Rutva Mehta Period 3 27 October 2020 Grapes Of Wrath Essay Grapes of Wrath: Chapter 23 Essay During the 1930s, the Dust Bowl left millions of people financially unstable. The environmental tragedy sparked severe economic depression -- the Great Depression. In John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, the struggles and fears of the migrant workers are introduced. Chapter 23’s stories about the killing of a Native American and playing of a harmonica, fiddle, and guitar in unison portrays the migrant people looking for distractions and refuge from the mess that is their life. There is an overarching theme of unwanted pain in chapter 23. At the beginning of Chapter 23, a migrant worker tells a story of how he killed a defenseless Injun. There is a vivid depiction of the hesitation the worker felt. The suffering of the Injun can be paralleled to the suffering of the Joads’ dog. The story functions as a juxtaposition to the act of storytelling. The story of the killing of an Injun includes words that have a negative connotation like “crazy”, “bloody an’ twisted”, “tore”, and “spoiled” (222-223). These words depict pain and suffering yet brings comfort to the listeners. These words directly contradict the description of how the story was told. People “gathered in the low firelight” to hear great stories while “their quiet eyes reflected the fire” (222). This is the embodiment of the idea that stories gave the migrant listeners a sense of peace and comfort. Despite the brutal content, the story offered the migrant workers a refuge. Stories like this offer the migrant workers a distraction to keep them from the thought of death and suffering. In the first paragraph, Steinbeck utilizes asyndeton to speed up the cadence of the first sentence. Paired with the cacophony and diction, Steinbeck conveys the emotions and constant panic felt by the migrant workers. The explosive consonants k, t, g, c, sc, and d are harsh and jarring to the ear. Steinbeck combines these sounds with verbs like scuttling, scrabbling, looked, dug, lay, and climbed. These verbs liken the migrant workers to insects. This demonstrates how low and small the migrant workers feel in the situation. Another escape or pleasure that the migrant workers take part in is getting drunk. In the middle of the chapter, “to get drunk” is a way for the workers to free themselves from current issues. Getting drunk gives the workers warmth and ensures there is no loneliness. This parallels the scene earlier in the book where Uncle John tries to feel better and relieve his anxiety and free himself from sins by “getting drunk.” Alcohol dulled failure and made the future seem like it wasn’t a threat. Alcohol allowed the drinker to befriend death and welcome sleep. These bizarre drunk moments kept the morale of the workers from being completely broken. Steinbeck’s diction in his portrayal of alcohol and its effects displays how some workers “had a little money”, he could afford a few hours of bliss. Steinbeck uses words and phrases like “hard edges gone”, “warmth”, “failure dulled”, “future was no threat”, “hunger did not skulk”, “world was soft and easy”, and “a man could reach the place he started for” (224). The effects of alcohol give the migrant workers the courage to continue on and have hope. This idea is a contradiction as alcohol is often portrayed as the cause of the downfall of men, but, in this case, alcohol is a source of positive thoughts for the workers. The migrant workers try to find pleasure in any facet of their lives, including music and musical instruments. In the middle of the chapter, Steinbeck introduces music and musical instruments. He implements polysyndeton to slow down the pace of the chapter, opposite to the beginning of the chapter. The diversity of the harmonica is also explored through the repetition of similies in parallel structure. Steinbeck also uses an anaphora. The repetition, polysyndeton, and abundance of conjunctions create a calm tone. The first instrument is the harmonica. The harmonica symbolizes hope. Wherever they go the hope is easy to carry with them, the harmonica. As harmonica can play single notes to full chords, this encourages the idea that hope can be small and big. The harmonica also symbolizes humanity. Playing music is the migrant people’s way of feeling human. They can gain back the humanity they lost on the journey through their music. Music allowed them to feel alive. Steinbeck also juxtaposes the pricelessness of the harmonica with its true value, a quarter. In the Joads participate in the “Saturday Night Dance” where “Chicken Reel” is played; the music encourages the migrant workers in the audience to dance and forget their sorrows for the night. This is paralleled in Chapter 24 where the Joads are in the government camp and go to a Saturday Night Dance which also plays the “Chicken Reel”. Steinbeck’s purpose for including Chapter 23 in Grapes of Wrath is to observe how the migrant workers found comfort in acts that are seen as detrimental such as getting drunk and listening to stories of the murder of an innocent. Steinbeck illustrates how messed up the mindset of the workers is to find “pleasure” due to the tragic surroundings. Works cited Steinbeck, John. “The Grapes of https://drive.google.com/file/d/1plZKcgO_M3YyYM85sBqgU0_JFgOuHgE0/view. Wrath.”
