Week One: The Grapes of Rath

When I first picked up The Grapes of Rath by John Steinbeck I thought I would hate it. I am not a big fan of description, and every other chapter is all description. However, Steinbeck’s description is very enticing; it draws me in and I can start picturing things in my mind. For example, “And as the sharp sun struck day after day, the leaves of young corn became less stiff and erect; they bent in a curve at first, and then, as the central ribs of strength grew weak, each leaf tilted downward.” (page 1)In my mind I could just see the leaves wilting and falling down.
Then, the second chapter starts with the story. It begins with a boy in new clothes of mediocre quality asking for a ride from a truck driver. Once they are driving the boy, Tom, reveals that he was in McAlester, a prison. The truck driver wants to know why, but doesn't want to seem nosy. Right before Tom gets out he basically says,”I killed a guy, got out in four years on good behavior.” What? How can he a) just say that nonchalantly like it’s a totally normal thing and b) how do you get out of prison in four years when you murdered someone?
Once he gets out, he starts walking this dirt road. He runs into a guy named Casy, who used to be a preacher. Judging by his language, he wasn't a very good one, so it’s probably a good thing he decided to stop preaching. He was telling Tom about how after every meeting he would go and “lay in the grass” with a girl. I was completely shocked. Anyone who is religious is supposed to wait until marriage, ESPECIALLY a preacher! Finally the story of Tom murdering someone comes out. Really Tom and another guy got in a fight and the other guy stabbed Tom. Then Tom grabbed a shovel and beat the guy to death. That’s why Tom doesn't think it was bad and also why he only got 7 years, 4 with parole.
Eventually Tom and the preacher get to Tom’s house but its deserted. They spend the night there and then go to Tom’s Uncle John’s house. He finds his family there and they are packing up to move to California. Tom isn't supposed to go to California because he has to stay in state or he will break his parole, but he acts like it’s not a big deal. He says that if he doesn't break a law, he won’t get caught. I just have to remind myself that this isn't a time of house arrest ankle bracelets and credit cards. Today, breaking parole would be a lot harder than it was in the 30’s.
So they are on their way to California in a car that they made into a pickup. In total there are 11 people, a couple mattresses, and boxes of various other things. So they have the boxes on the bottom, covered by the mattresses, then all of the people but 3. I can’t imagine this because the bed of the pickup truck had to be pretty deep, or the people are sitting WAY above the cab of the truck.
So anyway, they are off on this trip and they pull over next to this other car to sleep for the night. Tom’s Grandpa isn't feeling great so they lay him down in the tent of the people who own the other car, the Wilsons. And then Grandpa has a stroke and dies. It was so weird because their wasn't any emotion about it; he just dies. Then they just bury him, and then they just sit around the fire. The only person that seems to even care that he died was his wife.
Then the two families decide they want to travel together, so they split up between the car and the pickup. Everyone is a little worried about Grandma because she is so quiet and doesn't seem to be feeling well. However, the trip is going fine, until the Wilson's car breaks down. They decide that Tom’s brother Al, will drive the truck to a place where the family can spend the night, then come back to where Tom is and they will fix the car.
While Al is driving the family back, Tom and the ex-preacher Casy, start taking the car apart. Steinbeck starts describing all of this engine stuff that sounds reasonable, but is still way past my comprehension level of a car. The last part I have read is where Al comes to pick Tom up to go get the part.