Sorrowful Desperation
By Aaron Baek, with comments by Eric Weiss, Rachel Brooks, and Lauren Hochman
[1] There are many scenes in John Ford’s 1940s filmic rendition of The Grapes of Wrath in which we see the horrors of starvation, poverty, and desperation plague the lives of Dust Bowl migrants as shown through the eyes of the Joads. Out of all the countless scenes Ford directs, there is one scene that capitalizes on the plight the Dust Bowl migrants face during their search of new opportunities. The scene in which poor famished children look upon Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) as she cooks her stew for the family is one that instills a feeling of heart-break for the viewer who watches this scene through the usage of clever cinematography and screen play. Not only does this scene establish the mood of the film as a whole, but it also represents the reality of the dark lives the migrants were exposed to in history.
[2] This pivotal scene begins as the Joads drive their jalopy into a Hooverville filled with ragged tents, tarpaper shacks, broken-down trucks, and dirt-covered children. The overwhelming presence of poverty within the Hooverville immediately gives off a grim aura as the camera focuses on the individuals looking upon the newcomers with envy and apathy. The Joads come to a stop in the middle of the community as the protagonist Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) begins to feel insecure and not welcome in a populace supposedly like themselves. Realizing that the community is inhospitable, Tom turns to Ma Joad and asks, “Want to go somewheres else?†Ma Joad, like Tom, has her insecurities about the Hooverville but realizes that it is beyond preferences at this point. In response she replies, “On a gallon a gas? Let’s set up the tent. Maybe I can fix us up some stew.†As Tom looks at Ma with disagreement, he starts the truck once again and continues to travel through the Hooverville as a wave of eyes follows the trajectory of the leaving jalopy. As the camera continues to capture the residents staring at the Joads, the continuation of the camera’s focus allows Ford to build a focus on the Joads for the events to come.
[3] The scene dissolves into the front of the Joad tent as Ma is on her knees feeding a small fire with broken sticks. On the outskirts of the tent you see a group of ragged, barefooted children around the fire staring at the stew Ma is making. Occasionally they look to Ma and then gaze back at the stew as they passively insinuate their desire for food. Ford capitalizes on this moment to show that the Dust Bowl migrants were not only adults, but also children, who, like the adults, experienced similar horrors such as hunger and desperation. In an effort to emphasize the children’s significance, Ford carefully utilizes documentary style techniques by zooming into the children’s faces as he manipulates an overcast shadow that appears to partially cloak their faces. The visualization of the desperate children magnifies the feeling of a dark and ghostly atmosphere that exists throughout the scene, the film, and in the history.
[4] After a few moments of silence, one of the older children speaks up as she asks Ma if she needs any assistance with cooking. Realizing that the girl’s sudden outburst is a means to be asked to eat, the Joads attempt to remain silent to avoid the scenario in which they would have to ask the children to leave. The camera depicts the Joad’s thoughts without being stated through dialogue as it shows Tom, Uncle John (Frank Darien), and Ma with a look of uncertainty and doubt plastered upon their faces. Although it appears that the Joad’s are evading the situation, Ma can not stand the look on the desperate children, and she asks, “You want to get asked to eat huh?†Ma’s rhetorical question towards the child is not a matter of clarification for herself, but to further articulate the dark atmosphere in this scene. A heart-broken Ma listens to the girl’s story as she tells Ma that she has not had breakfast and that her father can not afford to pay for gas or find work. Pa Joad (Russell Simpson) and John enter the shot as Pa unknowingly asks about food in front of the children. Ma, still feeling heartbroken, turns to Pa and says, “I don’t know what to do. I got to feed the family. What am I gonna do with these here?†Ford cleverly captures this shot to relay the mood to the other characters as Ma turns her face away from the children, while Pa and John see firsthand what Ma was encountering.
[5] The camera’s focus continues to oscillate between the children and Joads as Ma prepares to serve the stew to each member of the family. A haunting image of children looking down at the ground in disappointment begins to lurk in the minds of the Joads as they try to ignore the children. Ford continues to utilize his cinematic techniques to always imbue a dark and eerie feeling into the viewer despite a sunny day. This shot is one of many that convey the horrors of desperation and starvation for impoverished children not only to the eyes of the Joads but also to the viewers as well. In addition, the image of the overcast shadow on the children’s faces continues to add effect to the ambiance of the scene, and continues to recreate the emotions that were experienced in the Dust Bowl Era. (see comment by Eric Weiss)
[6] As the scene progresses, Ma begins to serve the stew to each of the family members while the children’s eyes follows the plate into John’s hands. As John exits from the camera’s focus, viewers are unaware that the screenplay instructs John to raise his first spoonful of stew to his mouth only to discover the children staring at him. Ford captures this image with three particular children who watch John like a hawk, as Ford quickly transitions to the next frame in which John walks up to Tom offering up his plate. “You take this. I ain’t hungry . . . I got a stomachache. I ain’t hungry.†Knowing that John hasn’t eaten all day, Tom realizes that he refuses to eat because he is submerged in a pool of guilt. As Tom takes a glance at the children looking desperately at them, he instructs John to go inside the tent and eat. The children’s faces impact the strong-willed Tom as his straight-faced persona begins to crumble into a look of uncertainty. Viewers begin to see a clear image of Tom’s broken face as he approaches the camera while gesturing the children to leave the premises. Tom appears to struggle with himself as he says, “You git. Go on now, git. You ain’t doing’ no good. They ain’t enough for you.†It is evident that his command towards the children pains him as the camera continues to show Tom evading the eye contact with the children. The children retreat a step, but no more, as they appear to be disheartened. After attempting to send them away, the camera focuses back on Tom as he rejoins Ma and Pa in the frame. Since Ma represents the symbolic “rock†of the family, she takes charge of the situation by telling both Pa and Tom to go inside the tent while she handles the children.
[7] When Ma attempts to reason with the children, the dynamics of the scene begins to shift. She takes initiative as she embodies the kind-hearted character that she has been throughout the entirety of the film. Ma turns to the children and says, “Look. You little fellas go and get you each a flat sick and I’ll put what’s left for you.†(see comment by Rachel Brooks) As Ma is speaking, Ford transitions the camera angle to a viewpoint that incorporates both Ma and the children. Using his excellent cinematography techniques, Ford cleverly moves the camera to a point in which shadows are nearly obsolete from the picture, giving it a more symbolic meaning. Ma shows compassion, sympathy, and selflessness amidst an era plagued with selfishness, lack of empathy, and indifference. The children begin to scatter searching for tin cans as Ford captures a scenic picture with a clear sky and limited dark elements within his shot. The reason for his bright image is to articulate the importance of Ma’s selfless behavior; he shows a contrast between the light and dark in his shots through the course of peoples’ actions. Just as light appears to cover the screen, Ford immediately brings back the dark atmosphere as he zooms into Ma’s face as she says, “I don’t know if I’m doin’ right or not.†The shadow that casts from the hat Ma is wearing reestablishes the dark ambiance Ford has worked to establish from the beginning of the film.
[8] As the scene comes to a close, we see Ma watching the children as they bring back cans and fight over the rations of the stew. Although Ma seems to maintain the strong figure as she looks upon the children, the screenplay states that she hurries into the tent to hide the tears that have come into her eyes. The last we see of Ma is when she shakes her head in disapproval for what the Dust Bowl has done not only to the land, but also to the children as well. Ford switches perspectives as he allows Pa, Tom, and John to finalize the scene by once again introducing the dark imagery Ford had established. In the tent, the shadows are cast over their faces as Pa continues to eat without looking up, John stares blankly at the children, and Tom looks at the children with pity. The scene begins to fade away into a black screen that becomes a crucial element to finalize the dark imagery. Ford begins the scene with a shadow and ends with complete darkness as he successfully portrays the horrors of the Dust Bowl through careful cinematic techniques and well-directed screenplay. (see comment by Lauren Hochman)
Comments
Although the photographic and cinematographic effects that Ford utilizes in this scene supplement the tone of the film, his portrayal of the Okie children reveals even more about the horrors, and hopes, of the dust bowl era. When the Joads first arrive at the camp, it is clear how little they want to be there. As the starving children stand around the Joad's tent, one can not help but wonder where their parents are. All the adults in the Hooverville seem to be ghosts. No one welcomes the Joad family, no one shows any signs of organization or of structured life. This place is where hope goes to die, and the realization is empowered by Ford's cinematographic skills in making the adult life exist only through the stories of the children. The parents in the Hooverville are ghosts of what life should be; they are products of the inhumanely low standard of living that the Okies were forced to suffer in the dust bowl era.
On the other hand, Ford's use of the children also represents hope in the Hooverville because the children themselves have hope. While it is true the parents seemed to have given up on finding work, eating, or thriving, the children continue to search for sustenance and a greater standard of living. These children act, beg, and joke like normal children, shattering the prejudices the majority of people had placed on the Okie children, while also revealing to the audience a glimmer of hope. Even though the parents have given up hope, the next generation of people, their children, have an opportunity to fix the problems of poverty that runs rampant throughout the dust bowl era. The spirit that these children exhibit by searching for food says that sometime in the future there will be better times, that sometime in the future there will be no more Hoovervilles. The children are key to fixing the problems of the future, and by allowing these children to thrive in the face of such unbelievable adversity, Ford suggests that they are ultimately the key to curing the disease of poverty that had spread wildly throughout the United States.
The spirit of the children and their vocal determination as portrayed in this scene contribute to the overall tone and importance. Ford demonstrates the strong spirit of the Okies, in particular the children, as they fight to survive, yet do so with a sense of dignity. The begging children seem void of dignity with shadows casting their faces as if to proclaim their shame. However, the assertion of their hunger and will to take control of their feelings portrays them in a more mature fashion. These school-age children, who in normal circumstances would not worry or care about the process of gathering and cooking their next meal, show maturity uncharacteristic of their age. They take control of their hunger by becoming proactive in their search for food. This scene relates the Okie hardships to children as well as adults. The comparative depiction of the Joad’s weariness and uneasiness in the camp alongside the starving children, all in search of the same nourishment, growth, and stability, serves to relate to the audience the struggles felt by the children as well as the family as a whole. Ford demonstrates through these children’s ability to take action and Ma’s receptiveness towards their actions, the strength and camaraderie existent between the Okies despite the hardships they face. This positive depiction of the Okies serves to disprove the popular public opinion of them as belligerent dirty people, void of class, dignity, and civility, while also informing the audience of the hardships felt by Okie children.
When Ma told the children to go find something to put some stew in, their faces lit up, and they could not get a tin can fast enough. Just seeing the look on the children’s faces when Ma told them they would have just a small meal that night was extremely emotional. This scene revealed the reality of the time to the audience -- how many families were going through the same hardships as the Joad family. This part of the scene makes the severity of the time especially clear. It is interesting that it is solely the children that are fighting for food, as well as for survival. Although it is evident that the children are worn down and hungry, they have been able to hold on to enough hope to keep them moving forward. The children have set their pride aside because they know that they have to do whatever they can to satisfy their hunger. This is not something they learned from their parents, because it is the parents and adults who stay in their own tents and will not ask for food. This idea that the children are taking their care and health into their own hands is completely opposite to the typical “family†stereotype, in which the parents take care of the children. This scene is further proof of how tragic the Dust Bowl really is for the Oklahoma farmers and how much it affects their lives.
