The Grape of Wrath

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

• assistance for people moving away

• horses they hope to get cash for

• extra food they have in their pantry

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?

• build sculptures

• leave them for others

• give them away

• burn them

Which of these people would most likely be described as ruthless? Base your answer on the meaning of ruthless.

• a dictator who treats his subjects cruelly

• a teacher who knows little about instruction

• a politician who raises money for a campaign

• an employer who always encourages her workers

Which of the following situations best illustrates the word toil?

• The spring runoff made the narrow river unusually high, whirling, and

  murky.

• Unless you have exact change, you will need a special card to drive over

  the bridge.

• We bought a new shower curtain and mat to liven up the dark, dingy

  bathroom.

• All day long, the landscapers dug holes, planted bushes, and scattered

  mulch.

Which quote from the text best shows that the narrator is losing hope about his family's future?

• In the little houses the tenant people sifted their belongings and the

  belongings of their fathers and of their grandfathers.

• This land, this red land, is us; and the flood years and the dust years and

  the drought years are us. We can’t start again.

• Right up the sides of the trailer, and the kids can set in the trailer, and

  granma on a mattress.

• And the children—if Sam takes his Indian bow an’ his long roun’ stick, I

  get to take two things.

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

What does this passage from the excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath show about the setting of the story?

Can’t sell a hand plow any more. Fifty cents for the weight of the metal. Disks and tractors, that’s the stuff now.

• It is set during a time when most people plow the land by hand.

• It is set in a place where it is easy to make money restoring tools.

• It is set during a time when farming equipment is not worth much.

• It is set in a place that sells affordable farming equipment and tools.