The Grapes of Wrath (1-10 H)

"He done a little bad thing an' they hurt 'im, caught 'im an' hurt him so he was mad, an' the nex' bad thing he done was mad, an' they hurt 'im again. An' purty soon he was mean-mad. They shot at him like a varmint, an' he shot back, an' then they run him like a coyote, an' him a-snappin' an' a-snarlin',mean as a lobo. And he was mad. He wasn't no boy or no man no more, he was jus' a walkin' chunk a mean-mad" (76).


The repetition is used to explain the cruel actions and the effect of violence. Mad is repeated to express the emotions he has against his family. Hurt him being repeated is to say how he hurts his family in the process and then he gets mad at them. He uses these words to express his emotions and to describe how he feels towards his family. He constantly repeats those words to emphasize how much he really means it. Its to help us understand him and imagine how he feels.