Chapter 11

Chapter eleven switches to an overview of many of the tenants and farmers thoughts. It talks of how the new farmers and new equipment did not care about the land. They did not care about the soil, or the minerals in the soil. They did not care about the crop, only the profit. This upsets the farmers and tenants, because they cared for the land; they knew about its behavior. They are upset at the new farmers who care only for their profits. " But the machine man, driving a dead tractor on land he does not know and love, understands only chemistry; and he is contemptuous of the land and of himself. When the corrugated iron doors are shut, he goes home, and his home is not the land."

Steinbeck fills this chapter with emptiness, sorrow, and coldness. He compares them to each other showing how lifeless things have gotten to be. John Steinbeck gives vivid details of the objects he is comparing drawing a cold and lifeless picture. "There is a warmth of life in the barn, and the heat and smell of life. But when the motor of a tractor stops, it is as dead as the ore it came from. The heat goes out of it like the living heat that leaves a corpse." He tells of how empty the houses and the land was because of the great move of people. " The houses were left vacant on the land, and the land was vacant because of this. And on windy nights the doors banged, and the ragged curtains fluttered in the broken windows."

Yet even though the families had left the houses, they were not always entirely empty and vacant. They were ravaged and inhabited by unwelcome characters: people, rodents, cats, and weeds. "Bands of little boys came out from the towns to break the windows and to pick over the debris, looking for treasures. And the mice moved in and stored weed seeds in corners, in boxes, in the backs of drawers in the kitchens." Still these strangers brought no joy or heart to the houses. The land was still vacant, deserted, lifeless, and without spirit.

Chapter 10

Chapter ten of John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath introduces the reader to some more characters of the Joad family. One meets Rose of Sharon, Connie, Ruthie, Winfield, and Uncle John. Yet, the meeting of more family does not mask the sadness and depression of the chapter. The trip still antagonizes the characters, creating a gloomy cloud that hangs around each character, some more than others.

Rose of Sharon is Tom's sister. She is very pretty, with a soft look, but yet she is very responsible and resolute. She is pregnant with her first child from her husband Connie. Connie is the nineteen-year-old husband who stays with his wife no matter what. He is traveling with the Joad family always next to Rose of Sharon. He is a sharp, lean man, a hard worker, with pale blue eyes. He is proud of his wife, yet he does not boast and he does not cause trouble.
Ruthie and Winfield are Tom's younger siblings. Ruthie, his sister, is turning into a responsible, young lady. She tries to act more mature and full with dignity, but her brother Winfield is the exact opposite. Winfield is still a very boyish and immature boy. "...Winfield was kid-wild and calfish." They are both excited for the trip, but they are also tired from all of the excitement and preparation.

Uncle John is a quiet man, mainly because of the death of his wife. He feels that he is the reason of her death, the rupture of her appendix. Since then he has either indulged too much or has hidden in his shell, ashamed of himself. When he feels extremely upset, he does work for people, yet he does not accept pay. He even secretly gives gifts to the children while they are asleep. He is very helpful in preparing for the trip, doing as much as he can for his family.

Even though the entire family is happy to be together and to be leaving for a better life, they are still somewhat afraid for the unknown, and many of them are tire and depressed about the whole situation. "'Yeah, but tar'der'n that. Real tar'd, like she's sick-tar'd.'" "They were afraid, now that the time had come--afraid in the same way Grampa was afraid." "And a great weariness was in her eyes." Their attitudes and the situation casts a dreary outlook on the whole chapter.

Chapter 9

John Steinbeck again switches to a more general overview of a flashback of the Joad family. They were only allowed to take the necessities: food, clothing, a few pots and pans, oil, money, and a rifle, on their trip. The rest of their possessions they had to sell in order to make some money and make room on the truck for their family. This chapter covers the trouble they went through to sell the items and their disappointment afterwards.

First off many of their items were out dated farming equipment. One of the reasons they were forced out was the newer, more efficient farming equipment. Also, the country was in a recession already and many people were not buying or paying full price for anything. Yet, these custromers were not only buying the material items.

They were also buying the memories that went into those items, the hard work that assisted those items. There were strong emotions setting in selling the household items. People felt bitterness and rage in actually having to sell their house hold belongings in the first place. There was sadness in having to say goodbye to their memories in those items. "There's a premium goes with this pile of junk and the bay horses--so beautiful--a packet of bitterness to grow in your house and to flower, some day. We could have saved you, but you cut us down, and soon you will be cut down and there'll be none of us to save you."

These people were not just selling their house hold possessions, they were selling their lives. They did not know what awaited them in California; they were starting anew. They had to just drop their livelihoods, leave, and resettle. Confusion was an obvious reaction, and it was accompanied by fear: fear of the unknown, fear of a new start, a new life. "How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past?"

"Suddenly they were nervous. Got to get out quick now."

Chapter 8

Chapter eight introduces the reader to the rest of the Joad family. As Tom and Jim Cay arrive at Tom's Uncle John's house, they are greeted by Tom's father, named Ol' Tom Joad. Tom's father, also called Pa by many of the people in the faily, is an older gentleman, dark, lean, and muscular. His face is etchedwith wrinkles from his older age, and his hands show all the hard work he as done over the years. His clothers are dirty and simple, practical for his tenant work. H ishard woking, with a little bit of humor, and stern, but he cares for his family and looks out for thir well being.

The next charactr the reader meets is Tom's mother, Ma. She is also an older woman, stout, yet sturdy, and strong from all the work that she as done. She, like her husband, is mentally strong and cares for the well being of the family. She cares for the house, but she also works in the fields. Ma is nervous about the trip, yet tries to hide it in her humor.

Tom and Jim Casy then encounter Tom's grandparents, Granma and Grampa. Both are hard and witty characters who have their own sense of rules. Granma is very religious and likes to show it. Grampa does his own thing and throws a temper tantrum when he is upset about something. He is cruel and loud, yet still shows his affection of young Tom.

The last main characters that the reader meets are Tom's two brothers, Noah and Al. Noah is the eldest, slow in his actions not mentally, and has an abnormal figure. He is quiet and keeps to himself as if he is deep in thought. Al is Tom's younger brother, is good with cars, and respects Tom very much. Al is a smart aleck and a bit of a rascal, but he helps his family out as they prepare for the big trip to California.

Chapter 7

Steinbeck again switches to the general lives of the people who were leaving Oklahoma to go out west, but he also stays to the story by showing a memory in the past from the Joad family. This also shows the struggle of the other people in the state effected by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. This chapter covers not only the lives of the farmers and tenants and "oakies" as they prepared to move, but also the other working class, whose occupations were based on a higher professional sense.

The scene is cetered in a car dealership, with new cars, old cars, and used cars. A family comes in looking for a car with a set budget. The most essential part to their trip is the vehicle, which must be able to carry them and their belongings and to make the great journey. The car salesman is not very happy with the family and their budget, but through bargaining each character is able to come to a final solution. They buy the car and are ready to get on their way, and the salesman just made a profit in the struggling times.

Even in the simple story line of this particular chapter, the complex emotions are still there and visible. The salesman is rude, quick, and drives a hard bargain, but there is also a sense of urgency and worry in his mentallity. He needs the sale to support himself and to continue running his business. The family is in need of the car for their trip and are therefore probably excited, anxious, yet upset. They did not get the particular car they want, yet they took it for the urgency of their trip.

Both the salesman and the family depended on eachother, and they can represent the bigger picture. The salesman could be considered as the bank, and the famliy can be pictured as the people. The people need the bank in order to get money and to save money and to supply themselves. The bank needs the the people, because they are the only business, and if the business leaves, the bank closes. This relationship is filled with anxioty and fear; if one fails, they both fail. This is one point of Steinbeck's idea of the gloom and darkness and fear in this book, and in a larger sense, the world.

Chapter 6

Chapter six takes the reader back to the scene of Tom Joad and Reverend Jim Casy at the house of Joad's family. They investigate the house, look around, and find out that something major had to have happened in order for the Joad family to just leave. Also they realize that the entire place is deserted; his family, neighbors, and friends were all gone from their homes. As Tom and Casy think about what happened to the land, they meet another character.

Tom Joad sees Muley Graves, a half-crazed man still fighting the bank, sherrifs, and other men for his land. Steinbeck characterizes Muley Graves as what many homeless people were called back then, a hobo. He wears dirty, torn, and worn-out clothing, carries a gunny sack, and sneaks around with a scowl like a mysterious child who is up to no good. Muley is ragged, with akward movements, and seems to be mentally changed from the incident.

Muley brings out the messier side in young Tom Joad; Tom feels much more at ease with Muley and seems to conform to his sloppier ways at night. The two men finally find out what had happened to the land and Tom Joad's family in particular. Because of Muley's story, Tom and Jim Casy want to leave for Tom's family, but they are stopped by a certain gang of sherrifs, men, and lights. Living the life of Muley for a brief moment in time, the men realize the new gloomy life that awaits many of the travelers who were kicked out of their homes.

John Steinbeck gives a sense of panic and anxiousness to the chapter with the character of Muley. He also brings back a historical sense in that Muley represents many of the poor people who were left homeless from the foreclosure of their homes. He is also viewed as the people who were not accepting of the terrible incident and either turned to violence or could not just deal with it at all. This meeting leads into a darker and more desperate theme of the book, which is developed in the later chapters.

Chapter 5

"And at last the owner men drove into the dooryards and sat in their cars to talk out of the windows. The tenant men stood beside the cars for a while, and then squatted on their hams and found sticks with which to mark the dust." This provides a historical segment in John Steinbeck's book. After giving a detailed chapter with specific characters, Steinbeck writes of a general scene. The scene dates back to many farmers and tenants of the Great Depression, but it also provides a flashback of an event of the Joad family.

Chapter five talks about when the banks actually took over the farms and kicked the families out. It also provides the responses of many of the poor families forced out of their homes. The Joads were upset and angered by the announcement and ready to fight for what they had so desperately lived for. They were upset that a bank, knowing nothing of how that specific piece of property opperated, was taking over their job, not thinking about them, only the profit, and taking away their home.

The banks were downsizing the amount of people who worked the land; they used newer machines that were usually only powered by one person. This brought an idea of violence to the tenants. They wanted to attack whoever was taking away their livlihood. "We'll get our guns, like Grampa when the Indians came. What then?" Yet the threat was not enough; the begging was not enough. They were still kicked out of their homes, left to fend for themselves. The people who told them of the news did offer them some advice, but not much, and not all true. "Why don't you go on west to California? There's work there, and it never gets cold. Why, you can reach out anywhere and pick an orange. Why, there's always some kind of crop to work in. Why don't you go there?"

All of this led up to the historical move out west, where the travelers were called "oakies." The nation was not prepared for the Great Depression or what followed it. The idea of just moving away from it was a terrible idea, and it does not work in the book, and historically, it did not work either. As it was for many people in the United States during the Great Depression, it was also the first hard step in the Joad family's journey.

Chapter 4

This chapter details Tom Joad's return to his family's home. He meets a preacher with many different ideas, and Tom Joad is disturbingly surprised by what he finds when he does return home. As usual, John Steinbeck has sprinkled the chapter with specific details, drawing the story in the reader's head. His use of imagery and very specific detail defines the characters and relates them to the readers who study them.

It starts out with Tom getting off the truck and walking down the old dirty and dusty road. He picks up the turtle, written about in chapter three, and takes with him as a present to his younger siblings. Steinbeck ties in the historical part in that Tom Joad experiences the heat of the drought and the dust of the great Dust Bowl. As he goes to find rest under a shady tree from the sun and the heat, Joad meets the preacher.

The reverand's name is Jim Casy, and he is a kind person, with a somewhat shameful past, but with new ideas. He is an older person, tall and thin, who looks stretched to the limit physically. He is kind offering a place to sit to Tom. And even though he is a preacher, he tells Joad that he is not a spirital anymore. "'And used to get an irrigation ditch so squirmin' full of repented sinners half of 'em like to drownded. But not no more,' he sighed. 'Just Jim Casy now. Ain't got the call no more. Got a lot of sinful idears--but they seem kinda sensible.'"

As the men get to know eachother, they share their life stories; Tom shares his story of how he went to prison, life in prison, and how he got out. Casy shares his tale of being a strong preacher and then becoming less and less filled with the "sperit" as he calls it. He talks of the sinful things he would do and how that led to his thinking of his position. Casy tells Joad, that his idea of the nature of man and how that effected him. "'I says, 'Maybe it ain't sin. Maybe it's just the way folks is.'"

Because of their past experiences and the conditions of the time, the men act as a crutch to each other. They eventually continue on their way keeping each other's company and talking about life. Then they get to Tom's family's home and find that it is completely evacuated and broken down. He is utterly confused and upset about what he finds there at his family's home.

Chapter 3

Chapter three not only forshadows the journey of the Joad's family, it also symbolizes the struggle of all the farmers effected by the Dust Bowl, the great dust storm that hit Oklahoma very hard. The chapter is very short, consisting of only a few pages, but it presents a large and dreary historical picture for the reader. The main focus of this chapter is a turtle, slowing moving its way along a dusty road. As he trudges along on the road, he is nearly hit by a woman in a sedan, but she swerves to miss him. The next driver, a man in a truck, sees the turtle and actually tries to hit him. The turtle is flipped off the road by the man's tire and is left helplessly on the back of his shell. "But at last its legs waved in the air, reaching for something to pull it over. Its front foot caught a piece of quartz and little by little the shell pulled over and flopped upright." Then he continued on his way planting seeds of the little plants that fell on him as his shell slid over them. 192

Each part symbolizes historically the life of the farmers after the Dust Bowl hit. The turtle represents the poor farmers. The turtle's walk across the dusty road symbolizes the hardship of the farmers as the dust storm hit and their struggle for sustenance. The man driving the truck who swerves to hit the turtle is depicted as the terrible things that the farmer goes up against. He can be pictured as the banks who kick the farmers off their land and force them to move. He can be pictured as the people who do not accept them as the farmers and their families move west. When the turtle is hit by the driver and turned over, likewise the farmers' lives are turned upside down. The farmers, like the turtle, pick themselves back up, and they continue on their path, trying to do as they have always done.

Chapter 2

Chapter two begins with the introduction to one of the main characters, Tom Joad. He tells his life story to a truck driver when he is offered a ride. Young Tom Joad was sent to prison after he killed a man; he argued that it was out of self defense. He talks about receiving cards from his family, his cell mates, and his probation. Tom Joad is in search of his family and the farm they work on.

Tom Joad is a young man under the age of thirty. "His eyes were very dark brown and there was a hint of brown pigment in his eyeballs. His cheek bones were high and wide, and strong deep lines cut down his cheeks, in curves beside his mouth...The man's clothes were new--all of them, cheap and new. His gray cap was so new that the visor was still stiff and the button still on, not shapeless and bulged as it would be when it had served for a while all the various purposes of a cap--carrying sack, towel, handkerchief." His hands are roughened by hard, shiny calluses from the work at the prison. He is a somewhat quiet man, yet he is easily ruffled or annoyed. He is not ashamed of who he is, and he is therefore confident in his actions. The young Tom Joad loves his family and speaks of them fondly, and he is anxious to see them again.

John Steinbeck captured the scene very well in this chapter. He agained used imagery to make a clear picture of the characters and the setting. "Inside the screened restaurant a radio played, quiet dance music turned low the way it is when no one is listening...He was a heavy man, broad in the shoulders, thick in the stomach. His face was red and his blue eyes long and slittled from having squinted always at sharp light."The characters are dressed in clothing of the time, and each character has his or her own personality. In each despcription of the characters, Steinbeck reveals a clue about the nature of the character. So with his writing, the reader is absorbed into the book relating in some way or another to the humaness of the characters.

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is a book about the great dust storm that ravaged Oklahoma and other states during the Great Depression. As the dust storm destroyed crops and homes, the pople ofOklahoma, called Okies, migrated to the west hoping for a new start to a greater life. His bok follows the life of one of those families, through their journey to California in search of more work, better pay, and a better lifestyle.

In the first chapter, Steinbeck uses the idea of imagery to captivate the readers and set a picture of the setting in their minds. "To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth... The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country... In the water-cut gullies the earth dusted down in dry little streams... In the gray sky a red sun appeared, a dim red circle that gave a little light, like dusk; and as that day advanced, the dusk slipped back toward darkness, and the wind cried and whimpered over the fallen corn." In these descriptions, Steinbeck paints a picture of lifelessness, loneliness, and drearyness, the tones carried on throughout this book.

The conflick in the book starts out with a dust storm and drought. The storm blankets the crops with dust, and the drought kills them off. With this big blow, the family is left wondering what to do. Their main source of income was just ruined, yet they stay together to deal with it. As long as they stay together and help eachother stand, they know the can get through this major setback. The family was not prepared, but the small sense of hope and dependence on eachother keeps them strong and able to face the storm, the first obstacle on their long, hard, and dreary journey.