Fear, hostility and exploitation in chapter 21 of The Grapes of Wrath Steinbeck's intercalated chapters in The Grapes of Wrath have nothing to do with the Joads or other characters in the novel, but they help describe the story in different terms. They are similar to poems, offering different perspectives on migration and clarifying parts of the story that the reader may not understand. An excellent example of this use can be seen in chapter 21, where an examination of the attitudes of Okies migrants and California residents reveals the changing nature of land ownership among California's ever-changing population and gives greater meaning to the fierce hostility that the I Joad meet in California. The first section of chapter 21 explores the plight of the Okies, simple people forced to leave their homes when industrial change complicates their lives. Steinbeck writes: "Their senses were still sharp from the ridiculous industrial life. And then suddenly the cars pushed them out and swarmed onto the highways." This statement refers to the beginning of the novel, with particular emphasis on the death of the grandfather and grandmother. When industrial agriculture hits the agricultural Midwest, the Joads are forced off their land and forced to migrate, abandoning the home they have lived in for so long. In a short time, the grandfather dies of a stroke. His life is tied to the land and he can't keep up with such rapid changes, and when he dies Grandma will surely follow him. The paragraph continues: "The movement changed them; the highways, the roadside encampments, the fear of hunger and hunger itself, changed them. The children without dinner changed them, the endless movements changed them. They were mig... ... middle of paper ...... and banks The 'fermenting anger' described by Steinbeck also refers to the title of the novel, as grapes serve as a symbol of migrants, and anger represents their anguish and difficulty The thin line between hunger and anger is broken from changes in land ownership, and workers' retaliation is the inevitable result. Steinbeck greatly clarifies and expands his story by examining the different emotions and reactions of his general character groups to a third body instead of pitting them against each other By mastering the use of the interleaving chapter, he is able to enrich his story with deeper thoughts and explore it outside the confines of his main characters. . In this way, Steinbeck is able to write a four-page chapter that has great significance for a 581-page novel..