What is the tone of chapter 5 of the grapes of wrath? why does it have that tone?

In this chapter we feel the cruelty that the banks are inflicting on the farmers. The tone is antagonistic, desperate and forlorn. Often, neighbours mow over the shacks of their friends because banks are paying them a meagre salary to feed their own families. There really is a sense of desperation; aggravation and finally resignation in the people that watch their lives disintegrate into dust.