In chapter 19 of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck vividly expresses his view of large scale American government. Steinbeck uses the example of the acquisition of California, to illustrate the situation of the "Okies" or farmers. Chapter 19 talks about how California was forcefully taken from Mexico by America because of vain purposes. Steinbeck then mentions that the descendants of these Americans are the wealthy farmers who pay their workers low wages in order to protect their land. To establish his view of the industrialization of farming, Steinbeck uses the metaphor of California's history as well as despondent diction.
There is no doubt that Steinbeck opposes the government and the movement of industrializing farming. He effectively communicates this through his metaphor of California's history. In this chapter, Steinbeck compares the money hungry Americans who took California from Mexico to the big name farm owners making lots of money. John Steinbeck gives chapter 19 a depressing and hopeless tone.
To help portray this tone, Steinbeck uses despondent diction through words such as "tattered", "frantic", and "wretched". These words assist Steinbeck in persuading the reader of his opinion. By putting in such negative words, the reader has no choice but to view the situation as bad or dejected.
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