So why did he write this?-Grapes of Wrath Chapters 25-30

In that last chapters and as the book was ending I began to wonder what Steinbeck's real purpose was for writing this novel about the Great Depression. During The Grapes of Wrath the story of families and the description of hardships are a main part of the story. However it wasn't toward the end of the book when I really saw what the novel was maybe written about. Towards the end of the book there are several chapters that really get into the political side of the Great Depression. Steinbeck has been known for his Marxist views but for my opinion they have been kept out of his writing, in this book anyway. There were many political and economic things that were wrong with how the Great Depression was treated and we start to see Steinbeck's views come out in characters and especially in the chapters in between the Joad's plot line. Starting in chapter twenty five when the destroying of the crop and how the people were kept from it, we start to feel and Steinbeck artfully guides us to take his side of things. The injustice described in that chapter is a stark difference from the rest of the novel because it depicts it so well and completely. “A million people hungry, needing fruit-and kerosene sprayed over the gokden mountains. And the smell of rot fills the country”(448). I believe that the whole book was used to get the reader and audience to empathize with the migrants, and then to join the cause as the injustices were described at the end of the book. I also see another angle, an angle of hope for the future. Steinbeck wrote this book in the middle of the Depression were he could still see its effects and his world. At the end of the chapters a strong image of green grass growing up after a hard winter is very hopeful feel toward the situation. “Tiny points if grass came through the earth, and in a few days the hills were pale green with the beginning year”(556). This end of the chapter is very hopeful for a new future without hardships and a new earth to live in.

Roseasharn of the Trail-Grapes of Wrath Chapters 18-24

In the chapters the family goes a lot with their arrival in California. They are unable to find any work and a goof place to live. They are short on food and the local law enforcement is not on their side. All through this the characters stay strong and fight through the obstacles and help each other out. To me one of the strongest characters is Roseasharn. Sometimes while reading it is easy to forget the pregnant girl in the back just struggling along with everyone else. She endures the hard journey and all the suffering and heartbreak while being pregnant. She can be related to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Like Mary, Roseasharn has to endure a long and trial filled journey while carrying her child. She has to face no places to stay and people all around not being kind. Mar is a symbol of strength to many women in the world and I think Roseasharn embodies that same strength. She comes across very clean and virtuous. “ 'I like dancin', squar' dancin'.' And she added virtuously, 'I never done that other kind' ”(396). Here the word virtuously is even used to describe her actions, making the image stonger. “Rose fo Sharon sat down heavily on a box and regarded her wedding shoes, black patent eather and tailored black bows. She wiped the toes with her finger and wiped her finger on the inside of her skirt. Leaning down put pressure on her growing abdomen. She sat up straight and touched herself with exploring fingers, and she smiled a little as she did it”(395). Her it is seen that she is happy with her decision to marry and to become pregnant. Like Mary she accepts her role on the journey and what she must do, but she never looses sight of what is important to her.

Roadkill-Grapes of Wrath Chapters 11-18

It seems to be a reoccurring thing in this book so far that animals wander to the highway and either get killed or an attempt is made to kill them. It was first done with the turtle who tried to cross the highway in an earlier chapter of the book. The driver deliberately tried to run over the turtle as it was trying to cross the road. In Chapter 13 the Joad family dog wanders into the highway as the family is stopped at a gas station. It goes into the road, route 66, and there gets run over quite grotesquely. “The big car slowed for a moment and faces looked back, and then it gathered greater speed and disappeared. And the dog, a blot of blood and tangled, burst intestines, kicked slowly in the road”(166). The scene where the dog dies is very distinct because it is the start of deaths in the family as Grampa, the dog, and soon to follow, Granma. What is more prominent to me is the fact that the drivers of these cars don't care about what they hit on this trip. The drives of that car didn't even stop after they hit the dog. What drives these people is to find a new life and nothing stands in their way. Later on the is a scene where a cat in the road almost gets run over only this time it is deliberate. The driver sees the cat and swerves to hit it. The cat makes it out of the way, but it still makes me wonder. What is driving these people. Two animals have had an attempt to kill them on purpose. The people traveling to a new life have forgotten all else and gone on. For the kids who saw the death for the first time it is a shock. “...he rolled over quickly and vomited down the side of the truck. When he sat up his eyes were watery and his nose was running. 'It ain't like killin' pigs', he said in explanation”(168). The kids have to get used to this new way of life and this just shows a part of whats to come.

Spring Break Nonsense

When my spring break plan was down on paper and being discussed it seemed a lot more fun and exciting. Touring the east coast for colleges and hanging out with cool people and seeing the sites. It didn't really fill my expectations for it.

Friday mourning when we left it was down pouring. It took us two days to get to Boston Massachusetts and when we got there it was busy and traffic jams and tons of people everywhere. And of course my dad had to run around to every place he went to when he was there and that would have been fine but we didn't just visit his old houses and offices and other things. We were at this one grocery store for about half and hour because my dad remembered going there are looking to buy something, but he couldn't remember what it was he was buying. So anyway after that we checked in to our hotel. On Monday we visited Wellesley which is a beautiful campus and everyone was so nice there. I met up with some people and we all went to dinner and it was really fun. The cool thing for me was that the people weren’t just from Wellesley they were also from Harvard and MIT and I got to talk to people from everywhere. In Tuesday we went to Tufts which I didn't really like as much but it was still a very nice school. And later that day we stopped by Brandeis for a quick info session, which I have come to dislike a little bit. Wednesday was spent driving down to Maryland. It was much nicer laer in the week which made it a little bit easier to be walking outside for a couple hours. We went to John's Hopkins which was a super nice campus and I would love to be there. On Thursday my dad had me visit the Air National guard for an interview just in case I was interested but I think that he wants me to do it more than I do. On our way back home we stopped at Washington College in Delaware. I really liked that school as well. I basically liked one college from each state. Driving back I got to drive over the Chesapeake Bay bridge which was pretty cool for me. We got back Saturday afternoon.

Besides running around, sleeping, and eating subway for every meal, we got some reading in. I read Grapes of Wrath, of course, but I also spent some time re-reading the Hunger Games books for which I recently saw the movie for. Always great books and I recommend them. And that it what I did over spring break.