Image+of+Grapes

Steinbeck says, "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, growing heavy for the vintage." what does he think is going to happen because people are being allowed to starve? what makes the image of full grapes of anger being harvested effective here? how is this image of grapes different from grandpa's image of grapes earlier in the story?



A. People are being allowed to starve because even though there are resources out there to help nourish the people, they are being denied to them. When the vineyard vats full of wine go bad, anger and resentment began to spread throughout the people. He believes these resources will keep being denied to them and they will have to fight to get what the deserve. "A million people hungry needing the fruit, and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains. And the smell of rot filled the country. Burn coffe for fuel. Burn corn to keep warm. Dump potatoes in the rivers. Slaughter the pigs. And coroners must fill in the certificates - died of malnutrition - because the food must rot, must be forced to rot." (p. 349)

B. The grapes represent their unpaid labor, and they aren't very sweet so it is looked at as ironic. The labor they do is basically an unsatisfying effort for them because they can barely even afford a meal at the end of the day. The family has to settle for any job they can find, including a job that pays only a nickel for every barrel of peaches they bring in. By the end of the day, and entire family of work has only been able to earn one dollar which they spend all on food for themselves for the night.

C. Earlier in the story Grandpa says that when he arrives in California, "I'm gonna pick me a wash tub full a grapes, an' I'm gonna set in 'em, an' scrooge aroun', an' let the juice run down my pants." (p. 93) A couple pages later he says, "I'm gettin' hungry. Come time we get to Dalifornia I'll have a big bunch a grapes in my han' all the time, a-nibblin' off it all the time, by God!" (p. 103) Unfortunately he dies, before the family gets to California, but the image of grapes that Grandpa wants to enjoy in the beginning is far from the image in the end of the story. There is no joy and even though the handbill that Ma Joad receives says work is accurate and California is a wonderful place, it ends up being the complete opposite. Grandpa said he wanted to be able to enjoy the grapes whenever he wanted, but in reality the family barely had enough food to eat every night.