John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and Pearl Buck's The Good Earth

John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth are very similar books, both describing a life of a family during periods of hardship. Steinbeck’s book focuses on an American family during the horrible times of the Great Depression. Pearl Buck’s book describes the rags to riches story of a traditional Chinese family. Both families have very similar roots in the land, farming being their main way of life. Both authors present a unique and insightful view of a traditional farming family surviving the terrible changes of their times. 

John (Ernst) Steinbeck is the Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of the novel The Grapes of Wrath. The novel, The Grapes of Wrath was first published in 1939, but it was banned in many states because ‘well-meaning Americans’ thought it would reveal too much about the nature of fascism and communism (not to mention bring people to shame) in the American society.