The Grapes of Wrath and Marxism

The title originally came from this song, which was written during the Civil War in 1861 when Julia and her husband became part of the U.S. sanitary commission. They inspected the conditions in the Prisoner of War camps, including Union Camps. While visiting one, a soldier asked her to write a song for the war effort, so she wrote "Battle Hymn of the Republic" accordingly. The lyrics "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored"(Howe) is where Steinbeck got the title for his book. A vintage is where wine is made out grapes. The grapes of wrath are referring to the struggles of men when their dreams and lives were infringed upon, causing their anger and vengefulness. In the song, the vintage is where all of that anger and wrath is kept. .
             Revolutions are common throughout history, and sometimes it happens within a countries own borders. Take the Civil War for example. America was literally split in half because of the disagreements that the North and the South had. Steinbeck creates a rift between two classes in his book and demonstrates the differences and horror one causes the other. He studied what was happening in his world and learned about all of the rioting and the picketing, then wrote about it. He purposely writes an ending that's both upsetting and pleasing because that's how life is, that's the beauty of the world we live in, but also the ugliness that we have to deal with.
             The first time the title is used in the book are the lines "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"(Steinbeck 238). Before this quote, the chapter talks about how men are throwing out good food because they can't make a profit. So, to ensure the food in their stores is bought, the men pour kerosene on the old food or have guards watch or bury the food. The people who are starving have to watch this happen and cannot do anything about it.