Grapes of Wrath Chapter 27 - End

The ending of this book was long awaited.

Personally, I really enjoyed this novel. I was able to connect with each of the members in the Joad family (not including Noah although I did understand why he left). The last few chapters were surprising but noticeable.

The cotton picking part got me really excited. I felt like the family finally had a place to stay and would be able to make a living there. Everything seemed to be working out. I thought that them leaving the government camp was a good thing because the government camp seemed to be holding them back.

The ending was a surprise. I knew that Casy would be back but he was killed off so quickly. He gave Tom important information about what was actually happening in the dust bowl and then he dies. When Tom left the family because he needed to heal his face was almost a foreshadow for me. I knew that he would be leaving the family sometime. Although I thought that when he left, Ma wasn't like upset about it. Similar to Noah leaving or Connie. But she did say that he was her support and she needed him there. I guess she just finally figured out that for him to be safe, he had to leave.

I admire Ma for finally letting go of her family. She allowed Al to get married and leave the family to start his own. I guess she found out that she cant keep the family safe forever and kids need to grow up and make a living on their own. Her letting go is almost like lost hope. All the younger men in the family are now gone. This can only turn mildly bad for the family. By the time they leave the flood, they are down to 6 people. Two older men, two children, and two women. Im not sure how they will make a living competing with younger men and people who have the strength to work.

Rose was got really weird. Like she became really crazy. When Connie left her, it was a shock for her. She was very depressed and sad especially with a baby on its way. I think that this lead to her insanity. In many parts of this novel, all the chaos made Rose seem like she was out of her mind. When the Christian lady was talking to her about sinners, Rose took all of that in as herself. At the end, i felt that she, in a way, was conscious about what she was doing but in a way she found pleasure by breast feeding the man. Almost like she though the man was her stillborn baby. She really loved Connie and she really loved her baby. She just became a little nuts. Although i must give it to her, if i was in her shoes i probably would not be brave enough to do something like that.

Overall, i really thought that this novel was a easy read. There were times when all i wanted to do was skip through and only read when it talks about the family. By the time i got to those parts, i could never put the book down.

My Suggestion:
-Get past the first 3 chapters and you'll love the novel after that
-Read it on a weekend when you have time to re-read the descriptions

Thanks for choosing this novel.