Grapes of Wrath: The Hardships of The Common Man The novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, illustrates the hardships of the common man in great detail. The one aspect of this book that displays life as it exists in the hostile real-world is the third chapter, in which the human plight is displayed by a turtle, and his struggle to reach the other side of a road. As the turtle is about to reach his goal, it is returned to it's original location, but it does not waver in it's determination, and continues across the road until it reaches the other side. The characters most easily i