The Cars, The Food, The People

In Chapter 15 the different types of cars that are traveling on HWY 66 are discussed in great detail. The Lincoln Zephyr, my personal favorite, is discussed here more and seems to be a favorite of Steinbeck also. It is a good car. Steinbeck also describes the different food joints along the side of the road. In the diner owned by Mae and Al in which the poor family stopped in to get a loaf of bread, Al and Mae are nice to the family and gives them a 15 cent loaf for 10 cents and two 5 cent pieces of candy for a penny. Was Steinbeck using this situation in which Mae and Al were nice to them and showed them sympathy to contrast the mean owners who had kicked the poor farmers off their land? Was this just to show that there were still some nice people out there or did it have a deeper meaning?

Diner

Anyone think the whole chapter about the diner has any part in the future of the book?
Maybe it's where the Joads may run into trouble, that's my guess.

IITYWYBAD??

Does anyone have any idea what IITYWYBAD means or why steinbeck used it? I'm lost here.

To California We Go

I am amazed that Joad is going to break his probation and go with his family. Why do you think that is?

Why Did the Wilson's Car Break Down?

In chapter 16 the Wilson's car breaks down. The Joad's homemade truck is still running fine but the Wilson's touring car blows a con-rod bearing. Why did Steinbeck have the Wilson's car break down and not the Joad's? If the Joad's car would have broken down this would have furthered the Joads' trouble and would have caused the reader to have more sympathy for the Joads. But it is the Wilsons that break down and it is Tom and the Preacher who stay with the car to fix it while the rest of the group goes on ahead. Is Steinbeck trying to express the idea that it is the survival of the fittest in rough times and if the strong, the Joads, help the weak, the Wilsons, then they will become weak as well? Does Steinbeck really want to express the idea that if you are nice and help someone else then you will be screwed because of it?

Making the Best of a Bad Situation

I was particularly impressed with Tom Joad's description of making the best of a bad situation (245). The one-eyed man, feeling sorry for himself, complains constantly about his life. Tom turns to him and tells him that his life wouldn't be so bad if he didn't make is so bad. The reference of "a one-legged whore" was actually pretty relevent. It was funny. "Ya like to feel sorry for yaself. There ain't nothin' the matter with you. Buy yaself some white pants."

Is this the embodiment of the spirit of the Joad family? A representation of the ability to edure druing hard times that they possess?