Humility in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Ever wanted to use humility to accomplish something or anything. Well a man from The Grapes of Wrath made the perfect example. In the excerpt from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, there is man who needs to buy ten cents worth of bread, but Mae, a waitress who works at the diner, does not want to sell the bread because they need it. For further understanding of the book, John Steinbeck wrote this to depict how socialism and communism could benefit the migrant farm workers in California. I believe the man's constant tone of humility influences Mae's behavior to change towards him and his two little boys from selfishness to sympathy.

At the beginning of the excerpt, the man and his sons arrive at the diner with “curious humility.” This type of humility means a strange and unexplainable way of humility. When the man arrives at the diner he asks Mae, “Could you see your way to sell us a loaf of bread, ma'am?” The man clearly just wants a loaf of bread. Mae responds, “This ain't a grocery store. We got bread to make san'widges.” Mae's behavior towards them is rude as if she knows the...