Grapes Of Wrath By SteinbeckIn the beginning of the chapter the book Steinbeck discusses the earth. It tellshow dry the soil is and how even walking stirred up a dust cloud.
It tells howthe people have adapted such as wearing mask and goggles to protect the air theybreathe. The people were devastated by the dust storms that block out the sunand the stars. The land is dry and cracked, the crops are withered and dieing;much like the peoples spirits. Chapter 2 The chapter starts out at a truck stop.
Steinbeck implies the importance of a truck stop to truckers. It provides adriver conversation and entertainment with people. The workers are to the drivera distant family. Truck stops provide companionship with people in the sameindustry and know what it feels like.
This is where Steinbeck introduces TomJoad. Tom and the driver are both dressed in new clothes but, unlike the driverTom’s clothes came from McCalaster. McCalaster is a prison where he spent fouryears, in punishment for homicide. Tom was at the truck stop looking for a ride. He sat on the running board of a rig, until the driver came out. Tom questionedif the owner of the truck would actually stop him from giving Tom a ride.
Thedriver gave in and let Tom ride along. Chapter 3 This chapter was first aboutthe dry grasses along a highway, and then about a turtle. I think thesignificance of the turtle in the chapter is to show that all living things mustkeep moving to survive. Also, to show that there are two types of people in thisworld, kind people and mean people. When the turtle was on the road a lady triedto miss hitting the turtle. While a man swerved to hit it; thus flipping theturtle over on his back.
The turtle struggled back on to his stomach andcontinued on. Chapter 4 Tom was walking down a gravel road on his way home andpicked up a turtle as a present for his brother and sister. As he went along hegrew tired from the hot Oklahoma sun and stopped at a tree along the road andmet an old friend named Jim Casy. Jim used to be a preacher but, had lost thecalling.
Now Jim just bummed around the area and theorized about life. The onlyinformation Jim was able to give Tom, was that things were changing and peoplewere leaving, due to the drought. In the end of the chapter Jim decided to gowith Tom to his old house to visit. Chapter 5 The chapter discussed a politicalmonster. Steinbeck talked about the banks and how the banks ordered the peopleoff the land.
The men could do nothing. The wanted to rotate the crops but, theywere out of time. There was nothing left that they could do. The corporationswere the monsters and the banks worked for the corporations.
The banks sent outtractors at the corporate commands. They sent tractors to till the soil and makeit into one big field, plowing over anything it the way; and the families fled. Chapter 6 Tom and Casy went to the house and found it deserted. The house wasleaning and knocked off it’s foundation. The tools were gone, the water troughdry and cracked and the well dry. There was cotton planted right up around thehouse where there never was any before.
The only thing that was left was a graycat. As they sat on the porch a man came along, just walking created a hugecloud of dust. The man’s name was Muley graves, he had lost his farm also butdecided to stay. Tom was lucky that Muley stopped, Muley explained how a mancame and told them kindly to get off the land and the man was sorry but itwasn’t his decision. He also brought along rabbits that they cleaned and atefor dinner.
After dinner a deputy showed up, and they ran out to the cottonfield and hid. The deputy would not come out in the field, because Muley had hithim one time. After the deputy left they went down by the creek and slept in ashallow cave. Chapter 7 The chapter discusses the car sales men.
It talks abouthow they take up peoples time then make them feel bad so they will buysomething. Or how they will put saw dust in the rear end and make them soundgood. The salesmen are making huge profits buying cars for $10 then selling themfor $75. The people buy them because they are desperate for transportation toCalifornia. The people will buy a car, cut off the back and make it into atruck, then pile people on all in their great despair.
Chapter 8 In the morningTom and Jim walk to Uncle Johns house, where everyone is staying. They walk upon the yard quietly, and as they grow closer they see the men working andloading a truck. Tom first meets his father, at first his father did not realizeit was him; but, when he did he was over joyed. They went into the house andreunited with his mother.
Everyone was asking him if he busted out of prison,but Tom was paroled. Toms grandparents kept saying “Praise god for victory!”The family was leaving in the morning to go to California. Tom, decided toviolate his parole and go with them to California. They sold everything theyowned and bought a car and turned it into a truck. They were going to a betterplace, to pick fruit in California. Chapter 9 The depression wore on, and thetenant farmers sold everything they had for half the value.
It was all theycould get for their things. They sat there in despair, with unknowing eyes. Theypiled in the trucks and cars and fled the only home any of them had ever known. Chapter 10 The following morning the Joad family left, taking Casy with them andleaving Muley at the old house. They gave him a few chickens to eat, and he toldthem that he would look after the place.
The night before they butchered twohogs and salted them down for food on the trip. Al Joad was in charge of drivingand maintaining the truck, all the responsibility was on him. He knew that ifanything happened to the truck that he would have to take the blame. John on theother hand took on a different approach. Years before his wife had died from anappendicidice, and he took the blame for not getting her to a doctor in time.
When the guilt grew to heavy he would go out and get drunk. Grandpa had beenlooking forward to the trip until it was time to leave. He refused to go so theygave him a strong cough surpe and it made him drunk. After they got him settleddown they were off to California.
Chapter 11 Now the houses were left vacant andcompletely abandoned. When a small little rain fell grass grew up where therewas never any before. The grass grew in between the boards in the porch and thedoors swung open. The families were gone from the land they once loved.
Chapter12 The Joad family is just one of many families on route 66, driving theirjalopies west in hope of a better life. Along the way people discourage thefamilies and tell them to go back. They say that the prices are not worth thedrive out there. The families are forced to pay double for what they need. Tiresare a fortune and some places charge for water. The money is limited but, theyhave to pay the price Chapter 13 Al concentrated only on the car and listened toit with his whole body.
The family pulled into a gas station and the man at thegas station thought they didn’t have any money. The man was also poor becausehe kept giving hand outs. The man wore old clothes and a paper hat. He keptsaying “What’s it all comin’ to?” At the gas station the family dog washit by a car.
In a way it was a relief that they would not have to feed him but,he was killed right in front of the kids. Grandpa was not getting better, anddied of a seizure. The family did not have enough money for a death certificate,so they buried him along the campsite where they were staying. It was illegalbut, they did not have $40 extra so they wrote a note saying who he was and whenand why he died. Chapter 14 In this chapter the Joad family meet the Wilson’s.
The Wilson’s were from Arkansas. The Joad family met them, and were campedalong side them when grandpa died. They decided to team up together since theWilson’s didn’t have much food. The Wilson’s would follow the Joad’s toCalifornia. This was the only way that the Joads could show appreciation for theWilsons.
Grandpa had died in their tent using their blanket, and they justwanted to show hospitality to the Wilsons. Chapter 15 The chapter discussed thepeople trying to make a living selling food to-go. The people are also trying tomake a living, but the business does not have the money to spend. Others that dohave the money spend it on entertainment.
They listen to music and go to shows,but those are the lucky and there are few. Chapter 16 As they went along theWilson’s car broke down and they found out it was a connecting rod. The restof the family went ahead to a camp ground while Tom, Al and Casy stayed behindto go back to the nearest town and buy the part. Tom and Al went back to a junkyard and met a man with one eye. The man complained that he could never get adate and he did not have much to eat.
Tom, got mad at him and told him to getcleaned up and put a patch over his eye. The man just felt sorry for himself. The man did give them a good deal plus they bought a flash light and a socketwrench. Then they went back and fixed the car and went on ahead to the camp.
Aman at the camp told them that there was no work in California but, theydidn’t let that discourage them. Chapter 17 As the families moved along, theycreated their own system of rules. Rules of not intruding on other peoplesprivacy and to be quiet at night while in camp. It also discussed how thefamilies grew a custom to building their tents each night and tearing them downin the morning.
How at first they were unsturdy and as time went on they grew tobe not only sturdy but suitable living spaces. Chapter 18 The family was nowcrossing the last part of Arizona and was doing so by driving at night. At theborder of Arizona they were stopped and questioned by a state trooper as to howlong they planned on staying. They were trying to discourage long stays becausethey did not want migrants staying and being unemployed. Also Grandma was veryill and unstable. When they were camping along a river one night Noah the secondyoungest son decided to leave the family, he said he would just be in the wayand he would live along the river and eat fish.
Tom let him go because he knewit was true and that he could take care of himself. As they went along theyreached the California border and found it to still be desert. They were alittle discouraged but kept going and found it to be lush and fertile land justlike they imagined. Chapter 19 The people are pushed around by cops. Men have noclue as how to provide for their family. There are no chances for them to farmtheir own ground.
The jobs don’t pay enough for the people to eat, so theystay close to water and starve. The cops cause more trouble than prevent. Thecops are well fed and fat, and they are scared that the people will organize. Ason of a squatter shot and killed a cop while the cop was harassing his father. Thus, leading the cops to believe if a boy could do it, imagine a men. If theyhappen to organize who knows what will happen.
Chapter 20 When the Joad familyreaches the a town, they find that there are a lot of families just like them. They all camp on the outside of the towns near water; these places are calledHoovervilles. They try and get information out of one gentleman, but he isplaying dumb, also know as “bull-simple” it is when if they are asked aquestion they pretend not to hear or not to know. They do hear of a governmentcamp near Weedpatch, but they decide to stay the night.
By this time Uncle Johnis starting to feel guilt and he confesses to holding back $5 to go out and havefun with. In change father takes the $5 and gives him $2 and lets him go and getdrunk. Next that same day a man comes along and wants to know if any men want towork. One squatter protest and wants to see the mans license to hire and wantshis wages in writing. A deputy tells the man to get in the car, and the manrefuses. When the mad runs the deputy shoots and hits a woman in the hand.
Tomthen trips him and hits him to knock him out. When the deputy comes to Casyconfesses to the crime knowing he would be out of the weather and well fed. After the deputy takes him away Tom comes out of hiding and finds that UncleJohn took off on a drinking binge and that Connie left Rose of Sharon. Connie isno where to be found but, John is found by a creek drunk.
To convince John tocome along Tom hits him in the chin and carries him back. They fled camp thatnight in hopes of getting into the government camp. Chapter 21 The chapter tellshow rich land owners are gaining even more power. They are buying canneries neartheir fields and taking the fresh fruit and caning them.
The fruit will not rotand can last for years in just a warehouse. The left over fruit is not givenaway to the hungry of even sold it is poisoned with kerosene. The land ownersare so greedy that they will not even give away the excess. They feel they mustmake it unusable. The crippled pigs are killed and covered with quick lime, thusspoiling the meat. As their wealth grows so does the monster.
The monster knownas greed. Chapter 22 The Joads were lucky, a family just moved out and they gota spot to stay. In the government camp there are no cops and the only way theycan enter is if they have a warrant. There is warm running water, toilets and ageneral store.
In the morning Tom met a neighbor that feed him breakfast andtook him along and found him a job. Ma sent Pa to the store because, the storegives them a $10 credit. Ma told him to buy meat, beans, carrots, sugar andsomething nice. People in California use the word “reds.
” They are thepeople looking down on the immigrants and are referring to their red cheeks thatthey get from working outside all day long. Also Rose of Sharon meets a ladythat tells her that anyone that has ever been in a play or close danced, will gostraight to hell. This really upsets her and makes her cry. When Tom was at workhis boss warned him that there would be a riot at the dance Saturday night andcops would be waiting to come in. The Joad family is finally happy and beingtreated well. Chapter 23 During the depression the people were hungry forentertainment.
Sometimes it was as simple as funny talk but other times that didnot suffice. The best form of entertainment was music. First the harmonica wasthe simplest and the cheapest to play. Then came the guitar, it was a pleasureto listen to and difficult to play. Finally, the fiddle the most costly and themost difficult to play.
Any of the three were highly valued and small groups ofpeople would gather to listen at night. A joyous tune could lift down spiritsand ease the tension and worry. Chapter 24 Saturday mornings first started outwith the women washing clothes and as the afternoon wore on the people startedgetting ready for the weekly dance. Anyone outside the camp could come to thedance as long as they were invited by a tenants of the camp. The plan was set,there would be look outs station around the camp to look for trouble.
Tom and aindian man by the name of Jules were stationed at the front gate to ask thepeople coming in who they were invited by. The trouble makers plan was to cut inon a mans partner and start a fight. Tom and Jules spotted them right away andwhen they decided to cut in men surrounded them and took them out back while themusic continued. It worked and everything went as planned.
Chapter 25 Thechapter discusses the scientist. The scientist are hired to make bigger andsweeter fruit. The scientist also graft trees together, thus making more treeswhich will in turn produce more fruit. Steinbeck points out that men can makebetter fruit but ironically they can not create a system so that the poor caneat the fruit. The fruit is there but no one can afford it.
The people are stillstarving because the wealthy can not give away food so they poison it. Thusproving the grapes of wrath. Chapter 26 The Joads are in good living conditionsbut are still without work. They have tried for a month to find work with nosuccess. Ma now plays a unusual role as head of the family. So the familydecides to head north in hopes of getting a job picking peaches.
When the get tothe orchard there are rioters along the road. Although the living conditions arenot as good they accept the job. The pay is 5 cents a box; for peaches. Afterpicking peaches all afternoon they had earned $1 and went to the store.
Priceswere higher and the keeper kept telling ma that if she went where they werecheaper the money she would save would be spent in gas. So ma bought what littleshe could buy. After dinner Tom snuck out of the camp to find out why peoplewere rioting. He stopped along the road to talk to a man and found it to be JimCasy. They talked about what was going on and as they were speaking they heardmen approaching.
They went outside and one man accused Casy of leading thestrike, then hit him with a ax handle. Tom took the ax handle and hit the manback and killed him. Tom was once again a wanted man. He went back to the campand hid. The cops would be able to find him because he was hit in the face.
Tomwas on the run again from the cops. Chapter 27 The migrant people are stillmoving, looking for work. People are trying to get good wages, but there are somany people to do the job, that they cut the prices. It is now cotton season andthe people spend their last dollars on cotton bags. As the people pick and weighin, they write down their own records to make sure that they are not beingcheated.
The people are devastated and starving and no one can do anything aboutit. Chapter 28 The Joads flee the peach camp the next day. They hide Tom undermattresses and smuggle him out. The guards question why there is one less manand they tell the guards that the man was just a hitchhiker and they don’tknow where he is at.
The Joad’s run to the cotton field for work. They find acamp of workers staying in boxcars and turn one into a home. Tom decides to stayout in the wilderness so that no one can find him. His facial wound would be asure give away.
Rose of Sharon is getting closer to having the baby and theyneed to buy milk to keep her strong. Picking cotton is not hard work and most ofthe family pick’s. They find the job to provide plenty of money. They can atleast have a good meal every day. Chapter 29 The chapter talks about the oncoming rains.
The rains will last a couple of months. The rains are much likethe peoples spirits, dark and gloomy. The rain will stop all work for months andthe people will starve. No work means no food. The rain leaks in the cars andthe cars won’t start. The people are stuck where they are.
Chapter 30 The rainhas started. They hoped it would last for only a couple of days but it keptgoing, ceasing all work. They can’t pick wet cotton, so the families sit intheir houses and spend their last dollars on food. When the money is out, theyknow that their is no kind of work that they can do to get more money. Rose ofSharon goes into labor. It last a whole day, and when the baby is born it isdead.
It had died because of lack of food. They decided to float it down riverand let the people see what they have done to them. Ma gave Tom the last of themoney and sent him away. He could no longer be part of the family.
He was goingto try and lead the people back to prosperity. The men built a little dike, tokeep the water from coming into the camp. But, in time the water spilled overand flooded the cars and the box cars. The Joad’s fled once again to a barndown the road.
Inside they found a starving man, so deprived of food he couldnot talk. Steinbeck shows in the last scene that these people would go on. Roseof Sharon offered her breast milk as food, and the starving man survived. Justlike the reader knew the Joad’s would survive the tragedy and hardship.
