A Painted House by John Grisham takes place in a rural little Arkansas town during the Korean War.  The story is mainly focused around the family farm right next to a creek in 1952.  Everywhere they looked they were surrounded waist-high by cotton.  However, the Chandler land was not the best suited for farming.  If a bad storm came in the creek would surely overflow leaving the countless hours of planting and harvesting wasted.  The weather of course is very hot, which causes some characters to lose their temper very easily, especially Hank and Cowboy.  The hot weather causes some characters to be unwilling to work and aggressive towards others.  The bad land only increases the tension felt throughout the story and the desire to move up north for a better life.  The Chandlers desperately need a change of life style and the money that comes along with the work in the factory.

Even though the story is fictional, it could very easily be true in reality.  In the 1950’s it was very common for a farmer’s crop to be ruined and plunge the family even further into debt.  Hispanics were also known to just up and leave without any word of notice, which cut down the picking amounts significantly.  However, most Hispanics stayed because like everyone else, they desperately needed the money too.