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Marion Rowe July 20th, 2007 Grapes of Wrath Journal The Rich Care for the Rich Section One June 27th Chapters 1-5 The book began, in a traditional Steinbeck way, with a few pages of description. It set the scene of what is going to happen throughout the entire book, and it helped to paint a picture in my mind of the setting. The setting seems to be extremely important in this book, with the land determining the fates of the people who work them. The first chapter also helped to set the mood. Land and people both seemed to be very tired, dismal, and close to their breaking point. What I found most interesting about the way the book started is that the first chapter described the general population in general in Oklahoma, but no particular family. When we met Tom Joad, I didn’t quite know what to make of him. He was open about killing the man, and didn’t seem to regret it, but he wasn’t boasting, he just didn’t want to keep any secrets. The subject of religion is an odd one during this era. What people call the ‘sperit’ is not what we would describe as the Holy Spirit. If someone had the spirit in them, it was normal behavior to be yelling and jumping up and down, talking in tongues and ‘glory-shouting.’ If someone was to do that now, we would call him crazy. The reverend though, Jim Casy, seems to have different thoughts. He actually sounds more like people from today, in that he believes in God, but he believes more strongly in the will of man, that if all men loved one another, everything would work out in the end. The short chapters seem to describe what is happening in the rest of Oklahoma, and then the plotline focuses on just a few characters within the entire tragedy. At first I wasn’t sure why Steinbeck wrote an entire chapter about a turtle, but I believe that it’s symbolism. The turtle represents the families of the Dust Bowl struggling their way through life, always hitting roadblocks but always working on. Chapter 5, with the explanation of the tractors, is most definitely foreshadowing for later. I am almost positive that the Joads are going to or already have been kicked off their land and will have to move somewhere else to look for work. Interesting passages: “The dawn came, but no day.” “Women and children knew deep in themselves that no misfortune was too great to bear if their men were whole.” Interesting vocabulary: rivulet, emulsion, listless, zenith, spatted Section Two July 3rd Chapters 6-10 Yep, I was right; Tom’s family had been kicked out of their house. I can’t imagine how difficult that must be, to move off of the land that you’ve lived on for generations, with nowhere to go and no guarantees that you’re not going to starve. Muley chose a hard road when he elected to send his family to California and stay on the farm. I understand that he had so many memories in the land and that the land was as much a part of him as his arm, but I would never be able to leave my wife and children alone like that if I was him. He described himself as a graveyard ghost, and it’s true. The land is completely desolate now, with only one big machine working all of the land that was once alive with people and memories. I admire Muley in some ways though. He knows he will never get his land back no matter how hard he tries, and it’s hard to continue fighting when you know you can’t win. I admire his persistency, but I still think it was bad that he broke up his family. The life that these farmers had was a dangerous one, and the land wasn’t always generous with them, but it was a lifestyle that they were content with. What strikes me the most is that the land isn’t even any good. The landowners were neither gaining nor losing money by lending it out to tenant farmers, but they were feeding hundreds and hundreds of families by doing so. I actually feel really bad for the man that works the tractor. He probably feels really ashamed of the work that he is doing, but he is glad of the opportunity to feed his family. If he had turned down the job, he would be like the other families forced to pack up and move. He is humiliated of his work, but he does what he must to provide for his wife and children. The section about the used car salesman made me think of something my dad always says: The rich care for the rich and the poor care for those who have less than they do. The car salesmen were only interested in making more money, whereas Tom invited Casy to his house without a second thought. Tom’s family made me laugh. They seem to be the type of family that you’d think would live in the Dust Bowl. Mean grandpa, grumpy grandma, gruff but caring father, understanding mother, the guilty uncle, the slow brother, the ‘dangerous’ brother, the sleek brother, the mature sister with her husband, and the annoying younger siblings. They seem to have covered every stereotype possible within their family. I like Ma. She seems to understand a lot about people, about how they react and how they think, and also about the situations. She’s reasonable, and she does like to fantasize a bit, but she understands more than anyone about reality and its consequences. She thinks it would be wonderful to go to California and work in the fruit, but she knows that reality is different from dreams, and that the paradise described is probably not a paradise at all. Interesting vocabulary: truculent, ravenously, sheaf, jalopies, animosity, imperturbability, fatuously, globules, titular, eminent Interesting passages: “When they’re all workin’ together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang, that’s holy.” Section Three July 7th Chapters 11-15 It must’ve been really hard for the Joads to leave their land. They’d lived on it for so long, and they only had promises from others and their own imaginations to see what was in store for them. Grampa was so reluctant to leave the land that they had to drug him to get him to leave, but I think that was a good thing. Splitting up the family would have been bad, because I think they’ll all have to work together to get to California. Grampa dying really surprised me though. It’s as if the family is falling apart already, as soon as they break off from the land. When the land died, Grampa did too. It’s as Casy said, “Grampa an’ the old place, they was jus’ the same thing…Grampa didn’ die tonight. He died the minute you took ‘im off the place.” It’s as if Grampa just couldn’t bear being parted from his beloved land. The Joads and the Wilsons helping each other goes back to what I said earlier, that they poor take care of those who have less than they do. This is also shown with the short chapter with Mae the waitress and Al the cook, where they give bread and candy to the starving man and his children. I’m almost positive that this is going to be a theme developed throughout the entire book. Interesting vocabulary: timbre, serene, plummet, furrows, anlage, zygote, accouterments, insignia Interesting passages: “But they’s somepin worse’n the devil got hold a the country, an’ it ain’t gonna let go till it’s chopped loose.” Section Four July 10th Chapters 16-20 The chain of command seemed to be very important to the Joads, and everyone else in this era. Their ‘squatting sessions’ seemed to determine everything, with the men putting their word in first, oldest to youngest, and then the women and children. I further applaud Ma for completely breaking this chain in order to keep her family together. Like Tom said, “One person with their mind made up can shove a lot of folks aroun’!” She was serious about doing whatever she could to keep the family from breaking apart. It’s like the phrase “United we stand, divided we fall.” When Tom and Al fixed the truck, talking about girls and automobiles like in a bad country song, it made me realize why Steinbeck was so good at writing about the ‘plebeians’ in the Dust Bowl. Though educated, Steinbeck really did live with these people, and he was almost one of them. He understands the common folk, and he’s writing about the uneducated for the educated, so we can get a glimpse into what their lives. Casy says that, “It’s like they was runnin’ away from soldiers. It’s like a whole country is movin’.” Slowly I think everyone is realizing that the dream they’re expecting in California is not quite what they thought it was going to be. Rose of Sharon talked to Ma a lot in the truck about what Connie was going to do once they got there, but Ma “suddenly realized that it was only a dream.” The man coming back from California only helped the Joads to run smack into reality. Noah leaving didn’t quite surprise me. He probably had some type of mental disability, which meant that he couldn’t adapt to the change and the uncertainty as much as the others could. The river is like the last glimpse Noah has of his old life, and he’s gripping onto it with all his might and refuses to let go. Noah leaving is just the continuation of the family breaking up. The Joads got their first taste of being Okies in these chapters too. No one wants them around, moving into the area and taking all of their land and opportunities. I don’t blame the current residents, but it’s still a horrible thing to be shunned simply for looking for work. It’s not their fault that they were thrown off their land. I really admire Ma also for keeping quiet about Granma’s death all the way across the desert. Granma’s death didn’t particularly surprise me, since she was old, sick, and broken by grief. But Ma had a lot of courage to stay up with a dying woman, knowing that she’s breathing her last and there is nothing you could do for her. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it. California turned out to be exactly opposite of what the Joads thought. No jobs, and slews of hungry people who, if they attempt to organize, get doomed to unemployment forever. It’s like the hope was ripped out of California from the moment they got there. I don’t know what possessed Connie to leave. I understand that he was grief-stricken about having his dreams dashed on the rocks, but to leave his wife and unborn child to fend for themselves? It was a cowardly action, one that he’ll pay for for the rest of his life. I really hope that he comes to his senses and returns to Rose of Sharon and the baby, but I honestly don’t think he will. Casy did a wonderful thing, taking the full blame for what Tom and Floyd did. What Floyd did was reckless, but I understand that he couldn’t leave without a fight. Still though, what he did though made it so that Tom and Casy had to react, an innocent woman got hurt, and the rest of the camp got burned. Casy volunteering saved Tom from going back to jail or worse, and it was a huge and great sacrifice on his part, but it didn’t help the rest of the people in the camp. All of that could have been avoided if Floyd had put down his pride and just gave himself up to save all of the other people. Interesting vocabulary: apprehended, awestruck, gasket Section Five July 14th Chapters 21-25 It was a lot of fun reading the parts when the Joads were in the government camp. It was nice reading about how they were finally being treated as people with rights, instead of animals only fit to have every ounce of work thrashed out of them. All of the running water and toilets that were considered a luxury made me realize just how primitive these people lived, even for their times. The Joads must have been blessed to come into the camp when they did, and I’m happy they had at least a little glimpse of normality. All of the people in the camp seemed content to share everything they had: food, work, coffee, anything. It was great for the Wallaces to help Tom get the job. It’s as Casy said, if everyone sticks together it’ll all work out in the end. It all goes back to that central theme that the poor care for those who have less than they do. Miss Sandry left a bad taste in my mouth. She’s the other type of religious person in this era, the one that condemns anything that gives you pleasure. They believe that it’s God’s will that people be miserable. It certainly rocked Rose of Sharon, but I’m glad that Ma was there to reassure her. I don’t understand why people would want to break into the government camp and arrest people. I understand that the police have their jobs too, but they’re supposed to reinforce peace instead of cause unrest. I don’t understand what inspired such hate in these men, why they feel the need to break any kind of happiness still left in California. The rich care for the rich I suppose. Props to the men who helped to break up any type of fight that would have happened during the dance night. They did it cleanly and without any violence that would have given the police an opportunity to break in. Interesting vocabulary: apprehensive Section Six July 16th Chapters 26-30 Leaving the government camp and going to the work camp was rather dismal and depressing. The Joads got to see what it was like in most of California, with bad living conditions, horrible pay, and miserable working conditions. When Ma went to buy groceries, the shopkeeper tried to be nice to her but there wasn’t much he could do, though he did try. Ma says, “If you’re in trouble or hurt or in need—go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help—the only ones.” It was wonderful seeing Casy again, and his death was an honorable one. It makes me feel good that he died trying to protect his fellow men and workers from bad treatment. Poor Tom though, forced to act again in self defense. He initially didn’t have an emotional reaction, but while telling Pa later, he had a bit of a breakdown. I was upset to see Casy dead; he was one of my favorite characters. He was one of the only characters in the entire novel that only wanted to help his fellow man, and wanted nothing for himself. The flood at the end of the novel is definitely symbolic. I think it symbolizes the final breaking point of the Joad family. Ma gives Tom money and he leaves to care for himself elsewhere, Rose of Sharon miscarries the baby, and Al goes off to get married with Aggie. Time has settled down to a hard, bleak lifestyle, where it’s all you can do just to stay alive. Towards the end of the novel Rose of Sharon was the one character who changed the most. She was no longer with secrets and giggles and sly, knowing smiles. She worked hard, cared for herself and her baby as best she could, and did everything in her power to help. That’s why it’s so significant at the very end, while nursing the sick old man, that “She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.” Interesting vocabulary: eddied, assuaged Interesting passages: “You can’t sin none, you ain’t got no money. Jus’ sit tight. Cos’ you at leas’ two bucks to sin, an’ we ain’t got two bucks amongst us.” | 
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