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Dialect
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis—Blood on the Ground:
While revisiting the spot on the family farm where his father was killed by a bull decades earlier, Muley experiences a sudden flashback, feeling as though he has been transported to the past. He describes the scene vividly:
“I put my han’ right on the groun’ where that blood is still. An’ I seen my pa with a hole through his ches’, an’ I felt him shiver up against me like he done, an’ I seen him kind of settle back an’ reach with his han’s an’ his feet. An’ I seen his eyes all milky with hurt, an’ then he was still an’ his eyes so clear—lookin’ up. An’ me a little kid settin’ there, not cryin’ nor nothin’, jus’ settin’ there.’’ He shook his head sharply. Joad turned the meat over and over.
When he puts his hand on the ground where his father’s blood was once spilled, Muley feels as if he has been transported in time. He presents what he sees as a flashback, noting that he sees his “pa with a hole through his ches',” and feels him “shiver up against me like he done.” Muley describes this past event as if it is occurring right in front of him, noting his father’s eyes were “all milky with hurt” and, later, “clear” as he looks up to the sky, dead. He also sees himself as a “little kid...not cryin’ nor nothin, jus’ settin’ there.” Muley’s flashback shows his deep connection to the land and the many memories that the property holds for him. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck suggests that those who live and work on the land have a deeper understanding of it than the tractor drivers employed by large agricultural companies.
Related Themes:
