Dust Bowl and Grapes of Wrath

What block are you in?

• 1-2

• 3-4

• 5-6

In the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, what are the characters selling? Choose two options.

• belongings they cannot carry on their journey

• the house they no longer plan to live in

• extra food they have in their pantry

• assistance for people moving away

• horses they hope to get cash for

In the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, how does the narrator mainly feel toward those he interacts with in town?

• bitter

• grateful

• satisfied

• indifferent

According to the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, where is the narrator planning to travel?

• the St. Louis Fair

• the East Coast

• his hometown

• California

In the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, why do the characters decide to move away?

• They want to live closer to their extended family.

• They can no longer survive on their dry farmlands.

• They know that they can make more money elsewhere.

• They heard rumors that a destructive storm is approaching.

What do the characters in the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath do with the belongings that they cannot sell or take with them?

• drop them by the road

• leave them for others

• give them away

• burn them

When the narrator of the selection from The Grapes of Wrath says, “You’re not buying only junk, you’re buying junked lives,” what does he mean?

• Those who buy others’ junk have little meaning in their lives.

• The people who owned the junk have lives that now seem worthless.

• Only people with bad taste would accumulate and sell such rubbish.

• The value of junk is only clear to those who learn to appreciate it.

In the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, what does the narrator think will happen to the characters who buy his belongings?

• They will suffer a similar fate.

• They will regret their cheapness.

• They will never use what they buy.

• They will have better luck in life.

In the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath, how does the narrator feel about his upcoming journey?

• calm

• thrilled

• discouraged

• unconcerned

Read this passage from the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath.

How’ll it be not to know what land’s outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know—and know the willow tree’s not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you.

What does the willow tree represent to the narrator?

• his lost childhood dreams

• a new life in another place

• a love of the outdoors

• his personal history