Chapter 30

In the middle of chapter thirty, Rose of Sharon starts the delivery of her baby early. Ma calls for Mrs. Wainwright, the hefty mother of Aggie, Al's fiancé. Ma and Mrs. Wainwright help Rose of Sharon with her painful child birth. They help her walk around, and when she finally delivers the baby, they help fan Rose of Sharon as she sleeps from her exhaustion. However, even with all their efforts, Rose of Sharon delivers a stillborn baby. The family is devastated, and Uncle John is sent away to bury the poor stillborn baby. "And then he leaned over and set the box in the stream and steadied it with his hand. He said fiercely, 'Go down an' tell 'em. Go down in the street an' rot an' tell 'em that way. That's the way you can talk. Don' even know if you was a boy or a girl. Ain't gonna find out. Go on down now, an' lay in the street. Maybe they'll know then.' He guided the box gently out into the current and let it go." Uncle John's ceremony for the baby is similar to that of the Biblical figure, Moses. His mother sent him down the Nile River in a sturdy basket in order to be saved from death by Pharaoh's soldiers. He was found by the princess, raised, and later returned to save his own people. Rose of Sharon's baby was a hope of new life, a dream and a new start to a family. When it died, the family, especially Rose of Sharon, was extremely upset. As the baby floated down the stream, the family's hopes and dreams were being sent with it, later to tell everyone of their suffering. Steinbeck ties the story from the Bible into this chapter, and this chapter into the entire book. Both dealt with the suffering of people, and the later-to-come redemption and saving of the people. Their fear led to rage, and rage led to action. The Joad family was not going to take anymore; they were going to fight back and tell of their suffering. Their hopes and dreams were being sent out with the baby to be heard, to testify.