Posted on April 14, 2022 at 8:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Remember, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

So it shouldn't surprise any of us to read about an entire county's ban on a book in its public schools and libraries back in 1939.

The book in question? The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, considered a modern classic.

And the county in question? Kern County, California, which was a popular destination for migrant frameworks — you know, like the beleaguered characters in the novel.

Steinbeck's novel came out in April 1939, and the ban was passed just months later, on August 21.

JSTOR explores how Kern County got the idea to ban The Grapes of Wrath and the reactions — both supportive and negative — that it elicited.

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Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Bans and challenges, Classic literature

Comments
Jan -- thank you so much for sharing this!
Sadye at Fussy | 4/18/22 at 8:44 AM
I attended Salinas High School, the same high school John Steinbeck attended. Some of my classmates were the grandchildren of people Steinbeck angered with his writing. Steinbeck was not taught at Salinas High until my junior year in 1975, and it was quite a thing when one of the English teachers started the course. The only Steinbeck I read in high school was the short story "The Red Pony", and then only because it was part of an American Literature anthology text book.
Jan | 4/15/22 at 3:49 PM
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