The Grapes of wrath (4)

Name of the book:“The Grapes of Wrath”

Names of group members: Brittany Geilear, Loren Williams, Kaylee Collins

Number of pages: 581

Chapters reviewed in this blog post: 22-30

Genre: Fiction

Author: John Steinbeck

Publisher & date published: April 14, 1939

Ask a neighbor

(this is an advice column where you can ask questions to your “Neighbor” and they will try to help  by responding to your questions)

Anonymous- I am someone whose luck has been lost and whose hard work has been ripped away by the depths of evil, all I want is for my family to survive. Please, where can I find a job so I can feed my family again?

Neighbor- Don’t give up hope, at this time of desperate help you need to stay faithful, and keep your right mind. I understand that it has been difficult for all of us, but we need not worry, for there are people here for you. There has been talk/rumors of great work and decent paying jobs in California, I urge you to travel with your family in hopes of getting a job there.

Anonymous- How can I keep faith in these trying times? For I have been questioning God in ways that I would never understand, the confusion of faith has taken me on a twisty road that has left my family and I hungry for months.

Neighbor- It is important to continue going to church and keep praying. God has a plan for all of us. Just trust in him and soon the storm will pass. God is testing you because he knows you are strong enough to handle it. God will provide you and your family the resources you need. We need to learn to open our eyes and look for God given opportunities.

Anonymous- With all this rain my family has been thinking too much about where our next meal will come from, and if we will have somewhere to sleep tonight. They sit with their growling stomachs and watch the rain fall. How can I take their minds off of this hardship we are facing?

Neighbor- This turn of events has surprised us all. It is important to be a role model for your family, stay faithful, and keep hope. Just imagine us months ago where people were dreaming of one drop of water. Be grateful for the things you have. Try taking their minds off of the situation by playing games such dancing in the rain, telling stories, and making them laugh. This will help make your family feel the happiness they once remembered.

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The Grapes of Wrath (3)

Name of book: “The Grapes of Wrath”

Names of group members: Brittany Geilear, Loren Williams, Kaylee Collins

Number of pages: 581

Chapters reviewed in this blog post: 14-21

Genre: Fiction

Author: John Steinbeck

Publisher & date published: April 14, 1939

Individual Reflections:

Brittany:  I think these chapters have illustrated the work and exchange theme. Because of the changes in the economy it has affected the way people in the 1920s-30s think. The people in Oklahoma with no jobs and had families to feed, were desperate. They would do anything to find a job that paid one dime just so they can buy food for their family and them. The migration and movement in this book is very significant. It shows that people would go through painful journeys, tired muscles, and their bodies shutting down just to have a chance at hope, at the future. The journey to California impacted the people of Oklahoma in ways we can only imagine. This, this impact has made us think outside of society, outside of our comfort zones, so we can understand the importance of knowing our history and reflect on it. 

Kaylee:  I think the main theme of this entire book (especially chapter 14-21) is movement. Movement in this time period was a big deal. Due to lack of jobs, crops (income), water, and food. People had no choice but to migrate and due to promise of work and hopeful stories, many people chose to move California. I think this book definitely connects to the class. For example it makes the dust bowl and Great Depression seem more like the real event it was. I will never be able to experience this but this books helps me know what it would be like to live through these unfortunate events.

Loren: With the depression baring down, people recognized that they have to be more strict with their morals, the poor and the rich. This chapter really goes into depth with how the Great Depression was handled. It's shows the devastation that occurred and how people showed their true selfs. Also I liked that they told about how when the workers tried to fight for minimum wage that they were arrested for protesting. This really goes back to the shaping of America and the cruelty that we went through to get to today.

The Grapes of Wrath (2)

Name of book: “The Grapes of Wrath”

Names of group members: Brittany Geilear, Loren Williams, Kaylee Collins

Number of pages: 581

Chapters reviewed in this blog post: 7-14

Genre: Fiction

Author: John Steinbeck

Publisher & date published: April 14, 1939

Summary:

       Joad is reunited with his family at Uncle Johns house. The family is getting ready to travel to California. The farmers aren't connected/don't care about their land, they just mow it with a tractor and go back inside. The Great Depression has effected farmers especially in Oklahoma and people are getting evicted by the bank because they have no money from their land because the dust bowl has not produced enough crops for the farmers to sell so they can get money. People are traveling to California because there are rumors that work is needed and they will get money to pay for supplies and feed their families.

Brittany: I think this book is a great way to show the hard times in our history. It definitely helps me understand some of the hardships we had and how everyone reacted to it. It showed that in desperate times people will do anything just for money, just for food. They would migrate by foot anywhere, just like the Joads. The Joads are out of options at this point so they turn to California, a place where there are rumors of a lot of job opportunities which equals money to spend on their survival. In this chapter the Joads are planning on traveling to California in hopes to find a job.

Kaylee: I think this book is a good example of how the Great Depression and the Dust bowl affected our country. The author does a very good job at describing their trials in a first person view that we couldn't otherwise experience. It shows that they had to make hard decisions in order to survive. For example, staying in Oklahoma wasn't an option so they were forced to move.

Loren: With the family needing support they decide to migrate to California which is the main push factor because there is nothing for them in Kansas. Although there are various risks with moving they pursue it anyways. On their route they encounter different people telling them there is nothing for them in California, this makes things worse because they simply don't have the resources to go back to nothing. Along their way they encounter many dangers with death and violence. Though this should make them want to leave they have no other choice.

      Group Discussion:

This book portrays life in the Great Depression and the Dust bowl. Farmers are being effected because their crops aren't growing and from that they don't get enough money to support their family. So, they are being forced out of their houses, crops won't grow, and no work, these demonstrate our push factors. Farmers who have no where to go because they don't have work or money are migrating to California where they have heard rumors of opportunities for jobs.

The Grapes of Wrath (1)

Name of book: “The Grapes of Wrath”

Names of group members: Brittany Geilear, Loren Williams, Kaylee Collins

Number of pages: 581

Chapters reviewed in this blog post: Chapters 1-7

Genre: fiction

Author: John Steinbeck

Publisher & date published: April 14, 1939

Summary of chapters 1-7:

Joad gets out of prison after 4 years for manslaughter. He hitches a ride from a truck driver while walking home. He talks to the truck driver about where he's been and where he's going. The truck driver is polite and tells him he doesn't judge people. The truck drivers lets Joad out near his home. Joad approaches his former preacher and talks about the past. Muley, an old family friend, tells Joad about how the bank or "the monster" is running people out of their houses because people cannot pay for their farms. There crops are failing because of all the dust in the air.

Individual reflections and connections to the book:
Brittany: I think this book portrays a good understanding and image of how the dust bowl/great depression was in the U.S. and how the people were affected by it.
Kaylee: This book shows the reader an inside look on the Great Depression and dust bowl. Also in the way that in today's world people couldn't otherwise understand.
Loren: Honestly this book does not interest me so far, this time period was a very sad time in our history. Although it connects with many themes I would've wanted to do something more to date.

Group Discussion:

We think that this book shows a great understanding of the past and how people handled it. We also thought about the present and how now, we might be prepared for some things because we learned from the past. But, we also think in today's world we could still be hit with something like the Great Depression and not be as well prepared for it as we thought.

Presentation for our final project:

Questions:
Will Joad find his family?
Will Casy start Preaching again?
What will Muley do?

We will either do a commercial-sales talk
Or maybe make a newspaper