Grapes of Wrath Chapter 17-20

Reading this at midnight is not the best way to read yet i could not stop. Page after page i had to continue.

Whats so good about moving westward to California? apparently people think that its a bad idea. After being there and experiencing these mildly bad things, they all want out of it. If everyone is trying to get out of this place why are the Joads trying to get in. They go because they have thoughts of having a better life and to start something new yet they cant. They cant because there are not enough jobs to be given out for everyone. A job ad wants a thousand workers but only accepts five hundred after more then five thousand people show up. Owners figure that as long as there are people who need the job, they can give it to the people that will work for less. What kind of an economy is this? But then again, people today are also getting jobs that are underpaid even with the minimum wage implied. This is just like a relapse. A bunch of people being put out of work and needing jobs is similar to what we are faced with today.

People leaving this family is representing breaking common idea and unity. throughout the novel, you learn about each character and how each one contributes to the common cause. You see now that people are losing that common goal. The beginning of chapter 17, it felt like everyone who were strangers even worked together to get by the night and each day. First, Grandpa died because he lost himself on the road. His soul was on the farm and leaving the farm was probably the hardest thing he had to do. Grandma, needless to say passed away because she became depressed. Noah saw the river and fell in love. He didnt think he had the need to leave because he could drink and eat from the river. This is a way is logical because using the river, he is able to live off of it. Connie was different. He kind of just lost hope and left in my opinion. He found that his dreams were not going to become real because it was too hard. He is a wimp. He left his wife who is expecting a baby to fend for herself. Casy was by far the only man who left because he thought of the common goal. Casy saw that Tom tripped the police officer and in order to save tom from being caught and sent to jail for leaving the state, he hit the man across his head and knocked him out. Then when reinforcements arrive, he willingly left with them. In a way though, i think he did it because he wanted to get away from the Joads. I feel like he felt that he owed them something. He's been living from them since Tom returned and sometimes I get the feeling that he feels bad. By helping Tom get out of that situation, its similar to repaying his debt. Even Tom almost broke away from the family. He was similar to Casy though in the sense where it was for the common cause of the family to continue on their journey. Ma though was able to make that not happen which in a way was very good for the family. This all shows that the family is definitely facing difficulties.