When the Joads meet up with the Wilsons on the road, the Wilsons lend their tent for a sickly Grampa, who soon dies inside. As the Joads prepare to move on they invite the Wilsons to join them on the road. "Ma said, 'You won't be no burden. Each'll help each, and we'll all get to California. Sairy Wilson he'ped lay Grampa out,' and she stopped. The relationship was plain" (202).
During the Depression, for the families on the road to California, there was a distinct bond. They all shared the same troubles and were trying to do the best they could for their families, and this connected them all in a way. In order to make it to California and to get through the hard times, people needed to join together, and become a 'we' instead of an 'I'. They were able to help each other out and provided company and a connection, and people felt a bit less alone. As Steinbeck said in one of the intercalary chapters, "'I lost my land' is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows... 'We lost our land.' ...two men are not as lonely and perplexed as one" (206). The families are joined by what they have lost and their connection will help them survive and begin to have a direction.
I wonder how this will last later on in the book. Will the bond continue once the families have reached California, when they realize there are not jobs for everyone? They will have to compete with other families for these jobs, will the connection and togetherness continue to be a benefit, or will it become something they must end in order to preserve their own families?
The book has an extensive amount of foreshadowing (to my eyes) of how this bond may deteriorate. Everyone seems to be all in one tight knit group, wanting to help and protect even strangers just met on the way. As they start to realize that not everyone can have a job and in order to get one you must put yourself above the rest, I have a feeling that trouble may ensue. But what if there are no jobs? How will they feel squatting around all homeless and penniless? Will they still be open to strangers?
ReplyDeleteI agree that as conditions start to worsen, families will have to start breaking some of the loser connections they've made with others. But I think that the closest families might team together. For instance, I think that if the Wilsons had continued on with the Joads, they would have stuck together and shared their food or any money that they were able to earn. That way, even if a family had to share some money with another family when neither had much, they would know that if they lost that income they could rely on the other family to do what they could to help.
DeleteYes, you're right. As you continue reading, they talk about the camps that they set up and the way that there are accepted rules, and things that people definitely can not do, such as theft. But I feel like as they get to California and see that it really is not much better, they will lose the bond of moving to another life and these rules will begin to deteriorate, with people being more likely to steal from each other to protect themselves.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of our initial thoughts, in the beginning of chapter 20 the Joad family stops at their first camp in California. While Ma is cooking dinner, all of the children are gathered around watching her intently. Ma, even though there isn't enough stew for the Joad family, lets all of the kids have the leftover scrapings after she's filled everyone's plates. Ma continued this act of kindness towards the children like she did when they were on the road, but I don't think she'll do that again because of the one mother who came and yelled at her for feeding her kid because it was like bragging that they had stew. I wonder why the people who are in California are still so proud when the people around them are in the same situation?
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