Grapes of Wrath Travel Journal: Chapters 1-10, Letter E

3 Examples of Personification

1. "In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk; and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn" (2).
• This is personification because the wind is described to have "cried and whimpered". Since wind is not a living object, it is given living, human traits.
2.  "The truck tires sang on the road" (13).
• Personification because truck tires do not sing, only humans.
  
3.  "You know what cotton does to the land; robs it, sucks all the blood out of it" (32).
• Personification because cotton is described to "rob" and "suck the blood" of the land, emphasizing the damage from growing cotton.

Personification is used in order to connect with the readers. Personification puts human traits on non-living objects, making them more vivid. Readers can understand clearer, sympathize with or react emotionally to the story because of personification. Personification puts a greater emphasis on objects and makes it easier to connect with those objects. Readers can understand on a clearer and deeper level just by recognizing personification. Personification can connote positivity and/or negativity. All the quotes I chose are about the wind, road and land. So far, in chapters 1-10, Grapes of Wrath is about the struggles of the Dust Bowl. Personification in these quotes make the story more alive and more dramatic. The mood that it brings is usually depressing but not always. For example, in quote #2, it connotes a positive effect because singing is usually done when one is happy or cheerful. For quotes #1 and #3, it connotes negativity because the wind "cried" and "whimpered" and cotton "robs" the land. As a result of personification, every image can be seen through a more critical lens.