GOW+Chapter+25

Focus questions

Argument: In the early 1920’s, America was experiencing a boom in industry and prosperity; but this all came to an end with the Wall Street Crash in 1929. **In Chapter 25, John Steinbeck argues that because of the wealthy** (like the Bank) **and their need to make profits, their attention to power will eventually help them create the demise of society by overlooking the individuals need for the 'greater' need** (say, the prosperity of the Bank)**. When the wealthy raise the prices in the economy and make the agricultural values decrease, migrants suffer unduly.** Due to large amounts of fruit produced, prices begin to decrease. This cuts into profits made by those who own the land, who also find this unacceptable. The land owners thus decide to destroy the abundant crops with kerosene, even though poor people are starving. This waste is witnessed by the migrant workers, who become angry against the wealthy and start thinking about their situation and how they got there. Not only did they(the rich and the Bank) destroy food needed by the starving, they also managed to increase crop prices, which cannot now be afforded by the poor. Anger is created, which further divides everyone and can only makes the problem worse.

Steinbeck is giving us this information of the working class' feelings to show the reader the changes on an emotional level. Previous chapters explain the physical changes of the Joad family, like in the beginning when all the family worked. Chapter 25 shows how the family starts to think and react differently once they've reached California, where "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..." -pg 363. This shows the family's discontentment with the actual California instead of the California they had built up in their minds.

Commentary Ch. 25-Per.4

This waste of produce, life and effort is evident in America during the 1920’s. Businesses and companies made surplus items in order to sell more. However, the problem arose when demand fell. As demand fell, so did the need for workers. People were laid off, thus helping procure the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

"The smell from the ferment is not the rich odor of wine, but the smell of decay and chemicals" -pg 362. With more produce that lacks in taste and where less money is coming in, farmers are forced into debt and their vineyards soon belong to the bank, "...because the food must rot, must be forced to rot" -pg 363. The overall meaning of the chapter is to explain why the farmers and laborers are in the position they're in and how they're unable to escape the death of the land because, like their fathers before them, the only skill the workers have is the knowledge of farming. Once the land fades, they fade. 1. The mood at the beginning is serene and peaceful because of the tone of imagery. As the chapter continues, it becomes depressing and frightening as the land rots away and withers into nothingness. The start of the chapter describes the beauty of the state of California, where fruit blossoms are fragrant and the hills are full and green. There are all kinds of things being grown; cherries, apples, peaches, pears, figs, oranges and grapes. Flowers grow everywhere and the men have learned to make new kinds of fruit like "nectarines and forty kinds of plums, walnuts with paper shells...and always they work" -pg 361. This quote is about how the migrants can take an object like a dying crop, make a few alterations, and create a new species of a number of things(like nectarines).

2. Descriptive language included is not just the kinds of food, but the colors and tastes associated with the produce.

"Fragrant pink and white waters" -pg 360 "Full green hills" -pg 360 "Pale green lettuce" -pg 360 "Grey-green unearthly artichoke" -pg 360 "Leaves turn dark green" -pg 361 "Little sour apples... grown large and sweet" -pg 361 "Red and black, green and pale pink, purple and yellow" (varieties of grapes) -pg 361 "Black cherries and red cherries" -pg 361

All of these give the reader a picture of how the crops look and grow, not just something that used to be appreciated and then turned worthless overnight. The colorful details also symbolize the changes taking place.

Symbolism: Pink and white waters- Happiness Full green hills- Productivity Purple and yellow- Change and options Black- Death Red- Anger and hardship

3.   Sentence and Paragraph Structure The tone of the first two pages of the chapter is almost biblical. With the long sentences describing California, the words flow smoothly. "Along the rows, the clutivations move, tearing the spring grass and turning it under to make a fertile earth, breaking the ground to hold the water up near the surface, ridging the ground in little pools for the irrigation, destroying the weed roots that may drink the water away from the trees". This sentence gives a biblical tone because it talks about what happens at the orchards without actually saying what is going on. It is more of a visual sentence, rather than a factual sentence. To come to a conclusion, you must first have a visual of it. The last two pages of the chapter have short sentences. These short sentences are straight and to the point. The paragraphs are also a lot shorter than the first two pages. "A million people hungry, needing the fruit- and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains. And the smell of rot fills the country" -pg 363. These sentences are straight forward to show the destruction of the fruit that the workers need to survive. The first sentence shows how the fruit is sprayed with kerosene so that the hungry people cannot get to it. These short sentences and short paragraphs tell of the harsh reality that the migrants had to face.

Compared to the first two pages, the last two pages give a sense of harsh reality. The first two pages give a biblical sense, but that is shortly destroyed by the last two pages. This is to show how the migrants came to California with dreams that it would be the answer to all of their problems. However, once they got to California and lived there for a while, the migrants learned that California was nothing more than a dead end for them.

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 * Citations:**

KJohnson LAtwood CMendez Period 3