Not so bad after all...

Remember that post a long time ago about the Depressing Pregnancy. That it was stupid to get pregnant when you can't even provide for yourself? Well I guess that pregnancy had a purpose after all, cause if Rose of Sharon hadn't been pregnant, then she couldn't have...well anyway, I agreed with that post at the time, but now I take it back.
And even though it was helpful...ew

Not just another story....

GOW is rife with symbolism, themes, and motifs....flowers, the dead child, fallow fields...

Themes--when man rejects other humans, he rejects his own humanity
No man can exist without affecting mankind
Any others?

Motifs-- religion, rebirth, spring, seeds, martyrs and mothers-- What did you see?

And the moral---What is it?

DISAPPOINTING!!!

Why didn't the turtle come back?! This made me sad! Poor turtle....I wonder what happened to the poor little guy...was his parallel just dropped off after chapter 3, or did Steinbeck just forget about the turtle after that?

The end...

Looking back, would you say that Steinbeck's symbolism really helped the story or do you think it was just irrelevant nonsense?

Another Post about the Ending...

Does anyone think that Steinbeck meant to have an abrupt ending? Maybe to show that his main purpose was showing the general hardships of the time?

Dead Baby

Was anyone infuriated by the description of the dead baby:

"On a newspaper lay a blue shriveled little mummy" (603).

How awful.

Lazy ol' Steinbeck

Okay, so I thought Steinbeck had really good description and I really liked the story of the Joads. But as the book progressed, characters that weren't really developing just died or walked away. Then, the end gives no resolution to the 619 page book....
Do you think Steinbeck did it for some kind of effect or was he just lazy or had writer's block? Or some other reason?

The Ending

So, the ending... What did everyone think? I yelled when I finished the book. The book was really good though. Probably the best i have read for a school project in a long time.

Intense

Did anyone else think that all of the crops being destroyed and the rain and all that was a parallel between the migrants and their emotions toward the farmers? That whole quote about the grapes....but did it mean anger, or despair?

So what does everyone think of the ending? There are a lot of intense biblical symbols involved....like Jim Casy, Rose of Sharon and the dying man (which was kind of gross), and even the dead baby. I know this wasn't the whole point for these parts in the story, he really wanted to show the hardships that the migrants were facing and represent them in a powerful way, and I recognize that Moses was sent down the river in a basket, but what is the point for the baby? Salvation or a message I guess...?

THE END???!!!

Does anyone else think that Steinback's ending was inappropriate?

New Place, New Life.

Now that the Joads are in California, everything seems to be going up hill and better than it was in Oklahoma. Of course, it is because they are not in the middle of the madness. But Is it going to continue to get bet or are there going to be a few more bumps in the road and maybe go back down hill?

The Death of JC

In chapter 26, Jim Casey is killed because he led a rebellion (strike) against the CA police. Is his death symbolic of anything? Does it further the Bible metaphor? Is Tom's reaction symbolic?

He Kills Again

So, in chapter 26, Tom Joad kills a man (after the man kills Jim Casey). How will this affect the family? Will Tom be sent back to jail?