18/06/2021 LLCE Anglais, CNED - Séance 2 - The Grapes of Wrath

SÉQUENCE 1 : ART ET CONTESTATION

THÈME 1 - THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Séance 2 -
The Grapes of Wrath

A. Introduction

Life during the Great Depression of the 1930s was extremely difficult for almost everyone. But for those
who had little to begin with, it created often unbearable circumstances. By 1935, drought and poor farming
practices, especially in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, and Texas, led to the wind erosion of
topsoil. So severe was this problem that the affected areas of the Great Plains were labeled the Dust Bowl.
At nearly the same time, the development of the all-purpose tractor enabled large landowners to dispense
with the labor of farmers who were tenants on their land. By the late ‘30s, a majority of the approximately
1.8 million tenant farmers in the South had been evicted from their homes. Many of the displaced farmers
sought work in the “promised land” of California. Eventually, there were as many as 30,000 migrants in
California, several workers for every available job in the fertile farming valleys of that state. In 1936, John
Steinbeck conducted research on the people who had moved to California from Arkansas and Oklahoma;
in 1937, he toured the Dust Bowl and travelled with migrants on their relentless drive to California. From
those experiences he wrote The Grapes of Wrath, which upon publication in 1939 earned Steinbeck both
high praise (including the Pulitzer Prize) and harsh criticism for its strong language and socio-political
implications. The novel continues to be one of the most highly praised and vehemently criticized pieces of
American literature.
Adapted from: www.penguin.com

Image: Cover of
The Grapes of Wrath
, first edition (cover artist: Elmer Hader)

B. The title
Understanding the title’s origins is important for understanding the larger themes of corporate greed and
suffering that are present throughout the novel. The title of the novel can be traced to both the “Battle Hymn
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of the Republic” and the Bible’s Book of Revelation 14: 19-20.

The lyrics of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” are as follows:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.bh
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

The passage from the Book of Revelation is as follows:

So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw
them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

The idea of “grapes of wrath” has historically been used to represent the oppression of the weak by the
mighty, which occurs throughout the novel as the rich landowners create a miserable existence for the
landless laborers. Contained within the phrase is the idea that the anger and wrath of the oppressed becomes
deeper and more intense, just as the grapes used to make wine ferment and acquire stronger tastes. In both
the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the passage from the Book of Revelation, there is a call for a higher
power to set right the wrongs that have been done to the oppressed. It is unclear whether Steinbeck is making
a plea to God or to some other higher force in the novel. However it is interpreted, this crucial quote places
the novel’s themes of greed, oppression, suffering, and justice in the context of older, hallowed texts.
C. Steinbeck’s Writing Techniques

1. Poetic descriptions of nature

Many poets include descriptions of nature in their poems. They describe the world around them in writing
for a purpose. They not only try to show us what they see, they try to make us understand how they feel.

Which literary device does Steinbeck use in this excerpt to describe the wind?

The wind grew stronger, whisked under stones, carried up straws and old leaves, and even little clods,
marking its course as it sailed across the fields. The air and the sky darkened and through them the sun
shone redly, and there was a raw sting in the air. During a night the wind raced faster over the land, dung
cunningly among the rootlets of the corn, and the corn fought the wind with its weakened leaves until the
roots were freed by the prying wind and then each stalk settled wearily sideways toward the earth and
pointed the direction of the wind.

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The dawn came, but no day. In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like
dusk; and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered
over the fallen corn.
Chapter 1

2. Use of dialogue that imitates the patois of particular regions and social classes

Steinbeck uses broken language and colloquialisms in the dialogue between his characters, and (as written
out) the conversations are littered with misspellings. The dialogue can be difficult to read at times, but it
serves to illustrate the mood and atmosphere of the characters and their lives: although the Joads and their
companions are not prosperous or highly educated, they talk in a way that they can understand easily among
themselves. Even though it takes patience to decipher, Steinbeck’s dialogue is key to an accurate portrayal of
how migrant workers spoke and interacted with one another.

Colloquialisms

Colloquialism or colloquial language is the linguistic style used for casual communication. It is the most
common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conversation and other informal
contexts. In other words, it is a word or phrase that is not formal or literary and is used in ordinary or
familiar conversation.

What is Jim Casy trying to say about Grampa in this excerpt?

The following conversation takes place after the death of Grampa Joad. Young Al is upset that Grampa died
before having a chance to experience the wonders of California, especially the grapes that he was going to
squeeze over his head in a joyous celebration.

He was foolin’ all the time [about wanting to see California]. I think he knowed it. An’ Grampa didn’ die
tonight. He died the minute you took ‘im off the place [the Oklahoma farm].”
“You sure a that?” Pa cried.
“Why, no. Oh, he was breathin’,” Casy went on, “but he was dead. He was that place [the farm], an’ he
knowed it.”
Uncle John said, “Did you know he was a-dyin’?”
“Yeah,” said Casy. “I knowed it.”
John gazed at him and a horror grew in his face. “An’ you didn’ tell nobody?”
“What good?” Casy asked.
“We--we might of did somepin.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, but--”
“No,” Casy said, “you couldn’ a done nothin’. Your way was fixed an’ Grampa didn’t have no part in it.
He didn’ suffer none. Not after fust thing this mornin’. He’s jus’ stayin’ with the lan’. He couldn’ leave it.”
Chapter 13

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3. Abundant specific details

Details that are carefully chosen can help make a piece of writing more precise, vivid, convincing, and
interesting. Steinbeck was a master of detailed writing.

What is the effect of the many specific details in this excerpt?

Along 66 the hamburger stands—Al & Susy’s Place—Carl’s Lunch—Joe & Minnie—Will’s Eats. Board-
and-bat shacks. Two gasoline pumps in front, a screen door, a long bar, stools, and a foot rail. Near the
door three slot machines, showing through the glass the wealth in nickels three bars will bring. And beside
them, the nickel phonograph with records piled up like pies, ready to swing out to the turntable and play
dance music, “Ti-pi-ti-pi-tin,” “Thanks for the Memory,” Bing Crosby, Benny Goodman. At one end of
the counter, a covered case; candy cough drops, caffeine sulphate called Sleepless, No-Doze; candy,
cigarettes, razor blades, aspirin, Bromo-Seltzer, Alka-Seltzer. The walls decorated with posters, bathing
girls, blondes with big breasts and slender hips and waxen faces, in white bathing suits, and holding a
bottle of Coca-Cola and smiling—see what you get with a Coca-Cola. Long bar, and salts, peppers,
mustard pots, and paper napkins. Beer taps behind the counter, and in back the coffee urns, shiny and
steaming, with glass gauges showing the coffee level. And pies in wire cages and oranges in pyramids of
four. And little piles of Post Toasties, corn flakes, stacked up in designs.
Chapter 15

4. Omniscient Narration

Omniscient narration is a literary technique of writing a narrative in third person, in which the narrator
knows the feelings and thoughts of every character in the story. Through omniscient narrative, the author
brings an entire world of his characters to life, and moves from character to character, allowing different
voices to interpret the events, and maintaining omniscient form — that is keeping a distance. Omniscient
narrative tells the story of every character by demonstrating that only the narrator possesses information.

What are the effects of omniscient narration in this example where Steinbeck employs it to reveal
the thoughts of a dishonest car salesman?

Watch the woman’s face. If the woman likes it [a car] we can screw the old man. Start ‘em on that Cad’.
Then you can work ‘em down to that ‘26 Buick. ‘F you start on the Buick, they’ll go for a Ford. Roll up
your sleeves an’ get to work.
Chapter 7

D. Literary devices
Literary devices are forms of figurative language, also known as figures of speech. They are not to be taken
literally: these statements are descriptive in nature, making what is being discussed or described more vivid
in the reader’s mind.

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Which literary devices are used in this quote from the novel?

The Bank--or the Company—needs—wants—insists—must have—as though the Bank or the Company
were a monster, with thought and feeling, which had ensnared them.

Complete the chart with the correct literary devices.

Literary
Definition
Device
a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea
clearer
and more memorable
a literary device where two or more words in a phrase or line share the same beginning
consonant sound
a literary device that repeats consonant sounds for poetic effect
a literary device that is used to make a comparison between two things using the words “like”
or “as”
a literary device that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do
have something in common
a literary device that gives human characteristics to non-human objects or elements

Complete the chart with the correct literary devices and their effects.

Literary
Example from novel Effect
Device
When the narrator describes the Dust Bowl, he says, ‘In the morning the dust hung like
fog, and the sun was as red as ripe new blood.’
A sedan driven by a 40 year old woman approached. She saw the turtle and swung to the
right, off the highway, the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust boiled up.
The narrator describes Joad’s impression of the willow tree on his family’s farm, ‘…its
load of leaves tattered and scraggly as a molting chicken.’
In the towns, on the edges of the towns, in fields, in vacant lots, the used-car yards, the
wreckers’ yards, the garages with blazoned signs-Used Cars, Good Used Cars, Cheap
transportation, three trailers, ‘27 Ford, clean. Checked cars, guaranteed cars. Free radio.
Car with 100 gallons of gas free. Come in and look. Used cars.
His hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as thick and ridged as little clam
shells.

E. Excerpts & Analysis

How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.
They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How’ll it be not to know what land’s outside
the door? How if you wake up in the night and know -- and know the willow tree’s not there? Can you live
without the willow tree? Well, no, you can’t. The willow tree is you.
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Narrator, p. 114 - 115

This quote is located in a chapter that deals with the broader struggle that the Joads are going through and
that highlights the difficulties of saying goodbye to prized possessions and moving on to a new place. The
challenges that the Joads and others in their situation face are not only economic but also emotional. It is
clear that the family is leaving behind everything of both economic and sentimental value, in the hope that a
better life awaits in California. Yet even if California is everything that the Joads have imagined, the trip and
transition still require a remarkable amount of sacrifice. And even if the family members are able to create
new lives for themselves, they have still left a part of themselves behind in the Oklahoma land that they once
considered their property.

One man, one family driven from the land; this rusty car creaking along the highway to the west. I lost my
land, a single tractor took my land. I am alone and I am bewildered. And in the night one family camps in
a ditch and another family pulls in and the tents come out. The two men squat on their hams and the
women and children listen. Here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep those two
squatting men apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other. Here is the anlage of the thing you fear.
This is the zygote. For here “I lost my land” is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing
you hate -- “We lost our land.” The danger is here, for two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one.
Narrator, p. 194

In this broad, generic chapter (which does not consider the Joads alone), the narrator speaks of the potential
for underprivileged people to unite. When just one man realizes the unfairness of his personal life -- whether
it’s losing his land to a company with a tractor or having to overpay for a broken-down jalopy -- that man
does not realize the systemic unfairness that affects everyone. The owner men and the other perpetrators of
this systematic injustice want the individuals on the bottom to stay isolated and not interact with others.
When these individuals go about their lives as separate persons, they lack the power and momentum to create
change. Yet when they meet others with the same goals, the volume of their complaints grows -- as does their
awareness of the extent of the injustices they face. The transition from “I” to “we” terrifies those who
perpetuate economic inequality; with this shift, their system begins to become endangered.

An’ I wouldn’t pray for a ol’ fella that’s dead. He’s awright. He got a job to do, but it’s all laid out for ‘im
an’ there’s on’y one way to do it. But us, we got a job to do, an’ they’s a thousan’ ways, an’ we don’ know
which one to take. An’ if I was to pray, it’d be for the folks that don’ know which way to turn. Grampa
here, he got the easy straight. An’ now cover ‘im up and let ‘im get to his work.
Casy, p. 184 - 185

Casy delivers this “sermon” to the rest of the Joad group, he speaks to many of their fears of the future. They
don’t know what awaits them: even though they have been promised a fruitful future in California, doubts
have started to creep in and new possibilities and alternatives have begun to multiply. Mirroring the many
possibilities are the differing reactions of the members of the Joad family. Ma is calm and refuses to think
much about the future, Pa remains preoccupied with the great things that await, and Tom refuses to engage in
conversations about the future out of self-protection, since he doesn’t want to be disappointed.
Overall, Casy believes that the people who have no clear direction in life are the ones who are in need of the
prayers, so that such prayers are applicable to the Joads as they face an uncertain future. His message is
important because it applies to all of the people moving to California -- not just to the Joads. Each traveler
has a highly individualized image of the future, but nobody knows which image will become reality.
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S’pose you got a job a work, an’ there’s jus’ one fella wants the job. You got to pay ‘im what he asts. But
s’pose they’s a hunderd men.” He put down his tool. His eyes hardened and his voice sharpened. “S’pose
they’s a hunderd men wants that job. S’pose them men got kids, an’ them kids is hungry. S’pose a lousy
dime’ll buy a box a mush for them kids. S’pose a nickel’ll buy at leas’ somepin for them kids. An’ you got
a hunderd men. Jus’ offer ‘em a nickel - why, they’ll kill each other fightin’ for that nickel.
Floyd, p. 315

Whenever the Joads experience doubts about their prospects in California, they ease their worries to some
extent by reminding themselves of the orange handbill that Pa carries in his coat. According to the handbill,
hundreds of men are required for work in the fields; supposedly, the Joads can count on getting work and
earning good wages as soon as they arrive in California. Yet when they arrive, they are not met with the
bountiful opportunities that they had imagined, and a conversation with a man named Floyd (a leader of a
migrant group) reveals why this is the case. With a surplus of laborers, who were unorganized and prone to
infighting, the owners had the definitive advantage. They could dictate wages and drive them absurdly low --
to levels that would keep a worker from feeding his family with a day’s work.
Because Steinbeck’s laborers are unorganized and do not communicate with one another about acceptable
pay, they are often powerless against the owners, who also have the benefit of a compliant police force.
Conversations among the disgruntled workers are the basis of what the police and owners call “talkin’ red,”
or promoting communism and the power of the proletariat.
Solutions

Which literary device does Steinbeck use in this excerpt to describe the wind?
Steinbeck uses the literary device of personification to describe the wind. The wind is cunning and uproots
corn (much as the banks and landowners root up the tenant farmers) but later cries and whimpers over the
corn, perhaps in mockery.

Personification

Personification is a literary device that gives humanlike characteristics to non-human entities.

Personification is a type of figurative language. Personification occurs when a writer makes a non-human
thing have human behavior. Hence, the writer personifies that object. Figurative language is any word or
phrase that is not to be taken literally but is used in writing for effect.
Personification Examples
The wind
danced in the trees.
This example uses personification to provide imagery for the wind’s effect on the tree. The wind cannot
literally dance, as a human can. Therefore, the phrase is figurative and the wind is personified.
The ocean
sang a mesmerizing song.
This example uses personification to provide sensory language for the sound the ocean makes. The ocean
cannot literally sing, as a human can. Therefore, the phrase is figurative and the ocean is personified.
The windows
trembled with fear.
This example uses personification to provide mood and imagery for the movement and sound the
windows make. The windows cannot literally tremble, as a human can. Therefore, the phrase is figurative
and the windows are personified.

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The Importance and Function of Personification

Writers utilize personification for effect. Applying human characteristics to non-human things gives those
things particular qualities that they would otherwise lack. Personification makes literature and writing
more engaging and more interesting. In many cases, it brings life to abstract object or ideas.
Personification is used to enhance writing and to emphasize a point. It is much more powerful to say,
The wind danced in the trees.
than it is to say,
The wind moved through the trees and made the leaves move around softly.
Like all literary devices, writers use personification with purpose and meaning.

What is Jim Casy trying to say about Grampa in this excerpt?
Jim Casy tells Al that Grampa was not at all looking forward to living in California.

What is the effect of the many specific details?
All these details capture the atmosphere of a particular locale. We feel like we are right there, traveling
alongside the Joads.

What are the effects of omniscient narration?
When telling us about the Joads, this narrator is all-knowing and all-seeing. He dips in and out of each
character’s mind, knowing their immediate thoughts and fears. However, interspersed with the chapters
about the Joads are chapters that describe the historical context of the Dust Bowl and of the California
migration. These chapters feature a diversity of perspectives and points of view. There is omniscient
narration in passages in which characters unidentified by name reveal their thoughts in second-person point
of view.

At times, we get to hear the inner monologue of a car salesman as he works to make a profit selling broken-
down cars to poor families:

All right, Joe. You soften ‘em up an’ shoot ‘em in here. I’ll close ‘em, I’ll deal ‘em or I’ll kill ‘em. Don’t send
in no bums. I want deals.
(Chapter 7.25)

The changing narrator exposes us to a variety of perspectives and voices. Steinbeck allows us to really get a
sense of what life was like for migrant workers in the late 1930s and of the various characters that played a
role in this historical moment.

Which literary devices are used in this quote from the novel?

The Bank--or the Company—needs—wants—insists—must have—as though the Bank or the Company
were a monster, with thought and feeling, which had ensnared them.

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In  this  example from the novel, several devices are used. A  simile  is used to compare the “Bank” or
“Company” to a monster. The bank is not a living thing, but associated with it is monstrous behaviors. It
is  personified: that is, it is given human characteristics of needing, wanting, insisting, and thinking (and
being monstrous—inferring
intelligence). It is also capitalized, as a name would be. This quote also
uses metonymy, where the name given to
some thing
comes from things associated with it. The bank is not a
living thing, but those who run the bank—management, stockholders, etc.—are referred to
en total  as the
“Bank” or the “Company” rather than managers or owners.

Literary
Definition
Device
a literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea
clearer
Repetition
and more memorable
a literary device where two or more words in a phrase or line share the same beginning
Alliteration
consonant sound
Consonance a literary device that repeats consonant sounds for poetic effect
a literary device that is used to make a comparison between two things using the words
Simile
“like” or “as”
a literary device that is used to make a comparison between two things that aren’t alike but
Metaphor
do have something in common
Personification a literary device that gives human characteristics to non-human objects or elements

Literary
Example from novel Effect
Device
Comparing the red of the sun to the
When the narrator describes the Dust Bowl, he says,
red of blood using ‘as’ is an
‘In the morning the dust hung like fog, and the sun Simile
example of simile. It evokes a vivid
was as red as ripe new blood.’
and powerful image.
A sedan driven by a 40 year old woman approached. The wheels of a car cannot really
She saw the turtle and swung to the right, off the scream. This example of
Personification
highway, the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust personification provides a vivid
boiled up. image.
The narrator describes Joad’s impression of the This simile compares the tree to a
willow tree on his family’s farm, ‘…its load of Simile chicken that is losing its feathers
leaves tattered and scraggly as a molting chicken.’ because it is losing its leaves.
The repetition of the word ‘towns’
In the towns, on the edges of the towns, in fields, in at the beginning of the first sentence
vacant lots, the used-car yards, the wreckers’ yards, emphasizes that the economic
the garages with blazoned signs-Used Cars, Good situation was dire and used car lots
Used Cars, Cheap transportation, three trailers, ‘27 Repetition were appearing everywhere. The
Ford, clean. Checked cars, guaranteed cars. Free word ‘cars’ is also repeated several
radio. Car with 100 gallons of gas free. Come in and times to give the reader an
look. Used cars. impression of the overbearing sales
pitches the characters had to endure.
Comparing his nails to clam shells
His hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as
Simile describes how thick and ridged they
thick and ridged as little clam shells.
are using simile.

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