Question about the Grapes of Wrath?

Question

Why the title Grapes of Wrath? What is the symbolism behind this? What was Steinbeck referring to?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Steinbeck had unusual difficulty devising a title for his novel. "The Grapes of Wrath", suggested by his wife, Carol Steinbeck, was deemed more suitable than anything the author himself could come up with. The title is a reference to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, by Julia Ward Howe:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

As might be expected, the image invoked by the title serves as a crucial symbol in the development of both the plot and the novel's greater thematic concerns.

Answer 2

From the song Battle Hymn of the Republic. Funny side note, the book was translated in Japanese. The title (in Japanese) could be translated back into English as "The Angry Raisins". Mrs Steinbeck thought that John would have gotten a big laugh out of that had he lived to see it.

Answer 3

i dont go for wat the author thought then, but i see it as the grapes when collected they give the core of it all