Gaia:Myth or Metaphor?

In Greek mythology, Gaia is the Goddess of the Earth, or Mother Earth. She was said to have given birth to the human race.

The Gaia metaphor says that Earth is a living organism that is actively involved in maintaining itself.in accordance with this, our planet remains just right for life, possibly because it has life.

What do you think this has to do with the book? Does anything come to mind? Or is this all just senseless gibberish?

Goddess of weedpatch

In chapters 20-26, ma joad really starts to take charge of the family as pa's decisiveness withers; especially at weedpatch when a lot of stuff falls on her shoulders. She says that she can only maintain herself so long as tom does not reach for her. Is this ma as gaia with tom as antaeus. in myth, gaia also quarreled with her husbands for holding her children back. So even though pa joad hasn't imprisoned the joad children in the pits of hell, there may be some symbols here? even if you think it's crazy, i'd like to hear your comments if they're nice.

Understanding the Need for Pleasure

so in chapter 23, steinbeck discusses all the different ways people in the great depression have learned to have pleasure: story telling, movies, getting drunk, playing music, dancing, have sex, ect. what i wonder is, what is steinbeck trying to show through all this? does he think certain forms of pleasure are better than others? like that getting drunk is a sad way to deal with your problems? is he proud of them, in a way, for persevering in enjoying their lives?

Ma Changes Her Mind?

So earlier in the novel, Ma freaks out on Tom and Pa when they want to split up the family for a while. She wouldn't hear of it! But now, Noah left and she didn't show much emotion. Then when Connie left, she told Rose of Sharon to stop whining or she'll hit her. She seems to have lost all interest in keeping the family together. Has she given up?

Fruits

Does anyone think the incident surrounding Floyd Knowles and the fruit picking contractor is significant?

Jim Casey

He's already covered for Tom, and his role was starting to make sense. Is he coming back?

Where Art Thou, Turtle?

So what happened to the turtle? We were all so sure that the turtle was symbolic and would reappear throughout the novel. It hasn't happened. So will he come back? Would he still have symbolic significance if he did?

Another One Bites the Dust

In chapter 20, Connie becomes the latest "I'm-leaving-the-party" victim. After a fight with Rose of Sharon, Connie just walks away (literally). So the questions are: Where did he go? Will he come back? Will he die? How will this affect RoS/the baby? Is there a reason that the author keeps removing characters? Does Connie symbolize any particular group of people?

"JC JC, YOU'RE ALRIGHT BY ME..."

So...how about Jim Casey? Any ideas on his role in the novel?

Mother Joad

Where do you think Ma Joad gets her strength? Is it the land? Or is it something else?