Imagery In The Grapes Of Wrath

In the book Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck he uses imagery throughout the book. Such as during chapter 11, when he describes all the empty land and houses. The reader sees the houses spread across the land and witnesses the shingles being torn off and the dust invading every crevice. The read feels a sort of sadness for the emptiness of it all. On pages 149-150 the imagery allows the reader to view how the house slowly deteriorates. Beginning with the hostile children breaking the windows and scavenging for treasures. Then moving to the abandoned cats who had mewed throughout the house searching for the residences. The bats who had once been too afraid of the light now flew freely throughout the house. The house became a habitat of its’
own. The mice who live there provide food for the surrounding predators. Steinbeck uses this chapter to display how nature quickly overtakes human civilization once the tenants leave and no longer battle the weeds and creatures considered filthy. He also shows that even though humanity no longer exists in the area, new life continues on and nature takes back what it once lost.