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Metaphors
Definition of Mood
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect of a piece of writing... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes in the reader. Every aspect... read full definition
The mood of a piece of writing is its general atmosphere or emotional complexion—in short, the array of feelings the work evokes... read full definition
Chapter 6
Explanation and Analysis:
Though there are brief scenes of joy and happiness throughout the novel, its overall mood is melancholic. Its primary characters have been forced off the land where their families have lived for generations, and though they hope for a better future, they nevertheless feel a keen sense of loss for all that they must leave behind. When Ted and Casy find Muley Graves, an old neighbor of the Joad family, near the Joad’s old property in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Muley’s somber reflections on the past reflect the melancholy tone of the novel:
Muley went on, “Like a damn ol’ graveyard ghos’. I been goin’ aroun’ the places where stuff happened. Like there’s a place over by our forty; in a gully they’s a bush. Fust time I ever laid with a girl was there [...] So I went there an’ I laid down on the groun’, an’ I seen it all happen again. An’ there’s the place down by the barn where Pa got gored to death by a bull. An’ his blood is right in that groun’, right now. Mus’ be. Nobody never washed it out. An’ I put my han’ on that groun’ where my own pa’s blood is part of it.’’
Though he is still alive, Muley feels like he is an “ol’ graveyard ghos’” haunting the former property of his family, from which they have been evicted. Too stubborn to leave, Muley has been left behind by his family and is now alone with his memories of the past. He notes that he has begun revisiting important spots from his earlier life, such as a bush where he lost his virginity and a “place down by the barn” where his father was “gored to death by a bull.” As he puts his hand down on the ground, he feels a connection to his father, as he feels that his father’s blood is still there, in the soil. Muley, then, is one of many characters in the novel who struggle to adapt to the swift changes that have been brought to the region due to historical factors that are out of their control. His tone here reflects a great sense of loss and a melancholic desire for a past that is now out of reach.
Related Themes:
