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  • Essay / The Grapes of Wrath: The Significance of the Twenty-Fifth Chapter

    Chapter twenty-five is the heart of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. In addition to containing the title of the book, this chapter brings home clearly, powerfully and elegantly to Steinbeck's central message, the injustice of life in the American West during the Great Depression era. One of Steinbeck's strongest assets as a writer is undoubtedly the way he makes his words feel on the reader. Chapter twenty-five is a great example of this technique. Through its overall structure, graphic appeal to the senses, and rhythmic, accessible sentences, Steinbeck allows the reader to experience chapter twenty-five and, in doing so, gives them no choice but to connect with its theme. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Steinbeck presents the reader with two contrasting main sections connected by a third transitional section. The first, which depicts the verdant bounty of nature, is juxtaposed with the second, which depicts human suffering. Steinbeck's point of view is simple and ironic; “Men who have created new fruits in the world cannot create a system by which their fruits can be eaten” (448). The way Steinbeck chooses to structure his argument is also simple, but incredibly effective. It simply gives the reader the lush green crops of the first section and contrasts it with the starving humans of the second section. This way of presenting information is strong because it allows the reader to discover the point for themselves by implying the question "What's wrong with this picture?" » Chapter twenty-five is full of vivid adjectives that put the reader in the picture. Steinbeck paints. It is correct to speak of “paintings” because Steinbeck uses color quite liberally. The palette is initially dominated by light, white, pink, yellow and particularly green pastels. These are the colors of spring; they suggest growth and fertility. You can almost taste the “pale green lettuce” (445), or the “grey-green artichoke plants” (446). Later, when the chapter turns to a less pleasant subject, Steinbeck employs harsher colors, mainly black and red. The reader is disgusted by the “red cherries” in which the “yellow vests” buzz, leaving only “black shreds” (447). Other adjectives have a similar animating effect. Steinbeck describes crops and land with words such as “fragrant,” “sweet,” “flat,” “fertile,” “sweet,” “tender,” and “round” (445-446). Along with the color change above, Steinbeck switches to adjectives like “canned,” “hot,” “hungry,” “dumped,” and “heavy” (447-449) to match his change in subject. All these descriptive words create a clear and tangible image for the reader, allowing them to feel the difference between the two sections. Steinbeck further makes the chapter felt through his powerful imagery. The dominant image is that of cultures. Fruits and vegetables are mentioned forty-five times in the chapter, with ten references to grapes alone. Whether it is the "pink and white fragrant waters of a shallow sea" (445) which are the fruits in bloom, or the "grapes of wrath which weigh heavily for the vintage" (449) in the souls of people, plants and the lands on which they grow are described again and again. In addition to providing a powerful unifying element to the chapter, Steinbeck's use of the earth and its products as the main image touches the reader. Steinbeck realizes that humans are capable of identifying with nature; describing some of the most natural images..