Steinbeck's undisputed masterpiece is the Pulitzer Prize-winning epic "The Grapes of Wrath", which shocked and sparked debate when it was first released in 1939. The story of Tom Joad and his family is told against the backdrop of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma and migrant life in California. Tom and his family, like thousands of others, are forced to travel west in search of the promised land. Their story is one of misguided hopes, unmet desires, and crushed dreams, but Steinbeck used their suffering to create a drama that is profoundly human, yet expansive in scale and moral perspective. The Grapes of Wrath, which was made into a great movie by John Ford and starred Henry Fonda, is a moving example of the tenacity and worth of the human spirit.