So upon further reflection upon the book The Grapes of Wrath, I realized that I liked it better when it was retold as National Lampoon’s Vacation.
What? You’re a skeptic? Listen, they’re the same exact story just in different eras and with a slightly different focus.
Joseph Campbell’s monomyth cannot account for all the similarities.
Consider:
| Grapes of Wrath | National Lampoon’s Vacation | |
| Broken down vehicle | Jalopy | Wagon Queen Family Truckster |
| Deaths on the trip | Granma, Gramps | Aunt Edna |
| Transit of dead body | Mother lies with dead body overnight to escape from Arizona | Aunt Edna taken to relative’s house |
| Encouraging strangers invite reflection | Casy, the former preacher | Christie Brinkley, the woman in the red Ferrari. |
| Danger in the Desert | Inhospitable conditions | Car crash |
| Theft | Family eats peaches when picking | Clark cashes a check by taking money from the motel register |
| Destination disappointment | California closed to Okies | Walley World closed |
| Violence at destination | Tom Joad kills again | Walley World guard held under gun, made to ride rides |
| Sequels | “The Ghost of Tom Joad” by Bruce Springsteen | National Lampoon’s European Vacation, Vegas Vacation, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation |
You see? The same story!
Trust me, I have an English degree which uniquely qualifies me to find such obvious parallels and to write about them at great length.
