Browse Exhibits (19 total)
Status Of Animals In The 1930s
This exhibit will examine the different and various kinds of pets that families had during the time period in which The Grapes of Wrath takes place which is during the 1930s. This exhibit will also examine the status of animals, in regards to the Dust Bowl and what families did with their pets when migrating to new cities in hopes of a better future. Did they just leave their pets when travelling? Did their pets travel with them? The Grapes of Wrath portrays animals to have a deeper thematic issue in the novel, and can represent strongly how the people are portrayed, such as Tom Joad. Animals like turtles, and dogs are constantly brought up in this novel, and even have their own chapters where the narrator talks about these animals and their movements.
At the early stages of the Joad family's travels, dogs played a significant role in Grapes of Wrath for the Joads. John Steinbeck uses the importance of the Joad dog to foreshadow the reality of the Joad family as well. Even early in the journey the Joads suffer a tragic loss, if one less significant than an actual family member. The family dog becomes the first victim of this on the journey. Its early death, dying before the Joads even reach the Oklahoma border, can foreshadows the further losses that the family may suffer on their journey to California.
Stories They've Shared
"Stories They've Shared" includes written stories, oral stories, and even songs that have been shared by the Okies. We will be sectioning them off by travel stories (stories of travel and immigrations), and songs. We believe that the art produced by the people are a reflection of their experience, whether it be composed in music or just a simple interview. We hope that our exhibit will enlighten some minds on the lives and experiences of the Okies through storytelling, in any form.
The evolution of the Bakersfield sound
After reading chapter twenty three in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, it is clear that the music of the okies is rooted in old-time music or classic American folk music. This type of music appeared out of the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia and has flourished all over the United States since the beginning of the 1920's. As seen in the Grapes of Wrapth, music wasn't just a way to be entertained; music preserved the culture. As the okies began to move west to Californa in the 1930's, the old-time music began to evolve as the okies found themselves entrenched in the migrant work camps. This exhibit is an attempt to illuminate the inclusion of okies within the migrant camps in California and how their old-time music eventually produced what is known today as the Bakersfield sound. In respect to the Grapes of Wrath, one may believe that the evolution of the Bakersfield sound precisely reflects the preservation of culture through music.
The evolution of the dust bowl sound
After reading chapter twenty three in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, it is clear that the music of the okies is rooted in old-time music or classic American folk music. This type of music appeared out of the Appalachian mountains in West Virginia and has flourished all over the United States since the beginning of the 1920's. Upon moving west to Californa in the 1930's, old-time music began to evolve as okies found themselves entrenched in the migrant workers' camps. This exhibit is an attempt to illuminate the evolution of the okie sound
The Power of Influence: The Handbills, Flyers, Billboards & Ads of Dustbowl Migration
For our Omeka project, we're going to present an exhibit showcasing various forms of Visual Media that farmers like the Joads might have seen before, after, or during their pitfall-ridden journey from Oklahoma to California. We'll be exhibiting a variety of artifacts from the era of Dust Bowl Migration: "han'bills' (aka flyers) to advertisements and billboards.
The Roads of the Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, focuses on the Dust Bowl era of 1930s America. A fictional family of Oklahoma farmers, the Joads, are driven from their farm by the overwhelming problems of drought, dust, and debt. The Joads lose everything that they can’t carry with them on one ramshackle truck and they attempt a westward trip of thousands of miles to California with just a few hundred dollars. Everything from their core identity to their very survival is at stake. Yet in a world where so much seems to have turned against them, and where even their own family starts to crumble apart, there’s one important factor providing them with a relatively affordable means of escape, survival, and perhaps ultimate salvation: roads. The Joads’ quest for a brighter future in the western state of California is facilitated by the fact that Highway 66 provides them with a nearly direct path all of the way there. As Steinbeck describes it in The Grapes of Wrath:
"Highway 66 is the main migrant road. 66 – the long concrete path across the country, waving gently up and down on the map from Mississippi to Bakersfield – over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into the mountains, crossing the Divide and down into the bright and terrible desert, and across the desert to the mountains again, and into the rich California Valleys" (118).
Toilets, Bathrooms, and Plumbing in The Grapes of Wrath
This exhibit is an exploration of the differences amongst the toilets and other restroom facilities of the migrants living in the midwest and their more modern manifestations in California. This exhibit will display how plumbing is one representation of the numerous practical and cultural shifts and evolutions that the Joads encounter during their migration. The exhibit will show how the Joads are moving from a place that is spread out, self-sufficient, and in terms of technology, a bit archaic, to a place that emphasizes interdependence, cooperation, and embracing modernity. The Joads and their fellow migrants are attempt to maange a significant number of transitions and these shifts are manifested in numerous ways throughout The Grapes of Wrath. This exhibit will display how restroom facilities are just one manifestation of these transitions and will explore how the Okies and the Joads adjusted to the new dynamics of their living situations in California.
We're Closer in the Dark
This exhibit attempts to analyze and showcase historical media items to draw a clear connection between family, togetherness, and community developed or found within the darkness of tragedy like the Oaklahoma Dust Bowl during the Great Depression which appears to be a major theme in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.