In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck there is a man who is poor due to garbage and is traveling in California. He comes across a diner and asks for a loaf of bread, the waitress working there doesn't let him have it until the end. The man asking for the loaf of bread was humble the entire time he asked for the bread and Mae refused. The man's insistent and unyielding humility influences Mae's (the waitress) behavior because in the end Mae felt sympathy for the man even though she had been rude and sarcastic at first. She was prejudiced at first, but later felt understanding. Right at the beginning of the passage it is stated that the man stands outside the dinner with curious humility. Curious humility in this case means that the man stands there with such strange and abnormal humility just like other people who are victims of garbage. Evidence from the text: “The man took off his dark, stained hat and stood with curious humility before the screen. “You could see how to sell us a loaf of bread, ma'am??’ ...