Chapters 27-30: The Ghost of Tom Joad

Tom does not actually mean he will be there. He is saying that his believes and desires will carry on even after he dies. Tom is fighting for change. The change he is fighting for will happen, even if is not the one carrying it out. All he wants is for his legacy to be one that let’s everyone else have better lives. He is fighting for the poor and defeated. He knows he can’t do it alone. He is one of many and the many is weak, but all they need to be strong is a leader. Tom does not need to be this leader. He just wants the people to join forces, because right now the current living situation is unacceptable. In order to make not just one person’s life better, but many lives better the people need to stop fighting as individuals. Instead they must learn to put their own personal problems aside and think of the big picture.

All that is needed is a few of the stronger people in the society step up and fight for the big picture the rest will follow. They need to be leaders. When they start fighting the rich, others will sit back and watch. There only has to be one victory or a sign of hope and every the rich have made will crumble. The poor do not like their current situation, so this sign will unite the working force. Making it a more powerful group then the owners could stop.

Today the rich are still trying to stay on top and keeping the poor on the bottom. They keep what they have, while they give the poor just enough to get by in life. The poor do not riot, because without the rich they would not live. The game that is being played can turn out bad. If the people unite and revolt just like Tom Joad tried to do everything will change.

Chapters 21-26: What Jail Taught a Preacher

When Casy was in jail he realized that most the people he meant in jail were not real criminals. They were just trying to get by in life any way possible. The real criminals are the people who are not paying the thieves enough money to live. The owners are calling people from all over to come and work for them. When the people get there they realize that they still might not have a job. The people are so tired of traveling all around looking for work that they will work for almost anything. They also have gotten so sick of it that now they only look out for themselves. Casy is trying to change that. He wants everyone to learn if they stick together life will be better. The owners are greedy liars. That does not care about any of their workers. If the working class joins forces in order to fight the owners they will win. The people will no longer struggle to get food or find a place to sleep. Casy wants to form a workers union.

Unions are the secret to prosperity in the working class. It is just hard for the people in the working class to realize it. Unions have changed the way things are done in America. Now we are not just a country of the few having control over the many. Now the 99% have power. We are a democracy and unions made it that way.

Casy is trying to bring together all the average folks. People are fighting against each other when they should be fighting together. None of the regular people do things that are bad by choice. They do it, because they have to in order to survive. Good people do bad things when they are in bad situations. That is what Casy is trying to say.

Chapters 17-20: Life in Hooverville

The Hoovervilles are one of the main things that keep the Joads from falling apart. It makes them feel like they are part of something, and not just runaways. Ma still does not give up on her basic beliefs and because of that she is able to keep her head. This means that the whole family will be able to survive. No matter what happens. Even when the Joad family has hardly enough food to get by themselves Ma always gives some to the other people in the Hooverville. She decides that her morals are more important than one meal. If she gives up on staying off the bottom then she will never be able to get back up.

The quote “We're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people - we go on” by Ma shows that she believes they can make it through anything as long as they are still a family. All they have to do is stick to their basic values in life and they will just keep going. Ma also shows that she is the heart and soul of this family. If she were to roll over the whole family would dissolve and go their separate ways. Ma clearly believes that alone they are weak, but together they are strong. Ma saying what she did was a little shocking. She usually keeps her emotions inside in order to keep everyone else calm. She knows that this is a critical time in their lives. If she doesn’t keep them together no one will.

redone Chapters 14-16: "This is the beginning - from 'I' to 'we.'"

Steinbeck is saying that the people are starting to run low on fuel to life. The people are starting to come together in hopes that working together will give them a better chance to get their lives back on track. The longer and longer they wait the more and more they lose. The people that say their pride gets in their way of working with others or moving out west are the ones that fall first. The journey western must be a slow and hard one, but because of the difficulties they face on the way their they will be stronger and able to handle their new life in California

There are two truck drivers at a restaurant. One of them is new. He is learning that working with others is the easiest way to make it through hard times. They were talking and mentioning that there are more and more people driving west. I think Steinbeck made sure to say that the one car that was speeding to get out west was the one that crashed. He wanted to re-amp his earlier argument that slow and steady wins the race. "They don't see a chance till we get rid of that fellow in the White House." (pg. 156).This shows that even though the people are not alike they still have a common dislike that brings them together. Working with others and doing it slowly might not be what the people want to do, but it is what they have to do. The Joad family is already working with another family, the Wilkins. They thought the more the merrier. That is why that let Casy come with them as well. It seems to me that the Joads are helping the Wilkins out more than the Wilkins helping the Joads, but it does not matter as long as they get their. Casy was talking about the Wilkin's broken car and said “ funny how you fellas can fix a car. Jus' light right in an' fix her. I couldn't fix no car, not even now when I seen you do it.” (pg 185) This shows that everyone has their advantages. That is why working with others on the journey will help in the long run.

Chapters 7-13: Personal Connections

This book is okay. It mainly is talking about how people traveled out west when they could not longer afford to live any where else. That seems like if everyone is moving that is poor then how will there be any money were they are going. You need capital no matter where you are at. East or west, north or south. Money makes the world go round. These people do not realize this, because they have lived no where near where the money is at. They worked on farms while the money has been in the cities. Now they are trying to reinvent themselfs with no one to back them up except their family. This can be very difficult for anyone. They are still looking for similar work, but they do not understand that they will not be making anymore money than they were before. Life in California is not always better. It is talked about like how America was talked about to the people of Europe. They think the streets are paved with gold. The only reason why it is successful is because of the people on top. It still has many people that live worse than most people in the rest of the country.

I am starting to know the characters in the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck because it talks about the stuggles they have to go through in order to keep on living. An example of what I mean is on page 142.  "Ma she said "I got to ask" "scared again?" Ma asked " Why, you can't get through nine months without sorrow" "
I think this is horrible because It shows how bad they have it. That every day is a struggle.
So far, the theme in the Grapes of Wrath reminds me of something important in my life. For me it shows how the lower class will always get pushed down by the more educated. I might be well educated, but I need to learn how to stop this from happening. This is a major issue for our government right now. That is what makes me think it will be a major event for me as well.
I am not looking forward to reading the rest of this book because it seems to me like when they get to California there will be no work. I think when the grandpa died it was a sign that they should have never left. That means this book is on its way to be a tragedy and I do not want to get my hopes up only to have them crushed.

Chapters 3-6: Economic and Political Pressures

The banks had a major role in the farmers' lifes. The bank gave loans to the farmers and when the men could not pay the loans the bank took the farms. The farmers did not want to leave, so they worked as tenet farmers. The bank did not care about the farmers and just wanted the biggest profits possible. Since the bank did not care about the future for the farmers. They dried the land out by only planting cotton every year. Some of the farmers were no longer needed, so the bank kicked them off their previously owned land. The bank forced farmers in the area to kick the people off, because they owed the bank money. The farmers did not want to do this, but it meant they could keep on providing for their families.

This separated families and friends. It made the farmers fight for themselves and everything they got. They were trying to protect no just their families, but their hopes and dreams. If they lost their lively hood they could no longer strive for the American dream. The American dream was the only reason why they did what they did. It brought hope to the poor and happiness to the rich. This is what drove every American to fight even when they had nothing. Just the thought that they could make life better for the people they care about was enough. They would do anything to achieve this goal. If that meant betraying your friends and taking advantage of others it did not matter. The only thing that mattered was that you and your family was happy.

Chapters 1-2: Meeting Tom Joad

The hitch hiker brings up the idea that the driver does not control his own life. Most people from the Dust Bowl era had to give up everything. Including their hopes and dreams. The hitch hiker plays on these dreams by giving the driver a chance to take control over his life again. That chance might just be rebelling against the man who pays his checks, but if the driver rebels it puts the driver and his boss on the same level. No longer will his rich boss have control over him. His life is up to him to decide and no one can take that away from him.

The hitch hiker knows that anyone who is not rich thinks that the rich believe they are better than them just because they have more money. He also knows that most people around the area have lost almost everything. These people are just looking for a way to get back what they once had. Especially their pride. They see the rich as people who could be them. They have great resentment to the rich, because the rich have nothing to be shameful about. The rich have succeed were the poor failed and now the people who once worked for themselves now work for the people who were their equals.

The driver weighted out his pros and cons for driving the hitch hiker. He decided that there was not really any cons, because he was already at the bottom. On the other hand the pros were that he would disobey his boss and that he would be helping someone in need of help. This would make him feel like he regained some of his once lost pride. Which meant that he is still the same person he once was in his past.