The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, is a classic American novel that depicts the struggles and hardships faced by a family during the Great Depression. The story follows the Joad family as they are forced to leave their home in Oklahoma and journey to California in search of a better life. Along the way, they encounter poverty, exploitation, and injustice. The novel is known for its powerful themes and vivid portrayal of the human spirit.
Throughout the book, Steinbeck includes numerous quotes that provide insight into the characters’ thoughts, emotions, and experiences. These quotes not only serve to enhance the story but also offer deeper meaning and reflection on the social and economic conditions of the time. In this article, we have compiled a list of impactful quotes from The Grapes of Wrath, along with their corresponding page numbers.
Read these Grapes of Wrath Quotes and Page Numbers
“And the women studied the men’s faces secretly, for the corn could go as long as something else remained. The children played about the dusty roads and in the turds of the animals that plowed the land. The women watched their men, watched to see whether the break had come at last. The children played and the women listened intently.” (Page 78)
“The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it.” (Page 103)
“And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need.” (Page 273)
“The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to the West. In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward; and as the dark caught them, they clustered like bugs near to shelter and to water.” (Page 74)
“How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past?” (Page 102)
“When a truckload of goods gets to Los Angeles, you don’t get a truckload of goods. You get a cityful of starving people.” (Page 252)
“We’re sorry. It’s not us. It’s the monster. The bank isn’t like a man.” (Page 303)
“The houses were vacant. Houses without people are sad.” (Page 146)
“A young man is a strong man, and a young man’s shoulders can carry the face of the world.” (Page 294)
“And in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath.” (Page 349)
“The quality goes in before the name goes on.” (Page 29)
“The machine man, driving a dead tractor on land he does not know and love, understands only chemistry; and he is contemptuous of the land and of himself. When the corrugated iron doors are shut, he goes home, and his home is not the land.” (Page 156)
“In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” (Page 349)
“The great companies did not know that the line between hunger and anger is a thin line.” (Page 349)
“The tractors came over the roads and into the fields, great crawlers moving like insects, having the incredible strength of insects. They crawled over the ground, laying the track and rolling on it and picking it up. Diesel tractors, puttering while they stood idle; they thundered when they moved, and then settled down to a droning roar.” (Page 32)
“You’re bound to get idears if you go thinkin’ about stuff.” (Page 43)
“The bank was something more than men, I tell you. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it.” (Page 104)
“The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it.” (Page 103)
“Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel, and some of them were cold because they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold.” (Page 34)
“The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it.” (Page 103)
“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.” (Page 2)
These quotes from The Grapes of Wrath provide a glimpse into the powerful and thought-provoking narrative crafted by John Steinbeck. Each quote captures the essence of the characters’ struggles and the harsh realities of the time. Whether reflecting on poverty, injustice, or the resilience of the human spirit, these quotes serve as a reminder of the enduring impact of this timeless novel.
