Key Quotations Flashcards
“Their ain’t no sin and their ain’t no virtue”
Jim Casey
“She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.”
Shows the American Spirit, last bit of nourishment the ‘we’ continues, only those who support one and other survive. Dark
“Then he leaned over and set the box in the stream and steadied it with his hand. He said fiercely, ‘Go down an’ tell ‘em. Go down in the street an’ rot an’ tell ‘em that way. That’s the way you can talk.”
Biblical allusion, John’s anger, Moses being set in a basket to escape the pharaoh’s purge.
“Al went slowly around the truck, reached in, and turned off the ignition.”
Being swallowed by the floods, finally giving up.
“And Ma watched Al.”
Seeing her family disintegrate.
“And the break would never come as long as fear could turn to wrath”
The anger that is building in the community’s.
“They squatted on their hams and looked out over the flooded land. And they were silent.”
Similar to the start of the first chapter, men still not breaking.
“God. I’m talkin like Casey. Comes of thinkin’ about him so much. Seems like I can see him.”
Tom takes on Casey’s voice for the people, oversoul. Tom representing the values of the family (Ma).
“Says he foun’ he jus got a little piece of a great big soul.”
Oversoul, Emmerson
“PA’s lost his place. He ain’t the head no more.”
Shift to a matriarchy
“Food must rot,n must be forced to rot.”
Overconsumption, waste, overproduction
“The grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.”
Still in economic crisis, not giving food and appalling waste, anger from starvation.
“And the valley is filled with the Oder of sweet decay.”
Valley of ashes link
“ Tendrils of the grapes, swelling from the old gnarled vines.”
Symbolises the anger growing amongst the migrants
“They’s change a-commin. I don’ know what. Maybe we won’t live to see her. But she’s a-commin.”
Pa, changing state of America
” all our folks got guns. I’ve been thinking maybe we ought to git up a turkey shooting club and having meetin’s ever Sunday.”
This is what the police suspect will happen with the migrants that they become uncivil, savage 
“ The migrant people looked humbly for pleasure on the roads.”
People having zest for life, more trust in the storytellers rather than the preachers.
“Tonight - we’ll have - somepin nice..”
The Weedpatch camp helped to establish dignity, Community, take care and part of a decent society. The power of We
“I wanta play now,’ Ruthie cried. ‘Well, you can’t. Not till nex game.”
Example for how the ‘I’ doesn’t work in society
“ why I feel like people again.”
Treated equally again
“ do you mean to say the fellas that run the camp is just fellas camping here?”
Tom amazed by fairness, links to oversoul and community
“ and the companies, the banks worked at their own game and they didn’t know it.”
Distrust in capitalism , American dream unavailable to everyone
“We’re the people, we go on.”
Ma to Tom. I vs we. Irony from Declaration of Independence individuals dictate others lives, biblical allusion god chosen (book of Somm)
“ spies were sent to catch the murmuring of revolt so that it might be stamped out.”
McCarthyism, search for communists, anti establishment reading.
