- wrathnounChapter 1 →
Fierce, burning anger — the kind that builds slowly from suffering and injustice until it is ready to explode into action.
“In the eyes of the hungry there was a growing wrath.”
- stickernounChapter 2 →
A posted notice or decal on a truck's windshield forbidding the driver from picking up hitchhikers, issued by the trucking company.
“Sometimes a guy'll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker.”
- parolenounChapter 2 →
Early release from prison under the condition that the released person follows certain rules and reports to authorities for a set period.
“I got four years. I'm out on parole.”
- high-domedadjectiveChapter 3 →
Having a shell that rises steeply into a rounded, elevated arch — describing the turtle's thick, humped back.
“a land turtle crawled, turning aside for nothing, dragging his high-domed shell over the grass.”
- embankmentnounChapter 3 →
A raised slope of earth or gravel built up alongside a road, forming a bank that the turtle must climb over and then descend.
“as the turtle crawled on down the embankment, its shell dragged dirt over the seeds.”
- the whole shebangphraseChapter 4 →
An informal expression meaning the entire thing — everything taken together as one whole, with nothing left out.
“maybe that's the Holy Sperit—the human sperit—the whole shebang.”
- the callphraseChapter 4 →
The inner spiritual summons that a person feels has chosen them to preach — the sense of divine mission that drives a preacher's vocation.
“I got tired like Him, an' the sperit's strong in me, on'y it ain't the same. I ain't got the call no more.”
- goggledadjectiveChapter 5 →
Wearing large protective goggles over the eyes, here as part of the dust-blocking gear worn by a tractor driver.
“gloved, goggled, rubber dust mask over nose and mouth, he was a part of the monster, a robot in the seat.”
- robotnounChapter 5 →
A person who acts like a machine — without human feeling or independent will — because he blindly follows orders rather than thinking for himself.
“he was a part of the monster, a robot in the seat.”
- citadelnounChapter 8 →
A fortress — the strongest, most defended point. Here it means Ma Joad is the unshakeable center of strength that holds the whole family together.
“She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken.”
- had my ashes hauledphraseChapter 8 →
A crude, old-fashioned slang expression meaning to have sex.
“'I never had my ashes hauled by a preacher before,' said Grampa, and he cackled at his own joke.”
- bearin'nounChapter 8 →
Giving birth — the act of bearing a child. Used here in dialect spelling to mean childbirth as part of the universal cycle of life.
“dyin' is a piece of all dyin', and bearin' is a piece of all bearin'.”
- mechanicallyadverbChapter 10 →
Moving or acting like a machine — automatically, without conscious thought or emotion, just going through the motions.
“She moved mechanically, her big thumb going methodically to each object, sorting, discarding, keeping.”
- methodicallyadverbChapter 10 →
In a careful, orderly, step-by-step way, doing each thing in a deliberate sequence without skipping or rushing.
“She moved mechanically, her big thumb going methodically to each object, sorting, discarding, keeping.”
- outcroppingnounChapter 11 →
A piece of rock that juts up through the surface of the soil, sticking out of the ground so a plow blade must be steered around it.
“turning his plow point for a stone, dropping his handles to slide over an outcropping, kneeling in the earth to eat his lunch.”
- lustedverbChapter 11 →
Felt a deep, passionate desire or longing for something. Here it means no one cared about or felt personally invested in the crops growing in the field.
“No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth.”
- tributaryadjectiveChapter 12 →
Feeding into a larger route — smaller side roads that branch off and then join the main highway, like streams flowing into a river.
“they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads.”
- ruttedadjectiveChapter 12 →
Deeply grooved or cut with tracks from wagon wheels or vehicle tires, making the road rough and difficult to travel.
“they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads.”
- caravannounChapter 12 →
A group of vehicles traveling together in a line, especially migrants moving along the same road toward the same destination.
“sometimes a single car, sometimes a little caravan. All day they rolled slowly along the road.”
- dyedverbChapter 13 →
Dialect spelling of 'died' — used here in a handwritten roadside epitaph to show the uneducated, phonetic spelling of a grieving family.
“This here is Will'um James Joad, dyed of a stroke, old old man.”
- funerlsnounChapter 13 →
Dialect spelling of 'funerals' — the burial ceremonies. The misspelling on the grave marker reflects the family's lack of formal schooling.
“His fokes bured him becaws they got no money to pay for funerls.”
- blazonedadjectiveChapter 7 →
Displayed boldly and prominently, painted or posted in large, eye-catching letters meant to attract attention from the road.
“the garages with blazoned signs—Used Cars, Good Used Cars, Cheap transportation.”
- dispossessionnounChapter 5 →
The act of being forced off land or property you have farmed and lived on, leaving you with nothing — used here for tenant farmers evicted by banks.
- squattersnounChapter 19 →
People who settle on and farm land they do not legally own, without paying rent or having a deed — here referring to early American settlers in California.
- leveenounChapter 30 →
A low wall or bank of packed earth built alongside a river or flood zone to hold back rising water and protect the land behind it.
The Grapes of WrathNovel by John Steinbeck