It seems fairly obvious to me as to what events influenced this author to write this book. It is clear that the book is written about the Great Depression and specifically is referring to the Dust Bowl in part of it.
Steinbeck uses many things that point to the reasoning that the book is on the Great Depression. When hundreds of families were "tractored" off of their land, that actually happened. Most of the families fled to the West in hope for a better future.
There is a chapter in the novel that tells of Route 66, which is the route that many Americans traveled in the 1930's to go to the West. Route 66 ran across most of the country, and the facts about Route 66 in this book are very accurate, which also indicate that the Great Depression is what influenced this author.
While the Joads were traveling along the road to California, they would have to have somewhere to stop at night. All of the other families needed to stop as well, so they made camps for the migrants to sleep at every night. After more than half way through the book, the camps soon are called Hoovervilles. The name Hooverville refers to Herbert Hoover, the president at the time. Herbert Hoover was blamed for all of the country's problems, especially financially. The fact that they called them Hoovervilles in the book just shows more detail of the time period and proves more accurate the events in the book and historical background.
Also many of the characters and events in the story represented big ideas, themes, or changes during the 1930's and that was a huge influence to the author of this novel. During the 1930's many things were changing and many things were being disputed. Besides the drought and the financial issues, women's rights were being debated. Native American rights were being debated, as well as children's rights. All of these issues played into the story that John Steinbeck created, and played major roles in creating the story.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
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