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The Grapes of Wrath 71054 Views

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Description:

The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?

Author:

Author / Steinbeck - John Steinbeck

Language:

English Language

Subjects:

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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:

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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