[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 58 (Wednesday, April 9, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H3126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              75TH ANNIVERSARY OF ``THE GRAPES OF WRATH''

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 75th anniversary of 
one of the greatest pieces of American literature, John Steinbeck's 
``The Grapes of Wrath.'' The National Steinbeck Center in his hometown 
of Salinas, California, is celebrating all year, with events throughout 
the country.
  The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was published on April 14, 1939. Set 
during the Great Depression, the novel captured the brutal honesty, the 
story of migrant farmworkers fleeing Oklahoma's Dust Bowl in search of 
new opportunity in California. Steinbeck wanted to shine a light on the 
social injustices that plagued the working poor.
  Sparking controversy, it quickly rose to the top of the bestsellers 
list. It was banned and burned in many parts of the country.
  Inspired by the novel, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt helped pass new 
labor laws after touring the shocking conditions of the California 
camps. ``The Grapes of Wrath'' changed the way we viewed poverty in 
this country.
  This is why it figured prominently in the decision to award Steinbeck 
the Nobel Prize. Even today, the novel still offers us hope--hope that 
our best days lie before us. Steinbeck's words resonate just as true 
today as they did 75 years ago.

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