Yayyyyy, first post of Laura’s The Grapes of Wrath readalong!!!
Ohhhhh, Steinbeck. You are going to be interesting.
I’ve enjoyed reading these first 11 chapters, but I’m not gonna lie – I’ve had a lot of WTF moments. Like the first chapter – seriously? FOR REAL? Was that a chapter all about dust? But then I realized that even though it was just about dust, it also totally set the stage for the book – how bad of a drought is going on, and how hard it is on the families, and how much everyone relied on the men to figure out what the hell to do. And then I realized that Steinbeck is going to be a crafty bastard here.
Second chapter is where we first meet the young Tom Jones, and doesn’t he come off as a creepy one? I was worried he was about to go all serial-killer and try to kill the truck driver. But alas, I was wrong, and it turns out that I kind of like T.J. so far. I like that even though he killed a guy in self-defense, he’s not all mopey about it. He’s totally like “Yeah, and I’d do that shit again.” I like that. Seems like a nice kid.
Third chapter was about an EFFING TURTLE CROSSING THE ROAD. WTF? And here’s where I started to think that maybe Steinbeck did a spot of drugs while writing this book? Any one know for sure?
So anyways, after that things started to even out and I liked most of the rest of the chapters, except that weird cars salesman chapter. You all know what happened. So, thoughts. I have them.
Chapter 5 I think is where I started to actually like the book. That was an angry chapter. You can totally feel the anger and indignation and outrage that these families are being forced off of land that’s been in their family for generations. (Although the spiteful part of me thinks “Well, now you know what the Native Americans felt like, and you’re not even being systematically killed”.) And I LOVED the anger towards the banks.
“The bank – the monster has to have profits all the time. It can’t wait. It’ll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can’t stay one size.”
and
“The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It’s the monster. Men made it, but they can’t control it.”
I get that coming from the employees of the bank, this sounds like excuses, but they were right back then and it certainly applies even more now. The entire world economy would collapse without banks, and SO MUCH of adult life depends on how good your credit score is. This part of the book is what convinced me to go buy my own copy of the book, because I wanted to underline in the book but couldn’t cause it’s from the library. This chapter also makes me glad that I did NOT read this is high school. High school Sarah would not have been able to appreciate the sentiment here, because it’s only as an adult that I’ve noticed how much banks control everything and how much they can screw you over too. So yeah, Steinbeck won me over a bit with that.
Also, it should be mentioned that even though the Joads kind of tried to make the tractor driver feel guilty, I’m mostly on his side. It’s a totally shitty situation, but I am kind of the type to worry about my own family first. He found a job, and he’s got kids to feed. I get it.
In chapter 6, I liked the rant about prison – how it doesn’t really do what it’s intended to do, and in fact prison life is a lot easier than life in the real world, in some ways. (Actually, for those of you that read my Sarah Sunday posts – this is totally true of my dad. He’s so much better off in jail.) This chapter also made me really hungry, because that rabbit sounded DELISH. I have recipes waiting for when I finally get my hands on some fresh rabbit meat.
Mmmmmmm delicious.
And those were my big thoughts. Otherwise, the rest of this section was pretty good – sad, how they had to leave so much behind. I liked the imagery of what a desolate place it was when people left. It was impressive.
Actually, impressed is a good word. So far I am impressed. I didn’t expect to have this much to say – it’s not nearly as boring as I was afraid it would be, and I’m having fun writing down my thoughts and stuff on sticky notes after each chapter. I even started chatting to the honeyman about it all. YAY, literary discussions with the boyfriend.
So, what’s everyone else think?
~Sarah
“He’s totally like ‘Yeah, and I’d do that shit again.’” Hah! I LIKE it.
Also MAYBE THE TURTLE CHAPTER IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF MAN
Also aahaha you found a gif of a kitten gnawing on a bunny. That is fantastic.
You’re so much wiser than me. I suck at symbolism, lol. But for real, poor turtle. He was just tryin to do his thing & T.J. had to mess with him.
“And then I realized that Steinbeck is going to be a crafty bastard here.” – hahaha TRUTH
High school me DEF did not appreciate the sentiment in, well any of the book so far. But certainly not the bank chapter.
Yeah. I don’t know why they would make high school kids read it. I get the importance of it, but it seems a little rough for teens to try to read & get on their own, unless they’re reading it as a class & talking it out together.
I am impressed also! And I agree with your litmus test of judging a book by the conversations you can have with you boyfriend about it, haha. I have my husband super interested in how Steinbeck is going to deal with the communism thing, and also what the deal is with grapes. Why grapes? he asks. As we all do.
Not nearly as boring as it had the potential to be! Huzzah!
Dude does seem to seriously love grapes. But yeah yay for talking books w/ significant others! I wonder if I could talk him into reading it… (probably not).
Yeah, no, me neither. It’s Game of Thrones or the Hobbit or NOTHING for my guy.
I’m SO glad you didn’t find it boring! That’s just a relief in itself!
Ok, so YEAH the bank thing cause OMG banks and capitalism, you are evil. And I’m down with your Native American analogy thing, BUT I would say that this way is MUCH sneakier- Like, in this no one is to blame, whereas at the very least with the Native Americans, the settlers looked them in the face as they made them move/killed them.
Not that that’s great, but still.
ALSO, I understand the tractor drivers’ points of view, but at the same time, if NO ONE drove the tractors than EVERYONE would be better off, you know? Which, um, I guess is Steinbeck’s whole point. You know.
Yeah, that probably is Steinbecks point. That people should refuse to assist in bad things & it would work if they banded together, but eventually corporations will find someone willing to do what they want. Evilness!
Ha! I thought at one point that he was going to kill the truck driver too! When I realized this guy was probably going to be our main character I was like WTF, am I supposed to like this guy? (Still undecided on that one).
And yes – the bank thing. Those chapters were hard for me to read – but now I totally get what you are saying!
LOL right! I really thought “oh god this poor truck driver is gonna get murdered…”. That chapter definitely makes T.J. look more sneaky than he does in the other chapters.
I need to start this sometime. I remember having to read it in high school, but I never got past the first chapter! It was just so boring. BUT that was forever ago, so maybe my tastes have changed.
I do like what you say about the turtle — too funny!
I think I do recommend it, at least so far. Its more fun when u can talk to people about it!
Definitely more fun!! And you get so much more out of it.
“Well, now you know what the Native Americans felt like, and you’re not even being systematically killed”.
Ugh, yes, I thought about that, too. Especially since the farmers were all like, “Hey, this is our land! Weren’t we the ones who came here and took it from the Indians??” Steinbeck, you are losing my sympathy.
Buuuut then he got it back when they were packing up to leave and Ma burned the box of letters. SO MANY FEELINGS. (Although I was also thinking, “That doesn’t sound like a very big box. Maybe you could just, you know, hold it on your lap or tuck it under the seat or something?”)
I thought the same thing about that box! It sounds like it was about the size of a shoebox, maybe smaller. Surely she could have brought that with her… unless there were some super-private embarassing or incriminating things in those letters and she didn’t want to risk some family member coming across it?
Hee hee. I love this movie but I could never read the book. Too slow for me. I’ll read it vicariously through you. That same turtle was in the book I just finished, IT by Stephen King. Definitely has to be the drugs.
I think that reading GoW on my own, I MIGHT have given it up by now because it seems kind of slow. But it’s perfect reading along with people!