Example of a Commentary on the Grapes of Wrath

This scene occurs in the early parts of The Grapes of Wrath after Tom, along with Casy, decides to return home and before he realizes his family has abandoned their farm. In this brief intercalary chapter, a tractor driver arrives with orders from the East to drive the tenant farmers out of their homes because the bank was not making enough profits from these collective farms. In these three passages, Steinbeck illustrates the unpleasant products of technology. He explains that technology spawns machines such as tractors, which cause people to lose their affection for the land. This belief is manifested in his bleak imagery, his diction, and in his parallelism.…