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.