Seminar 3 Flashcards
(12 cards)
What effect does the interludes troughout the novel give?
They might serve as a pause for reflection and thought. There is a differance between how the farmers work the land and the tenets. The diffrence is that some work for money and those who work the land for love and food. Those who care for the land and those who do not.
Does the story in chapter 5 have a villain?
The bank is portrayed as a monster, however the real villain might be the landowner because the land is not making any profit. If it does not make a profit, it needs to be sold.
What are some of the contrasts in the chapter 5? For instance, of clothing, interiors or landscapes?
The contrast is that the men work the land and for the land. The machines do not care about the nature or the people , but the people care about the land and the nature.
There is also a contrast in HOW they work the land. The old way and the new way.
Which characters are introduced in chapter 8 and how are they discribed?
Uncle John: A loner, a drunk, formerly married but refused to get doctor’s help when his wife felt sick, so she died. He is trying to make up for it by giving away everything he has got. Good farmer walks around alone at night. Gives gum to the kids at night.
Old Tom Joad: Hard working wears old clothes, craked shoes with swollen soles.
Ma Joad: Hardworking, cooks, heavy but not fat. She accepts her position and is described among other things as a citadel in the family.
**Grampa: **angry, eats a lot,
Granma: Deeeply religions, says praise God for Victory
**Noah: **First -born , tall and strange,
**Rosasharn: **Pregnant, married to Rosasharn
Winfield:
Connie: Married to Rosasharn,
Al Joad: Seems to look up to his brother Tom.
What is the purpose of the detailed descriptions in this novel? For instance, of clothing, interiours and landscapes?
The purpose of the detailed descriptions is to give an account of how real farmers life was like in the thirties. Show their poverty, their frugality, give an accurate descriptions of things.
How does Tom’s mother welcome him before she knows it’s her son?
She welcomes him with cool, calm drawl, friendly and humble “let em come” she said, “we have plenty”.p.77
She welcomes him and is very hospitable, tells them to come and sit down, but also strict with the handwashing.
What do you think the vacant houses in this chapter symbolize?
The vacant houses symbolises a sort of wasteland, which is empty and desolae, with no sign of growth. It is meaningless.
What is the significance of Grandpa’s death in this chapter? How and where
does he die?
They went through Bethany and out on the other side in a ditch. Where a culvert went under the road, an old touring car was pulled off the highway and a little tent was pitched beside it. The people staying there by the road invite Grampa into their tent where he is invited to rest on a mattress. He dies of a stroke there.
The significance of his death is that they become a unit and pa becomes the head of the family. They help out the Wilson family in return for their help to return the obligation.
What is “the beginning change?”
A growing labour unity: striking at new taxes, at plans: there is a shift from I to we on p. 158. Perhaps the owners fear labour parties and unions forming?
What do “the grapes of wrath” symbolize in this chapter?
Peoples anger. “in the eye of the hungry, there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes are filing and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. (p. 365)
What is the significance of this former preacher becoming a labour organiser? Also, note differences between the Hooverville and Government camp the Joads travel between in the later chapters.
Casy is a friend of the family , which impacts Tom, who seeks revenge when Casy is killed. Casy who has found a new calling, sacrifices his life so that the workers can get higher wages. In this sense, he also reedems himself from previous sins.
Earlier in the story casy takes the blame for Tom’s crime, and this indirectly leads to Tom killing the man who killed Casey.
Hooverville:
Government:
What happens in the last pages of the final chapter? Notice any important examples of symbolism?
The child of Rosasharn dies and they are hit by a rainstorm. The child is set out on the stream by uncle john. They go to a barn and finds a man starvin. Rosasharn breastfeeds the dying man.
