Chapter 28

In chapter 28, one of the symbolism was rain. Rain could mean life or death. In this case, I think both things are going to happen. With rain, comes the birth of life on Earth. Not only do plants grow and babies are born, but Tom has a "rebirth". While hiding out in a dark cave and having nothing to do, he starts thinking and reflecting on Jim Casy's teachings. He finally shares the same faith and philosophy that Casy had. This is when Tom realizes that his calling in life is to help others and help unite the migrant families. Do you guys think that Tom made the right decision of leaving his family and helping others? Or was it selfish because his family, especially his mom, needed him?

Chapter 22

Chapter 22 in my opinion gives a comparison of what California is like for the migrants who are arriving. I came to this conclusion because as seen in previous chapters the camps that were scattered throughout California were dirty and overcrowded. We would also see how the general population of California doesn't like at all the incoming migrants looking for jobs. This resulted in the residents of California disrespecting, and showing very rude and unfair treatment toward these migrating families.  This view of California however was changed during this chapter, when the Joad's found themselves in a government camp which was clean, not crowded, and free of unfair treatment. The people within this camp were also very different as they seemed to welcome and treat the Joad family with respect. Ma Joad was one of the characters most impacted by this change since she said that she had felt like she was treated as a person again. I believe that this is a clear comparison of the two types of communities that could be found in California as well as the two types of people and treatment that, as a migrant family, you could come across.

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 starts off with a detailed description of the setting, just like in Chapter 1. I believe that the purpose of this chapter is to emphasize the "growing wrath" of the poor in the country. When I read this chapter, it deeply touched me and made me angry. How is anybody able to throw away food while others are dying of starvation? Also, this chapter describes the struggles people are facing due to the selfishness of the landowners and the wealthy. Out of the whole novel, this chapter is one of my favorites due to the emotional connection I had to it.

Chapter 30 SPOILER

In this chapter we see a  fear of flooding and  Rose of Sharon ironically starts feeling pains in her body which means she will soon give birth. As of this issue Pa Joad helps insist the men to build an embankment After this Rose of Sharon gives birth but sadly to baby whom is unaliv. Later in the Joads go to a barn which they found in order to get away from the flooding and they find a boy who's father is slowly dying of hunger then Rose of Sharon goes into action and feeds the starving men with her breast milk.

Chapter 22

"We're Joad's. We don't look up to nobody.  Grampa's grampa, he fit in the revolution. We was farm people til' the debt.  And then- them people. they don't somepin to us.  Ever' time they come seemed like they was a-'whippin me-all of us.  An' in Needles, that police.  He done somepin to me, made me feel mean.  Made me feel ashamed.  An' now I ain't ashamed.  These folks is our folks- is out folks.  An' that manger, he come an' set an' drank coffee, an' he says, 'Mrs. Joad' this, an' Mrs. Joad' that- an' 'how you gettin' on, Mrs. Joad?' "  She stopped and sighed.  "why, I feel like people again." 
- In this quote Ma Joad starts off saying that she has pride in saying that she is a Joad, and everybody else should as well.  The Joads don't take anything from anyone, they stand up for themselves.  However, that changed ever since they left there farm.  While on the road they experienced the corruption of the world and it was starting to change them.  How she talked about the officer in Needles, she had to stand up for herself and be harsh so she could defend herself against him.  They made the family feel ashamed to be who they were, treated them like they were less than human.  Yet that changed once they got to the government camps.  The people at camp would treat her all the same, they would treat her equally.  For example, as she explained, the manger would address he as Mrs. Joad's instead of an "Okie".  That's why she says, "why I feel like people again," she was reminded that she was equal and human.

Chapter 4

The introduction of "preacher" Casey seems almost metaphorical. During a time of devastation and poverty, the preacher is the one left the most morally and spirtually conflicted. It seems to go together well with Tom's questionable faith. Additionally, this novels lack of emphasis on faith so far seems to foreshadow the tone of what's to come. It seems that Casey has turned towards an almost philosophical way of thinking. Which really excites me for the future of this character. But if a former preacher has such a lack of faith, what does that mean for the characters to come? 

Chapter 19

John Steinbeck, in this chapter, portrays a different but interesting type of capitalism in California through the owners of the land.  Due to the fact that the owners has so much power of the employment rate, they become in control.  For example, the owners are very few; therefore, as individuals they own a vast amount of land.  When you're an owner you can chose to either pay fewer people to operate machines or pay more people to do the work the machine would normally do.  This also has the same concept when it comes to picking fruit.  The owners sent out the handbills expecting that they would get more workers than they needed.  By doing this they would get desperate, hungry people willing to compromise for wages lower than they normally would be.  They become in control of what their paying and don't expect the migrant workers to disagree with the pay because there is little work to began with.  In other words the land owners are in control of the employment rate and therefore dictate how the "squatters" live their life.