The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of migrant farm workers striving for a better life that always seems just out of reach. During the Great Depression, the Joad family leaves their home in dustbowl Oklahoma to seek a brighter future in California.

"The White Quail" (1935) by John Steinbeck is included in The Long Valley (1938) along with "The Chrysanthemums." In this story, Mary Teller is so obsessed with creating the perfect garden that she neglects her lonely husband.

"The Snake" (1935) is another peculiar story by Steinbeck, also found in The Long Valley (1938). It tells of a woman who enters an animal laboratory, purchases a male snake, and requests to see it consume a rat. Though critics have offered various interpretations of the story, Steinbeck himself said, "I wrote it just as it happened. I don't know what it means."

Winesburg, Ohio (1919) is a novel by Sherwood Anderson composed of interrelated stories. It follows a young reporter who uncovers and learns the secrets of several residents in his small town. Anderson's exploration of people's hidden lives had a significant influence on Steinbeck.

The Awakening (1899) by Kate Chopin centers on a woman who feels trapped and unsatisfied in her marriage. She seeks to discover her true self by engaging in an extramarital affair. The novel sparked considerable controversy when it was first published over a century ago.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston, a contemporary of Steinbeck, follows an African-American woman in rural Florida. Through her relationships with three different men, she learns to rely on herself and her own sense of identity to become whole.