Abstract
This excerpt, taken from Chapter 6 of ?The Grapes of Wrath', deals with Muley Graves's account of the depletion of man, when he is separated from his land. It is the third of many narrative chapters, which move away from the social, economic and historical situations that shape the intercalary chapters, to focus on the plight of individuals. At the beginning of Chapter 6, Muley tells Tom that the Joads, as well as his own family, have been removed from their land by the bank. He also confesses that he was unable to leave the land where he had grown up and to follow his family to California. Therefore, the passage seems to be about the erosion of family unity and of man's dignity. Nevertheless, the sharing of food between Tom, Muley and Casy seems to foretell the creation of a new kind of bond between the Okies.
