Dust Bowl Sympathy

I think the novel definitely brings awareness to the problem, but not quite sympathy. I feel more immersed in the Joads' story more than sorry for them, and I feel like the story is not giving the real tragedies of the time. The Joads seem to run into a lot of luck on their journey, and it makes them seem less unfortunate, which makes me think that everyone wasn't as bad off as they looked. So I don't really feel like I can sympathize with the cast of the Grapes of Wrath, or the Dust Bowl farmers in general.