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The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?
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The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?
Transcript
- 00:07
The Grapes of Wrath a la Shmoop As opposed to what -- The Blueberries of Sloth?
- 00:17
Picture this . . . . . . you've just written a novel . . .
- 00:19
. . . but not just any novel; a great novel. Like... a "100 books you need to read before
- 00:24
you die" bucket list great novel. Trouble is, you have no idea what to call
- 00:29
it. You toss around a few possibilities:
Full Transcript
- 00:34
Okie Migrants?
- 00:35
The Road to California?
- 00:38
Dust Bowl Farmers? But nothing thrills you.
- 00:43
So, how did you -- er, Steinbeck - come up with The Grapes of Wrath as a title?
- 00:50
Where did it come from and what the heck does it mean?
- 00:54
Some writers say they get their inspiration from dreams . . .
- 00:56
. . . movies . . .
- 01:00
... muses... . . . or songs.
- 01:17
Grapes of Wrath is part of a lyric from the Battle Hymn of the Republic . . .
- 01:20
. . . which may have inspired Steinbeck's wife when she suggested it.
- 01:25
True story.
- 01:26
Even though the hymn was written about the Civil War . . .
- 01:28
...its message of God taking vengeance on greedy oppressors . .
- 01:33
. . . seems every bit as much about America in the 1930s . . .
- 01:38
. . . as America in the 1860s.
- 01:40
And likely the 2060s. But Battle Hymn's author got her inspiration
- 01:45
from another source . . . . . . The Book of Revelations . . .
- 01:47
. . . and it used the words as an appeal for divine deliverance for the oppressed when
- 01:54
humanity is judged. Steinbeck himself used the phrase near the
- 01:58
end of the book when he wrote . . . . . . "In the souls of the people the grapes
- 02:02
of wrath are filling and growing heavy". <<DS Scholar voice>>
- 02:05
So... the wrath is building up inside of people and, sooner or later, the oppressed are going
- 02:11
to explode.
- 02:13
Probably not literally, unless they've seriously eaten too many grapes.
- 02:18
Steinbeck said he wanted to put a tag of shame on the greedy people responsible for The Great
- 02:21
Depression . . . . . . and the title could be a symbol of what
- 02:24
he thought would happen when the oppressed had had enough.
- 02:28
So is Steinbeck suggesting the Noah approach...
- 02:30
That is ...we wait for God to take care of the bad guys?
- 02:38
Or is he encouraging the Nike approach...
- 02:40
... where the little guys have to take matters into their own hands?
- 02:44
Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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