And the people waded away, carrying their wet blankets in their arms. They splashed along, carrying the children, carrying the very old, in their arms. And if a barn stood on high ground, it was filled with people, shivering and hopeless.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 29. This chapter describes desperate times for the migrants, as rain pours down in torrents on the valley and floods the earth. Their hope is washed away, as the constant downpour brings hardship of biblical proportions.