The Grapes of Wrath

I am reading The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I've read to page 163 (chapter 14), so I'm probably 1/4th of the way through.

So far, this book is focused mainly on the Joad family, and specifically on Tom Joad. Tom had been let out of prison early on parole and travelled back to his family. A few days later, they began their journey to California. They are traveling there, first off, because they've practically been kicked off of their land by the bank, and secondly, they're looking for a better life with more money. There are twelve people riding in the Joad's old Hudson, so the journey is very uncomfortable. Within the first day, one person (Grandpa) has died from a stroke.

The Grapes of Wrath is a very hard book to comprehend. I love the way Steinbeck writes, but he uses a very complicated style of writing. I think that it's interesting that he alternates the chapters between the actual story and descriptions of really anything. These descriptive chapters are the hardest to read, but they're still beautifully written. These chapters mainly focus on the Great Depression in general, or a deeper description of the setting of the story. I'm so far deeply enjoying this book, but I'm taking my time in really trying to understand and connect with it.

 Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath to give us an understanding of the Middle American during the Great Depression. At least, that's what I feel that this book it about; I'll be able to tell when I complete it. Particularly, I'm slightly worried to continue reading this book; I have a bad feeling that the Joad's will be faced with many hardships...mainly in hunger. I'm hoping that Steinbeck will really give  great descriptions of this (or any other hardships) so that there's a clearer picture of how they struggled with it. The big idea, so far, I believe is how it feels to be stripped of your roots. How would you feel if you were being kicked off the land that your ancestors were raised on? The Joad's (and hundreds of other families) were literally forced off of their home; they're being thrown off of the land that is rightfully theirs. I personally have no idea what this feels like, but I imagine that it hurts...a lot. Steinbeck had a quote that really made me think about what it would be like to leave your home and how they had to leave everything that matters behind..."How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it."...I can't imagine what pain and agony that these people had to go through.

Another great passage from the book..."Maybe we can start again, in the new rich land-in California, where the fruit grows. We'll start over...But you can't start. Only a baby can start. You and me-why, we're all that's been. The anger of a moment, the thousand pictures, that's us. This land, this red land, is us; and the flood years and that dust years and the drought years are us. We can't start again. The bitterness we sold to the junk man-he got it all right, bu we have it still. And when the owner men told us to go; that's us; and when the tractor hit the house, that's us until we're dead. To California or any place-every one a drum major leading a parade of hurts, marching with our bitterness. And some day-the armies of bitterness will all be going the same way. And they'll all walk together, and there'll be a dead terror from it."...This passage of the book, though long, basically states that these families will never truly leave; they'll never be able to start another life. They are the land until it's trampled over by machines or they face death.

My biggest question, and I would have to research this, is what truly motivated Steinbeck to write this book? Did he personally experience the Great Depression like the Joad's? Or did he travel to California in a cramped car with almost no food or money? How was he inspired? Why was he inspired? What pain did he experience?