With syntax meaning the systematic,
grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence, Chapter 21 of The Grapes of
Wrath. an intercalary chapter, demonstrates the biblical refrain that
Steinbeck has earlier used in his chapters.
This chapter
is written as a refrain of the social criticism of Steinbeck's novel, the battle between
the rich and the poor. With the biblical overtones of "The Battle Hymn of the
Republic" in which "the grapes of wrath" suggest the anger of God
against those who worship the false god, Steinbeck implies that this false god is
capitalism and the wrath is that of the oppressed migrant
workers.
The syntax of many of the sentences is in the
repetitious form of many of the Psalms of the Bible, as well as many of the chapters of
the Old Testament. For instance, Steinbeck writes of the panic of the owners as
migrants multiply, beginning several sentences with the subject
Men,
Men of property were terrified for their
property. Men who had never been hungry saw the eyes of the hungry. Men who had never
wanted anything very much saw the fare of want in the eyes of the migrants. And the men
of the town and of the soft suburban country
gathered....
Further in the
chapter, Steinbeck describes the great owners who take advantage of the migrants, hoping
to reduce them to serfs. Again, using a repeated syntactical structure, Steinbeck
begins many sentences with and,
And this was good,....And wages went down and
prices stayed up. And pretty soon now we'll have serfs
again.
And now the great owners...A great owner bought a
cannery. And when...And as cannery owner...And the little farmers who ....And then they
too went on the highways. And the roads were
crowded....
With the extended
allusion to Julia Ward Howe's "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," this chapter echoes the
apocalyptic reckoning suggested earlier in Chapter 19. And, with the syntax of
repetition and refrain, the biblical overtones are certainly
apparent.
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