The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath was written by John Steinbeck in 1939. In 1940 it garnered him the Pulitzer Prize. The Grapes of Wrath has been called "The best example of the proletarian literature of the 1930’s." by Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia. The first chapter is a description of the land. This description of the great "dust bowl" gives us the background situation for the great migration to California. In the next chapter we are introduced to the main character of the novel, Tom Joad. He is hitchhiking home after being incarcerated for four years on the charge of manslaughter. After being dropped off near his house he m