Analysis of Chapter Five

Chapters 1-4 of The Grapes of Wrath are the chapters that set the stage for the book and introduce the characters and farm. Chapter 5 of The Grapes of Wrath is the most awakening and meaningful chapter thus far in the book. After the stage has been set, the characters have made a connection with the reader, and it feels as though the audience itself works on the farm, Steinbeck introduces an unfortunate and devastating event. This event is the eviction of the farmers from the land.

The farmers plead and beg the owner not to, however, they are not successful. In chapter 5, Steinbeck gives the title " The Monster" to the bank. This is because of how senseless, detached, and emotionless the bank seems to be to the lives of the farmers. Steinbeck also demonstrates how controlled and robot-like the workers for the bank are. When the tractor driver stopped for a lunch break, the tenant came to talk to him. The tenant asked him why he's doing this work against his own people. The driver responds by saying he has a family to feed and the bank gives him consistent pay. After a brief discussion about the responsibilities the tractor driver has been given by the bank, the tenant tries to discourage him from destroying the farm. However, the tractor driver responds by saying "It's not me. There's nothing I can do. I'll lose my job if I don't do it." (pg. 38). This quote shows how confined and restricted the tractor drivers are.

Chapter 5 ultimately gives the reader a feeling of helplessness. He paints the idea that the farmers must either join the system or die. "Joe Davis's boy", a former fellow farmer, gave into the "monster" and turned on his friends and family because it was the easier thing for him to do for his own needs. Steinbeck could have included an anonymous tractor driver, but instead chose a character that had a connection to everyone in the book because it shows how easily characters may be enticed into the system, or "monster", and just how difficult it truly is for the characters not to turn on their friends and families.