In chapter eighteen they reached the desserts of California. They then stopped at a river and went in the water to cool down. While there they met some guys and spent the night talking about California and how it is like down there and how the people are. I liked how they bring words into the story that have a bad meaning like “Okie”, which at first meant travelers from Oklahoma, but then they started to use the word as just meaning really bad for anyone who are leaving their lives to make new ones in California. I think it brings a lot to the story about how others acted towards the people moving to California. Then Noah decides to stay by the river because he thought that is where he belonged. While at the tent some policeman came and said that he would be back by morning and they had to be out of there by then. I thought he said it very rudely because it really scared Ma. When they were getting ready to leave the Wilson’s decided to stay behind because Mrs. Wilson could not travel anymore because she is very sick and is probably not going to make it for much longer. Then she asks the preacher to say a prayer for her. People are asking him to say prayers a lot even though he isn’t a preacher anymore. I think that they have faith in him and in what he says and that they believe it will help them. Then when they get stopped by the patrol, Ma practically goes crazy saying that Granma was sick and how she needed to get to a doctor. Even Tom thought something was very wrong with her. But they find out that she was trying not to let him see that Granma was dead and she needed to make sure that they got across into California. I thought that was sad because she seemed to be taking it very hard.
Chapter nineteen talks about how the land of California once belonged to the Mexicans and how they never wanted it like the Americans wanted land. It talks about how the farms grew larger and it started to become an industry and how even if the farmers didn’t know it they had slaves and if there was something wrong with one of their slaves they could just deport them. It also talks about how the farmers changed. They would forget how their farm smelt and felt and only remembered that they owned it. Chapter twenty starts with the family at the coroner’s office as they were getting arrangements for Granma. They didn’t have enough money to pay for a funeral for Granma so Ma was pretty upset about that. Then they leave to find a place to stay for the night so they can get their rest and look for work the next day. While driving they find a bridge where there are tents set up and they decide to stay there the night. They meet a lot of new people and some they like and others not so much.
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2 comments:
I agree with you that by continuously calling them "Oakies" adds alot to the story because we begin to feel how much it hurts the Joads and the rest of the families like them. I think that Grandma dieing hurt Ma alot more than she let anyone realize too, but she had to be strong otherwise the family would really start to fall apart.
I agree with you when you said everyone has faith in Casy being a preacher and saying prayers. I also agree that Ma is really sad at this point. I think she is depressed but doesn't want to show it for the fear of the family breaking up.
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