grapesofwrathblog

I have one more reference to wrath, they are just so interesting.  When the men realize that they will not have work for three months, the women get very concerned about the men.  The men “gathered together, the fear went from their faces, and anger took its place.  And the women sighed with relief, for they knew it was all right- the break had not come; and the break would never come as long as fear could turn to wrath” (Steinbeck 592).  I think this reference to wrath epitomizes the novel more then the other one that refers to wrath.  Throughout the entire novel, everyone is constantly presented with frightening situation after frightening situation and they keep turning it to anger which forces them to persist. 

The realization of Granma’s death is so weirdly portrayed.  Her death is first made apparent when Tom asks her how the night with Granma was and she says, “I wisht I could wait an’ not tell you. I wisht it could be all-nice” (Steinbeck 311).  After Pa questions her further she finally admits the Granma is dead.  Though her mother just died, Ma only seems to care about her living family insisting that all that matters is that they got across.  Ma’s only wish is that Granma be buried in
California so she can at least get a taste of it.  After just a few pages the entire death seen is over and does not have a large impact on the book.

Tom Joad is another very interesting character.  I tend to always like whoever starts off the book.  It is ironic that when he first runs into Casy he states, “Las’ night, thinkin’ where I’m gonna sleep, I got scared (Steinbeck 36).  For the rest of the novel, this worry is kept up for it is always doubtful if Tom will ever find a steady place to sleep.  He is mainly very fascinating just because of Casy’s effect on him, because again, paralleling Casy to Jesus, Tom acts as one of his disciples.  He adapts the feelings that human beings are best when in harmony with one another, not just when one is by oneself in heaven.  Therefore he works to make a public conglomerate and enable all of the farmers and workers to unite for one common force.  This is better then heaven in the long run, because humans are able to enjoy one another and the human spirit within one another. 

Jim Casy was my favorite character in the entire novel.  Going back to the beginning of the novel, I felt his theory on religion is very similar to my own and that his views helped him get as far as he did.  He explains his theory by saying, “Maybe it’s all men an’ all women we love; maybe that’s the Holy Sperit – the human sperit – the whole shebang.  Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of” (Steinbeck 32-33).  I think he actually parallels a lot towards Jesus because he has his own, different religious views.  He leads the people and is able to organize them for a cause.  He forces others, Tom Joad, to change for the better.  It is very sad that he died, but like with Jesus that prompted many people to change and realize how great he was. 

The ending is rather odd; I suppose Steinbeck’s idea was just too give an air of hope.  In response to wrathful grapes, I agree that it was painted a bit sexual.  For the last sentence of the entire novel is, “She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously” (Steinbeck 619).  As far as I can tell, this symbolizes that humanity is overall good and that hope and wellness can come from odd places.  This is appropriate characterization for Rose of Sharon because after all she has been through she is still able to reach out and help others. I personally felt that she had it worse off then anybody.  Her baby was still born and her husband left her and meanwhile she is starving and walking cross country.  I do not know how I would have chosen to end the novel, but this is just cryptic, as we discussed earlier.

This is my favorite quote throughout the entire novel.  It is also probably the most famous, or at least judging by my knowledge of Boy Meets World.  “Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’—I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry n’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build—why, I’ll be there. See? God, I’m talkin’ like Casy. Comes of thinkin’ about him so much. Seems like I can see him sometimes” (Steinbeck 572).  I am not sure if there is any deep symbolism behind this other then the blatant fact that Tom is attempting to comfort the family and make the thread tying them all together much stronger than life or death. 

Whenever I start a new book I always wonder why it has the title that it has and I search the book for the answer while reading.  I was very excited when I found this quote, “The people come with nets to fish for potatoes in the river, and the guards hold them back; they come in rattling cars to get the dumped orange, but the kerosene is sprayed… and in the eyes of the people there is a failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath.  In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy for the vintage” (Steinbeck 476).  I am not exactly sure as to why Steinbeck implemented the fruit grapes.  Ultimately this represents souls becoming over whelmed with all of the hardship that they must deal with.  A vintage is where wine is made, so maybe Steinbeck is attempting to parallel that the souls are so downtrodden that they are being crushed.  Let me know if any of you have any ideas about further interpretation for this quote.

It seems as if Rose of Sharon’s pregnancy closely parallels with the entire novel.  When the audience is first introduced to the pregnancy, it seems very hopeful as if new life is coming into the world and can only have positive results.  However after the Joads make the incredibly long journey, similar to that of which a baby must go through during the nine months of pregnancy, Rose of Sharon gives birth to a stillborn baby.  Once the baby finally arrives, there is no hope for it.  When the Joad’s arrive in
California it seems as if there is no hope for them but they persist.  The parallel between the baby and the Joad’s ends when the Joad’s keep on striving for hope and the baby has no way of doing so. 

This song “Dust Bowl Refugee” by Woodie Guthrie is very interesting. I wonder if Steinbeck was inspired by this song or if this song was inspired by Steinbeck. The song first came out in 1938 and the first issue of The Grapes of Wrath came out in 1939. The lyrics go “I’m a dust bowl refugee, / Just a dust bowl refugee, / From that dust bowl to the peach bowl, / Now that peach fuzz is a-killin’ me. ‘Cross the mountains to the sea, / Come the wife and kids and me. / It’s a hot old dusty highway / For a dust bowl refugee. Hard, it’s always been that way, / Here today and on our way / Down that mountain, ‘cross the desert, / Just a dust bowl refugee. We are ramblers, so they say, / We are only here today, / Then we travel with the seasons, / We’re the dust bowl refugees. / From the south land and the drought land, / Come the wife and kids and me, / And this old world is a hard world / For a dust bowl refugee. Yes, we ramble and we roam / And the highway that’s our home, / It’s a never-ending highway / For a dust bowl refugee. Yes, we wander and we work / In your crops and in your fruit, / Like the whirlwinds on the desert / That’s the dust bowl refugees. I’m a dust bowl refugee, / I’m a dust bowl refugee, / And I wonder will I always / Be a dust bowl refugee? This is probably how everyone, especially the farmers, feel throughout The Grapes of Wrath. From the very beginning of the novel, Steinbeck uses dust very vividly. In Chapter three, the turtle cannot escape the dust and it comes in to play many times. Steinbeck states how the car driven by the woman who swerved to avoid the turtle by saying, “…the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust boiled up” (Steinbeck 22). By the end of the chapter when the turtle is finally able to stand up again, “his yellow toe nails slipped a fraction in the dust” (Steinbeck 22). As the novel goes on it seems to closely parallel with the theme and tone of the song.

(Sorry that this is so long!)

Steinbeck’s use of varying narrators is very fascinating. Whenever he talks about the Joads he uses selective third person. When he attempts to make a very strong point he speaks from the point of view of whoever he is trying to make the point about. When he is showing what the farmers have to deal with and everything he makes observations like “We measured [the land] and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even if it’s no good, it’s still ours. That’s what makes it ours – being born on it, working it, dying on it. That makes ownership, not a paper with numbers on it” (Steinbeck 45). When telling about the Joads, Steinbeck seeks to explain a story and develop characters. When taking on a first person perspective, he seeks purely to make an intense, defined point. By taking on a first person persona he is able to express his opinion fueled by character dialect. This forces the audience to be very empathetic to the first person characters.