But you can't start. Only a baby can start. You and me - why, we're all that's been. The anger of a moment, the thousand pictures, that's us. This land, this red land, is us; and the flood years and the dust years and the drought years are us. We can't start again. The bitterness we sold to the junk man - he got it all right, but we have it still. And when the owner men told us to go, that's us; and when the tractor hit the house, that's us until we're dead. To California or any place - every one a drum major leading a parade of hurts, marching with our bitterness. And some day - the armies of bitterness will all be going the same way. And they'll all walk together, and there'll be a dead terror from it. John Steinbeck
About This Quote

This is a poem written by Robert Frost about those who go to California. It is also a poem that speaks of the feelings of those people who have been told to move out of the land they have lived in for years. The bitterness they have experienced and the emotional shock they felt when they were being pushed out of their home. The house was hit by a tractor and the family members were forced to leave.

Sadly, people have been forced to move from their homes for many reasons since people first came to this land long ago. In the poem, “The Dead Terror”, Robert Frost speaks about how there is a fear that people will come from California and drive all the people from Montana insane. He also mentions that some day there will be an army of people from California driving all the people out of Montana insane.

This army will be made up of “the armies of bitterness” who will each be marching together as a group having been told to go by or owner men.

Source: The Grapes Of Wrath

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