G.O.W. Chapter 16

Themes:
People vs. Moloch, Strength of Women, Importance of family

Characters:
Joad Family, Wilson Family, Casey, One eyed man, Camp owner

Summary:
The Joads and Wilsons finally reach California. Connie and Rose of Sharon discuss there plans for California, Connie plans to take night classes and work during the day and they want to buy a house for themselves but Ma, who is big on sticking together as an entire family, doesn't like this idea. The Wilsons car breaks down again and tom and casey offer to stay behind and get it fixed and then meet up with the family and the men of the family agree but Ma would not allow it at all. She does not want to break up the family at all. So the family and the extended family wait behind as Tom and Al go into town to buy some parts. They arrive at a car lot where they meet a very unhappy one eyed man. He doesn't wear a patch or anything he just leaves his empty eye socket out in the open for everyone to see. They begin talking to the man about moving to California and he seems to be very sad and has given up on life in a way, tom tells him to buck up and cover his eye and go make something of his life. But the man continues to whine about his terrible life. The boys arrive back at the camp that night after getting the car fixed a lot faster then they expected. The owner of the campy tells them that they have to pay for the extra car even though the rest of there family already paid. They start conversing about there voyage to California and another man tells them that there isn't as much work as they think and then tells them that his wife and children starved to death because they went to California and couldn't find work so he couldn't feed his family.

G.O.W. Chapter 15

Themes:
We vs. I, People vs. Moloch

Characters:
Mae-waitress

Summary:
Mae watches cars drive by and begins to realize patterns. Rich people who stop in are rude no matter what. Truck drivers will come back if the service is nice and the coffee is good. Okies are different. They have nothing and appreciate the food.

G.O.W. Chapter 14

Themes:
People vs. Moloch

Characters:
Farmers

Summary:
People in the west don't realize what is happening in the rest of the country. There are starving, jobless, homeless people and the numbers are increasing rapidly. And they are afraid that all the farmers could revolt. There is strength in numbers and that's why they have some fear towards them.

G.O.W. Chapter 13

Themes:
People vs. Moloch

Characters:

Summary:
The family travels along Highway 66 and Al listens and keeps account of how well the truck is. He asks Ma if California will be just like they dreamed and Ma replies saying that she doesn't want to get hers/or anyone else's hopes up. So all they can do is think about what they have now. They come to a rest stop and try to buy gas. The station owner says assumes that they have no money and will probably try to bum some free gas like everybody else who comes to his pump. People who have money go to the corpperate yellow painted pumps.

G.O.W. Chapter 12

Themes:
The meaning of home/importance of family

Characters:

Summary:
We get to the road now. Highway 66. It's a migrant road. Steinbeck just talks about how people use this road all for a similar purpose.

G.O.W. Chapter 11

Themes:
Connection to the land

Characters:

Summary:
Steinbeck tells us that when the farmers leave the land, it becomes part of a company. The company has people work on the land and they have no real connection to the land. A farmer has needs that the land can provide. But a worker has needs that the company provides. He doesn't care about the land, but what he gets out of wasting his time on it. A farmer is one with his land.

G.O.W. Chapter 10

Themes:
Connection to the land, importance of family

Characters:

Summary:
We see that the center of the family has moved from the house to the truck. As stated on pg.99 "The house was dead, and the fields were dead; but this truck was the active thing, the living principle." This starts the change in the connection to the land. As they move closer to california they are moving just as far away from home both in distance and symbol. They move from a man made scene to a machine scene. We also see a foreshadow on pg. 101. It says "Some folks figgered it was a good respectable thing to have a preacher along. Ef somebody died, preacher burried em. Weddin' come due, or overdue, an' there's your preacher. baby come, an' you got a christener right under the roof." There are two old people traveling that could die, and a pregnant woman. And who knows maybe somebody will get married too.

Grampa Joad doesn't want to leave the land so they drug his coffee and when he falls asleep, they load him up and take off.

G.O.W. Chapter 9

Themes:
We vs. I, People vs. Moloch

Characters:

Summary:
Steinbeck talks about how farmers in general prepare to go to california. The farmers have to sell most of their belongings to get money for the trip and to maximize space for traveling. So now that all the farmers are selling and buying all sorts of things, they are bound to run into brokers who pay low prices, because they know that the farmers can't do anything about it. The farmers come back to their wives with little or no belongings and very small amounts of money and they can't do anything about it.

G.O.W. Chapter 8

Themes:
Importance of Family, Connection to the land

Characters:

Grandpa

Founder of Joad farm

Grandma

Noah

Oldest son. We get the impression that he’s deformed. He is quiet. Not interested in anything.

Al

Younger brother/mechanic. He is 16, up all night, chasing girls, doesn’t sleep much. He looks up to Tom because he thinks he is cool by killing someone and going to prison.

Rose of Sharon

Younger sister. Married to Connie Rivers.

Ruthie

Younger sister

Winfield

Youngest brother

Uncle John

Pa

Ma

Tom

Jim Casey

Summary:
Tom comes home and at first neither pa or ma recognizes him. He is accepted with a warm family greeting and sits down for breakfast with the family. Then they go to take a look at the truck they will be traveling to california in. It needs work but they are optimistic about the trip.

G.O.W. Chapter 7

Themes:
People vs. Moloch

Characters:

Summary:
At the used car lot salesmen take advantage of people in need. Where they are at the used cars are the way to go but they are asking way more than they are worth, even though they know these people are in need. They just want to make their money and like the bank, they can never stop profiting.

Grapes Of Wrath: Chapter 6

Themes:
People vs. Moloch, Connection to the land

Characters:

Muley Graves-

symbol of a man who cannot leave the land. Symbol that a poor man is something; he has land. What is he if he leaves? He sends his kids and wife to California but he can’t leave.

He is stubborn- he will not leave until he is dead

Willy Frewley-

The tractor man/deputy-sheriff/man owned by the bank/$3 a day man

He is not free, he has to work

Tom Joad-

Main character

Jim Casey-

He was a preacher. He found something to live for again, he would go on with the Joad’s

Summary:

They find that the Joad house has been pushed over but is not yet destroyed totally. Tom finds out that something is wrong, nobody is there, not even neighbors. Something really bad has happened because nothing was really taken, just destroyed. As if whoever did it wasn't looking for them, they were just in the way.

words of the day

Declivity N
Running and eating right will keep your body away from any declivity.

Bemused ADJ
I am bemused at the fact that i have kept to myself for so long about not enjoying the company of the three witches...

Words of the day

Rivulet N
While drinking out of the rivulet I found a shiny diamond that I had come to call Thomas.

Germinate V
Mr. Fielding set in place a rule that no late homework would ever be accepted again in efforts towards his 11th grade class in which he has had quite some time to germinate over the years...

Words of the day 4/4

Pique N
James' pique came when he woke up to an empty city. He was too late.

Imperturbability N
Snipers have great control over their imperturbability.