This to That (Chapter 11 - 15, Option F)

Juxtaposition is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts. - literarydevices.net

 In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses juxtaposition to highlight the harsh realities of the migration west during the Great Depression.

Speaking to some migrants, a shop owner says:

[California] an't that big. The whole United States ain't that big. It ain't that big. It ain't big enough. There ain't room enough for you an' me, for your kind an' my kind, for rich and poor together all in one country, for thieves and honest men, For hunger and fat. Whyn't you go back to where you come from? (120)

 Here, the characteristics are being juxtaposed to each other such as "you an' me" and "rich and poor". The juxtaposition reveals the schism between people during the Great Depression. Here the shop owner is separating himself from the migrants providing a break between them through juxtaposition. He does not refer to themselves as a unity, but rather separated, between "you an' me" and "hunger and fat" despite both parties going through the harsh times of the Great Depression. This division shows the lack of unity in America during though times. Instead of helping each other, people push each other away and only think of themselves. The contrasting groups of "hunger and fat" and "rich and poor" highlight that division, the contrast too great to cooperate as a united group.

Later, the question arises:

Where does the courage come from? Where does the terrible faith come from? (122)

The narrative provides two interrogative sentences with a similar structure. The similarity between the two sentences only serve to highlight the juxtaposition between "courage" and "terrible faith". The sentences link the questioning of "courage" and "terrible faith" implying the the two are one and the same. Courage, a seemingly positive trait, is juxtaposed with "terrible faith", trait of negative connotation. The courage that people often believe in is characterized as instead a negative faith, such a a blind faith, or a courage based on nothing. This use of juxtaposition is used to show the  blind courage that people have. Instead of implanting the faith in something concrete, they rely on a false courage, that in the end will lead them to a dead end.