Diction
The Grapes of Wrath displays an informal diction. John Steinbeck uses the following words and phrases to create a tone for his novel:
- · “The sky grayed,” (Steinbeck, 67).
- · “Soften ‘em up, Joe. Jesus, I wisht I had a thousand jalopies! Get em’ ready to deal an’ I’ll close ‘em,” (Steinbeck, 66).
- · “Moody and silent,” (Steinbeck, 154).
- · “…eyes still wet with pain,” (Steinbeck, 305).
- · “A-whippin’,” (Steinbeck, 307).
- · “…in the half-gloom, the black shapes of people moved about,” (Steinbeck, 377).
Steinbeck consistently uses low-diction words that can be easily understood. This normally results in a seemingly easy read, however; in this case, Steinbeck creates an authenticity with this technique. He writes of a time in which there was little to no education at all. Also consider that many people paid little mind to speaking eloquently because their focus was so centralized on whether they would eat or not that night. You can see the low-level diction in all the quotes above.
When writing his novel, Steinbeck wanted authenticity and therefore he chose words that were specific to the time period, in that location, used by those specific type of people—class and race. Phrases such as “a-whippin’” illustrate the time period and result in it coming to life in many ways.
I agree that that Steinbeck wanted to create authenticity with his diction. The author's purpose in writing this novel is to show the realities and the hardships of American life during the Great Depression. He wanted the readers to know what the tenant farmers had to go through just to survive when they had no employment or money. Steinbeck wanted the reader to feel as if he was there with the farmers experiencing the harsh world the same way the farmers did. Diction is just one of the many ways that Steinbeck created a sense of authenticity and reality in the novel.
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