Tone

The tones found in the novel The Grapes of Wrath include mourning, awe, rage, and sympathy. All of these have to do with the struggles that the families in the novels are forced to face. And since the narrator is usually extremely sympathetic, sympathy is one of the more noticeable tones found in John Steinbeck's writing of the novel.

Sympathy is definitely deserved by the major characters in the novel. The Joad family garners most of the readers sympathy, however, because the narration and point of view focus on and circulate around their family unit the most. But many of the other families in the novel have gone through the same exact struggles getting to California, and met the same fate. The tone of sympathy for the characters in the novel is much deserved because of all the things they are forced to go through.

The tone of mourning ties in with the tone of sympathy, because the narrator, as well as the main characters, mourn the same losses in the novel. The death of the Joad family's dog, the death of people they met along the way, and the other numerous tragedies that the family encounters along the way.

Rage is also an important tone in the novel. The narrator as well as all of the other characters are extremely angry when they learn the truth about how life with be in California. They were expecting opportunity and land and welcoming, but that was the exact opposite of what they experienced.

The tone of awe is a lot smaller in the novel. However, in this case, the awe exhibited is not a good thing. The narrator and the characters are in awe of the greed and deception that the landowners in California exhibit. They exploit the poor and starving workers that come to them desperate for jobs, and then refuse to let them join the unions. The tone of awe is actually a negative one, because it highlights all the things that have gone wrong throughout the story.