The Grief of the Okies Exposed in The Grapes of Wrath The Dust Bowl was an ecological and human disaster that occurred in the southwestern Great Plains regions of the United States in the 1930s. The affected areas were Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. Poor land management and years of drought caused this great disaster ("History" by Jones). During this time the "Okies" - a name given to migrants traveling from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, or any part of the Southwest or Northern Plains to California - encountered many difficulties. These difficulties are brilliantly shown in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Scholars agree: “The most important fact about the dust storms was not scientific but human: their tragic effect on people seeking sustenance on affected farms in the Midwest” (French 4). Steinbeck believed that society was inhumane for the Okies and through his novel we can explain how the Okies were treated. By looking at Steinbeck's personal background and information from historical commentaries we are able to better understand his reasoning for writing the novel because he understood what it meant to grow up as a farmer and an outsider. More importantly, however, we can share his compassion for the Okies. To fully understand why Steinbeck wrote the novel it is important to look at his family and where he grew up. John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. His parents were middle-class people who filled many roles in community and cultural life. His father worked as a mill manager and his mother taught in a rural one-room school (Swisher 13). As a child, John Steinbeck was shy, and children often teased him ... middle of paper ... ...tions. Reading this book can help us understand how close their present is to our past. Work cited French, Warren, ed. A companion to The Grapes of Wrath. New Jersey: Augustus M. Kelley, 1972.Hinton, Rebecca. "Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath." Explainer 56 (1990). September 11, 2000 Jones, Andrea. "The charity of the poor". Analysis of the Grape of Wrath. Accessed ND: September 7, 2000 Jones, Andrea. “History of the Dust Bowl.” Background story for The Grapes of Wrath. Accessed ND: September 7, 2000 Steinbeck, John. The grapes of wrath. New York: Viking, 1967. Swisher, Clarice, ed. Readings on John Steinbeck. San Diego: Green Haven, 1996.