"and in the eyes of the hungry, there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, heavy for the vintage." (page 271)

This photo illustrates various themes from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath; the migrant, children, the road, but most prominently, the need for humanity to adapt to its conditions. 

First and foremost, the family, minus the father, is under a tarp in their back of their vehicle, beneath the shadow it casts. This alone sets the dire mood of the photo, as the tarp is symbolic of the famine and tragedy that is constantly lingering over the heads, omnipresent. The lack of a father figure in the photo also represents a common theme; abandonment. In Steinbeck's book, Rose of Sharon's husband Connie abandoned her when times became rough and unpleasant, seeking only to help himself. Connie's abandonment of the family, Rose of Sharon in particular, began the fissure in the family, which continued only to grow as more and more members of the family either died, were arrested, or simply scattered. 

The second most prevalent portion of the photo is the infants. The infant on the far left appears to be being lifted up, although it is sitting on the lap of a sibling, whose entire upper body is mysteriously absent from the photo. This scene is reminiscent of the end of the Steinbeck's book, when the flood rolled over the plains, yet the Joads couldn't move because of the baby being born. This alone could be symbolic of the flecks of hope Steinbeck implements into his book, such as a dandelion pushing through the cracked and barren earth. It almost appears that the child is being lifted above the troubles of his family by some external force. However, the infant doesn't appear to be saved from the scenario, as his troubled, clenched face may suggest. The four children in the middle of the photo share similar facial expressions; hopelessness, hunger. Notice how only the mother is wearing shoes, symbolic of the severe poverty that migrant families during the Dust Bowl experienced. What might have been considered necessities now were considered luxuries then, further symbolic of the perpetual conflicts that migrant families experienced. One child in the back has nearly faded face, and is barely visible. Perhaps this is symbolic of their withering away, their emaciation clenching their throats until they gasp their last, starved breath.

One peculiar portion of this photo doesn't seem to fit in; the mother's mild grin. Whilst her children display faces of dismay and disgust, the mother displays a comforting sense of hopefulness. Like in Steinbeck's book, the mother is the single figure in the family which is able to stay stable and hold the rest of the members in place. The mother is the only one who is staying positive, both in the book and in this photo.

This heart-wrenching photo relates to the above quote. The children appear hungry, unhappy, desiring the past where food was plentiful and when they owned their own land. Before the migrant families were corralled and herded to the West like swine. The quote is symbolic of the entire tone of the Dust Bowl, as almost all of those effected by the tragedy had a desire for the past, when times were simpler.