If a bank or finance company owned the land, the owner man said, The Bank – or the Company – needs – wants – insists – must have – as though the Bank or the Company were a monster, with thought and feeling, which had ensnared them.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 5. Steinbeck uses a metaphor to compare the banks to monsters in their relentless drive for wealth. He sees them as evil and inhuman entities feeding on the labor, misery and misfortunes of tenant farmers. The bank is also personified here, as it is given human attributes – "needs – wants – insists."