About this episode

The episode discusses the emerging protagonist in Steinbeck's 'The Grapes of Wrath' and explores the book's evolving view of religion.

Is ma emerging as Steinbeck’s new protagonist? Does the “grapes of wrath” chapter work? And what of the book’s evolving view of religion? We discuss these and several topics on this week’s episode. Happy listening! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

Topics covered

• protagonist
• religion
• literary analysis
• character development
• themes

Keywords

• The Grapes of Wrath
• Steinbeck
• protagonist
• religion
• literary themes

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Grapes of Wrath

More episodes of Close Reads Podcast

• The Grapes of Wrath: To the End · April 27, 2026 · 1h 4m
• The Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 26 · April 20, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Short Story Hour: "Leaf by Niggle" by J. R. R. Tolkien (FREE PREVIEW) · April 10, 2026 · 1h 6m
• The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 19-21 · April 7, 2026 · 1h 13m
• The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 15-18 · March 30, 2026 · 1h 9m
• The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 8-14 · March 23, 2026 · 1h 9m

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