Grapes of Wrath: Bad grammar or good book?

[Doppelgaanger]

I've never read Lord of the Flies or The Grapes of Wrath.  

[Subservient Nonentity]

Interesting.  

[Kohy]

I haven't read either of these books, but if it does help you to understand it better, it probably is a good idea to go about fixing the grammar to help you enjoy the book itself.

I had a similar problem when reading Crick Crack Monkey. Like many West Indian novels, Crick Crack Monkey uses the West Indian dialect to its heart content. They even needed a glossary at the back of the book to give an explanation to a lot of the words used that was either Creole or not a word whatsoever, simply made-up words. It gets annoying fast, as the grammar at some parts were atrocious, but I'm often familiar to hearing people speak like this so it was easy to get around. But there were parts of the book that I needed to change the wording and sentence structure just to get through it without ripping it in half.  

[dancing-in-the-streets]

You're 'bad grammar' is crucial to the feel of the novel, of the destitute Okies, etc.
In his other books, where the grammar is similar, I might add that we are discussing more undeducated folks and...though it may step on toes, it really adds character. If a reader can only handle the manner of speaking in which they were raised, there is only a narrow selection of readable books
Ex. Shakespeare had rather questionable grammar and spelling, but do we crucify him for it?  

[Miko_Sohma]

Dialect in novels can be hard to read, I agree. My class was supposed to read Huck Finn, which, as mentioned before, is extremely difficult to get through; the entire thing is written in the Southern rural dialect of the 1800s. The majority of the class could not get through it at all. I will admit, the style does add to the reader's understanding of the characters...but I never did finish that book. gonk

Over the summer I have to read Grapes of Wrath, and I'm thinking I might have a hard time with it. But Steinbeck really is a very good author; I particularly enjoyed Of Mice and Men, so maybe I'll like this one, too. Good luck to anyone else who is reading it! 3nodding  

[saotomi5102]

Dialect is important in literature because it enhances your perspective of the characters.