en twin colts the way they work together. See? The teeth. Sound all over. Deep lungs. Feet fair and clean. How much? Ten dollars? For both? And the wagon- Oh, Jesus Christ! I’d shoot ‘em for dog feed first. Oh, take ‘em! Take ‘em quick, mister. You’re buying a little girl plaiting the forelocks, taking off her hair ribbon to make bows, standing back, head cocked, rubbing the soft noses with her cheek. You’re buying years of work, toil in the sun; you’re buying a sorrow that can’t talk. But watch it, mister. There’s a premium goes with this pile of junk and the bay horses – so beautiful – a packet of bitterness to grow in your house and to flower, some day. We could have saved you, but you cut us down, and soon you will be cut down and there’ll be none of us to save you.” (118)There is a lot of symbolism throughout The Grapes of Wrath, in the form of events or even in the characters themselves. The first noticeable use of this is in chapter three, with a turtle who is simply trying to get to the end of a road. He slowly plods along in the heat, never stopping in his journey, although he is faced with many obstacles. A car whizzes by, barely nicking him and sending him skidding across the road with his shell overturned. Once the danger is past he emerges from his shell and continues on, only to be picked up by Tom Joad, who carries him for a distance with the intention of giving him to Winfield as a present. Naturally this is not in the turtle’s plans, but he tolerates it and once set down by Tom, works his way free of the jacket that restrained him and slowly makes his way back towards his goal. This is symbolic of the Joad’s journey to California, with all the hardships they faced. Yet they never faltered on their path, each and every member of the family knew where they wanted to go and didn’t allow minor setbacks to st...
