In Chapter 16, the Joad’s stay at a camp. They meet a man who is travelling back east. He tries to tell the Joad’s that there are no jobs in California.
“‘I tried to tell you folks,’ he said. ‘Somepin it took me a year to find out. Took two kids dead, took my wife dead to show me. But I can't tell you. I should of knew that. Nobody couldn't tell me, neither…’”
I think this is important because a stranger shared his insight and his personal struggle, yet they dismissed it as false. They pay no attention, and continue to go along on their journey to California.
I feel as if we can all relate to this in one form or another. We have all been told by someone to not do something or to make a certain decision, but we do not listen, and we have to face the consequences in the end. I predict that it will be difficult for the Joad’s to find work once they get to California. I think they should have given some thought to what the man said.
It seems like the Joads encountered more than one person who warned them about the no jobs in California, although they chose to ignore it and keep going on. I am still trying to figure out whether this tells about the Joad family as a whole. Are they too stubborn to listen, or are they too determined and hopeful to listen?
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