling. They decline the chance because they don't know any better, and they've being denied because nobody is requiring it of them, while they're given access to what is basically an addictive drug.
DeleteNo one required me to read the vast majority of what I read in my youth. But reading was modeled and encouraged at home. And, as both you and I mention, I didn't have the pull and the time-suck of the internet.
DeleteAbove "Anonymous " is me!
DeleteI, too, recently listened to Grapes of Wrath (maybe read in HS in the 70's?) from the CPL. It was stunning. I can see why it is one of the most banned books.... the used car lot chapter, the neighbor desperate enough to work for those who took over (stole) the land could have been written today....
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a very small town where everyone was a Republican, including my parents. I had to read The Grapes of Wrath in college in an American history class, not English lit. Reading that wonderful book, coupled with studying about the New Deal hastened my embracing of the Democratic Party which has lasted my whole life, and I’m approaching 80.
ReplyDeleteEvery year i aspire to read more.
ReplyDeleteevery year i fail.
This year, i took a book down from the book shelf. I don't know if i'll read it, but it was the first time i've taken one down... which says something.
The book, my grandfathers copy of "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
I think i'll start reading it tonight.
I remember that as a brilliant and frightening book. (I read it a few years ago.) Good companion: In the Garden of Beasts, by Eric Larson. About the American ambassador to Nazi Germany and his family.
DeleteI taught high school English for 10 years. This is not effective education and will not produce an educated person. I think lead to the rise of Trump is a sign of the dumbing down of our educational system across the board. Trump has said that he loved the uneducated. They cannot critically think which is a skill that is needed to maintain a democracy. That is why we have compulsory education. For a democracy we have an abysmal literacy rate in this country. If we are to survive. Teachers, school boards, and colleges and universities, and parents need to demand a rigorous curriculum in all subject areas and stop teaching to the lowest bar. No more easy As. No more awards for participation. In this a failing grade, not automatically being passed on to the next level without the background, is a plus. This dumbing down of the curriculum has been going on since the 70s, teacher training schools have a lot to answer for as well.
ReplyDeleteI first read the breast-feeding scene as a young teenager and it haunts me still. Neil, please watch the movie! Henry Fonda's Tom Joad gives a speech at the end that has me bawling every time.
ReplyDeleteThis could well be literary heresy, but my favorite Steinbeck novel (actually, a novella and some short stories) is "The Red Pony." I like it because it's free of the working-class hero bits that make me roll my eyes just a little when I read them in Steinbeck's more famous works like "Of Mice and Men," "Cannery Row" and, yes, "The Grapes of Wrath."
ReplyDeleteMaybe one reason I have reservations about the hero stuff is because I can't forget that the "Okies," and their descendants, would go on to help give us Goldwater and Reagan, and through them, ultimately Trump. Makes me just the tiniest bit less sympathetic.
I thought that $14.95 to Audible gave you unlimited downloads. Why subscribe if it's just one a month? Most individual audible books are less than that. Of course, if it takes 30 hours to get through a book, maybe one a month is all one could manage. For me, good pdocasts keep coming too fast to listen to "books on tape".
ReplyDeleteSteinbeck is one of my favorite authors.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the grapes of wrath until my late forties. Some 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteAll three of my sons graduated HS 8- 10 years ago.
They read many books assigned by their teachers and would read others as well.
Things have really fallen off a cliff if teachers can't coerce them to read.
We did not ha a gaming console or for that matter a television in our home . They got their hit at friends or relatives.
We are all addicted to the crack streaming now and I only read maybe 10 books each year.
Never listen to or consume books on a device.
Might try it sometime.
I see Clark st finally aggravated you. You have the patience of a saint with him.
Humble is a good characteristic to cultivate.
I never read Grapes of Wrath or have I seen the movie. Any clip I have seen is the ending.
ReplyDelete