Sweet Fruit

I love the book; but don’t quite get the title.

For a writer of Steinbeck’s caliber, it must be assumed that few decisions – much less the title of the book – would be made without great consideration.

But throughout the course of the novel, that purpose wasn’t always clear.

Of course there’s the historical significance of the phrase, which originated in the abolitionist ballad, The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Yes, we’d discussed Julia Ward Howe’s lyrics in class and Steinbecks intention to have those words inscribed in the cover of the first edition, but such reasoning hardly seemed fully sufficient to explain the title of the work.

In my own research, I discovered that the tune for the famed hymn was composed in 1855 and sung around campfires with many different sets of lyrics. I can’t help but imagine that the populist sentiment of this composition would be admired by Steinbeck. Surely, he would love the communal ownership of the melody.

It seemed, however, that there must be support within the text itself for Steinbeck’s choice.

Of course, the promise of grapes in California caused many families, including the Joads, to leave their homes in search of work and stability. Dreaming of the future, Grandpa Joad said he was “gonna pick […] a wash tub full a grapes, an’ […] set in ‘em, an’ scrooge aroun’, an’ let the juice run down [his] pants” (93). However, as we saw, when the patriarch was removed from his familiar home, from the fields and farm, he died. The dream of a land rich with prospect, of greener grapes beyond the mountains, lead to his demise.

Perhaps the dream is better than reality; the grapes of promise turning to the grapes of wrath.

It should also be noted that those who completed the journey to California were not greeted with jobs and chance, but with resentment. After the fruit ripened, the hungry workers witnessed the destruction of the crop because it would not be profitable for the owners. They watched as oranges were sprayed with kerosene, potatoes thrown in the river, and pigs slaughtered and buried in quicklime.
In our final section, the title phrase is explicitly mentioned in the context of this destruction of the fruit: “In the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage” (349).

Like the grapes that grew and decayed on the vine, the relationship between the poor, migrant laborers and the affluent, greedy owners has deteriorated. While their children starve, ashamed fathers watch the fruits of their labor go to waste.
Like the narrator asserts, “The smell of rot fills the country” (349).

The seeds of uprising, which had been planted by businessmen slashing wages and dehumanizing workers, are beginning to mature and take root. Now men are willing to strike, to demand higher wages, proper treatment, and dignity.

To Steinbeck, such action is sweet fruit.