Chapter 19

Summary: It explained the first immigrants to California, and how the U.S stole it from Mexico. The farmers that work there, farm from a distance or farm on paper. Migrants are compared to ants, which is another comparison to animals or living things that get squashed.

Themes:

People Vs. Moloch 

Chapter 18

Summary: The Joad family reaches California, and wants to cross the desert that night. Some of the family bathes in the river to cool off while Ma and Rosashorn sit with Granma who’s ill and hallucinating. The family realizes their money is running low, and another man in the river with the Joad’s isn’t helping their situation. He basically tells them the honest truth about California, and they learn what the word “Okie” means. Noah leaves the family, and heads down river. Ma feels like the more the family separates the more she starts to lose it. That night, they run into an agricultural inspector who wanted to check if they had any produce. He allows them to pass because Ma convinced him that Granma was sick, even though she had unknowingly died earlier that night.

Themes:

Strength of Women

People Vs. Moloch

Importance of Land and Family

People:

Joad Family

Police Man – Ma almost hits him over the head when he tells them they have to be gone by that time the next day

Man in River – tells them about California and how it’s not worth going to.

Agricultural Inspector 

Chapter 17

Summary: Bugs – farmers in their cars. There’s a suggestion that these people are plagues that are setting into California, or that they’ll get squashed like bugs normally do.

            People come together as one, and help each other as they continue to move.

Themes:

We vs. I

People vs. Moloch 

Chapter 16

Summary: A connecting rod broke on the Joads car, and since Ma refused to split up the family, they stop at a campsite. Tom and Casy go off to find a new rod at a junkyard where they find a man with only one eye who feels sorry for himself because of his ‘tragic’ loss. Tom calls him pathetic. They find a connecting rod and buy that and a socket wrench. After the truck is fixed, they head back to camp to find the family. The campsite tries to swindle money out of them for trying to park in the campsite, so instead they park along the road. A man laughs at Pa for saying their heading to California because there isn’t really work there.

Themes:

Strength of women

Meaning of family

People vs. Moloch

People:

The one eyed man – he tries to give up on life just because he lost an eye.

Joad Family 

Chapter 15

Summary: A waitress named Mae and a cook named Al work at a coffee shop on Route 66. Mae likes when truckers come in to the store because they not only leave the largest tips, but also because she believes that farmers are thieves. A man and two boys walk in and ask for a loaf of bread, but Mae doesn’t necessarily want to give them the bread because she works at a diner, not a grocery store. Al convinces her to give the children some bread. Mae sells a fifteen cents piece of candy to the two boys for a penny instead. Truckers that see her do this leave her an extra-large tip.

Themes:

We vs. I

People vs. Molach

People: Rich people, truckers. Okies, Al & Mac

Settings: Diner 

Chapter 14

Summary: People are starting to realize there are a lot more people in trouble than just a few. There are not just trickles of people and families heading west, but floods of them heading west, and sleeping and camping on the sides of the road. The Western citizens are afraid that the farmers will unite and revolt.

Themes:

We Vs. I

Meaning of Family

People: None

Chapter 13

Characters:

Sairy Wilson

Ivy Wilson

Summary: This chapter reinforces the idea of the connection to the land. The family grew up on the land they just moved from and now being disconnected from it everything is changing. The Joad’s dog got hit by a car and Rose of Sharon thought that seeing the dog die would affect her baby. Grandpa got sick and died, and the turtle continued on.

            The Wilsons, in the same predicament as the Joad’s decide to tag team their way to California. They offer to assist them to not only help burry their grandfather, but help fix their truck. It enforces the idea of family and friendship.

Themes:

Connection to the Land

The meaning of family – the strangers  (Wilsons) who help the Joad family. 

Chapter 12

Summary: Worries of this journey are brought into perspective. People and businesses try to cheat people out of their money. Cars continue to break down, and parts become harder and harder to buy when the salesperson swindles them out of their most needed money. 

Themes: 

People vs. Moloch 

Chapter 11

Summary: (Poetic Chapter) This chapter is what really disconnects the people from the land. There are farmers that work on it, but they’re not the real owners of the land – they aren’t part of it. The machines are starting to take over what man is used to doing. Moloch is ruling.

Themes: 

Nature vs. Machine

People vs. Moloch

Chapter 10

Summary: The Joad family is putting all their faith in the handbill, they don’t really know what California has in store for them – they can only hope it’s good. They talk about Route 66 and how their travels are going to go from Oklahoma. Casy, the old preacher, is allowed to travel with the Joad family to California even though Grandpa said that preachers are bad luck. Grandpa was all for leaving until they were really about to leave – he didn’t want to leave the land he was connected to. His family gives Grandpa a sleeping drug, and from their they start to head west.

Themes:

People vs. Moloch 

People:

The Joad Family 

Chapter 9:

Summary:

The family has to sell most of their belongings so they can take their whole family to California. There are some serious sentimental feelings towards some of their things, but they know it’s for the best. The farmers continue to be ripped off by the business or bank.

Themes:

We vs. I

People vs. Moloch

Chapter 8:

Characters:

Grandma

Grandpa

Noah: oldest son, impression that he’s deformed but we don’t know how. He’s not interested in anything.

Al: the younger brother - mechanic of the family – he looks up to Tom because he killed someone, he thinks Tom is cool. 

Rose of Sharon: Rosashorn – younger sister – pregnant – married to Connie Rivers.

Ruthie: younger sister

Winfield: youngest brother

Summary:

Tom comes home to find his family getting ready to leave to California. His family updates him on everything that happened during his 4 years in jail. His grandparents and the rest of his family doesn’t believe that he was let out of prison and instead escaped.

Themes:

Importance of family

Chapter 7

Characters:

Joe

Jim

Salesman

*Used car lot –taking advantage of people in need.

Themes: People vs. Moloch - the bank is influencing others and businesses and making it seem like their wrongdoing are okay. 

Chapter 6

Characters:

Muley Graves → the man who can’t leave the land. Muley – mule head. Graves – death.

Willy Feely → the tractor man/deputy – sheriff/the man owned by the back/the $3 a day man. 

Tom Joad

Jim Craig

Themes:

Importance of land

Importance of family

We vs. I. 

The turtle – keeps on going no matter what.

Words of the Day 4/11 - 4/12

Zenith: Noun: The shooting star was past the zenith in the sky where the boy was standing.

Scuttle: The boy carried scuttle of coal up from the cellar.

Declivity: The declivity of my running possibilies decreased when I reached high school.

Bemuse: The bemused teacher wondered the student was talking about in their essay.

Words of the Week 4/6/11

Rivulet: Noun: I ran by the small rivulet in the road.

Germinate: Verb: Jayce germinated into a mean person when she continued to make fun of me.

Words of the Day 4/4

Pique: Noun: The pique of the party was caused by Anna's stupidity.

Imperturbability: Adj: I'm imperturbabile towards the thought of track.