How we cite our quotes: (Page)
Quote #4
Jim said, "You didn't need all that cloth. Why did you tell London to burn it?"
"Look, Jim. Don't you see? Every man who gave part of his clothes felt that the work was his own. They all feel responsible for that baby. It's theirs, because something from them went to it. To give back the cloth would cut them out. There's no better way to make men part of a movement than to have them give something to it." (49)
We have to give it to Mac here: this is some very clever use of group psychology. He knows from experience that people who work together have to forge bonds of loyalty and fraternity in order to be productive. It's a lucky thing for them that Lisa is kind enough to produce that baby right when they appear on the scene—and that she gives birth successfully, given that Mac actually has no idea how to deliver a baby. Mac is able to use this circumstance to teach the men to work together and to have a vested interest in what they produce from their collaboration.
Quote #5
"And who are your neighbors?" Mac asked quickly. "I'll tell you who they are: Hunter, Gillray, Martin. Who holds your paper? Torgas Finance Company. Who owns Torgas Finance Company? Hunter, Gillray, Martin. Have they been squeezing you? You know God damn well they have." (89)
We all like to think of our home communities as safe places filled with neighbors who look out for each other. Yeah, well, Torgas Valley is not that kind of place. The main men (Hunter, Gillray, Martin) are really looking out for themselves and their bottom lines, much to the detriment of the workers and the small farmers in the area. Mac uses this knowledge to convince Anderson to support the strikers by allowing them to use his spare land for a camp. He has success with Anderson precisely because the old man knows that his prosperous neighbors are really out to destroy his way of life.
Quote #6
The moment he stopped talking a turbulence broke out. Shouting and laughing, the men eddied. They seemed filled with a terrible joy, a bloody, lustful joy. Their laughter was heavy. Into the rooms they swarmed, and carried out their things and piled them on the ground—pots and kettles, blankets, bundles of clothing. (104)
Mac has announced to the workers at the orchard that the "super" has tried unsuccessfully to bribe London to betray them—and that they now have to move off the land because they have been evicted. He uses this opportunity to tell the men and women that they have to keep order and work together to gather all their things for the move to Anderson's farm. The workers are pretty stoked by all this, but it's a dangerous thing. Steinbeck's use of oxymoron here ("terrible joy" and "bloody, lustful joy") tells us that we're going to be in for a wild ride.