The Grapes of Wrath Style Analysis John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is a moving novel, full of richly metaphorical language. His writing style often evokes deep emotions, as is the case in the passage reproduced below, creating a clear picture in your mind of what he is trying to say. In this selection, he imposes a strong image in the reader's mind: you cannot escape your past, which will accompany you no matter where you go or what you do. This message is conveyed through a combination of wit and style in his writings that are rarely found among works of literature. But you can't start. Only a baby can start. You and I, well, we're all that ever was. This momentary anger, these thousand images, it’s us. This earth, this red earth, is us; and the years of flood and the years of drought are us. We can't start again. The bitterness we sold to the scrap metal dealer – he got it, but we still have it. And when the owner told us to go, it was us; and when the tractor hits the house, it's us until we're dead. In California or elsewhere, each a drum major leading a parade of wounds, marching with our bitterness. And one day, the armies of bitterness will all follow the same path. And they will all march together and there will be deadly terror. (ch. 9, p. 11) An important point that Steinbeck is trying to make is the meaning of memory. “The bitterness that we sold to the garbage dealer, he got it, but we still have it.” Even though they have rid themselves of the physical presence of reminders of past misfortunes, the mental image and pain remain. Just because there's nothing around to prove something is happening doesn't mean it's going to go away. “You and I – well, we are all that ever was,” he wrote – people are defined by their experiences as memories, not by what is around them. A person's character is shaped from within, by their mind and thoughts, not by what surrounds them in the outside world. Steinbeck's choice of words has a very significant impact on the effectiveness of his writing. Using words and phrases like "unwanted man", "dead terror" and the repetition of the words "bitterness" and "death", he drives his point home in a very concrete way..