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John Steinbeck Explains It All to You

by John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath

"But how can such courage be, and such faith in their own species? Very few things would teach such faith.
The people in flight from the terror behind--strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired forever."

'Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.' 'Yeah, an' Almighty God never raised no wages.

"Our people are good people; our people are kind people. Pray God some day kind people won't all be poor. Pray God some day a kid can eat.

"And the associations of owners knew that some day the praying would stop.

"And there's the end."

I'm just trying' to get along without shovin' nobody around."

"The on'y thing you got to look at is that ever' time they's a little step fo'ward, she may slip back a little, but she never slips clear back. You can prove that, an' that makes the whole thing right. An' that means they wasn't no waste even if it seemed like they was."

"Tom said, 'Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.'

'Yeah,' Casy said. 'An' Almighty God never raised no wages. These here folks want to live decent and bring up their kids decent. An' when they're old they wanta set in the door an' watch the downing sun. An' when they're young they wanta dance an' sing an' lay together. They wanta eat an' get drunk and work. An' that's it--they wanta jus' fling their goddman muscles aroun' and get tired. Christ! What am I talkin' about?'"

"Tom laughed uneasily. 'Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain't got a soul of his own, but on'y a piece of a big one--an' then--.'

'Then what, Tom?'

'Then it don' matter. Then I'll be all aroun' in the dark. I'll be ever'where--wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an' I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready. An' when our folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build--why, I'll be there.'"