More on Grapes of Wrath

INFORMATION FOR THE ACADEMIC TEAM


Chapter 11, Page 115 of the authorized text:

1. P. 115: What is the import of Steinbeck's saying that tractors are dead and horses are alive?
2. P. 116: What does Steinbeck mean when he says that man is more than the chemicals he is made of?
3. P. 116: Note the description of house decay.
4. P. 116: Why is the tractor man contemptuous of the land and of himself?

Chapter 12:
5. P. 118: The Route to California: "Get your kicks on Route 66"
6. P. 119: Note that this is the narrative of an imaginary journey.
7. P. 120: Resentment of Okies
8. P. 120: Police tear up drivers licenses. What will be the result of this?
9. P. 121: Why does Steinbeck say that businessmen have to lie and cheat?
10. P. 122: "Cars pulled up beside the road, engine heads off, tires mended. Cars limping along 66 like wounded things, panting and struggling. Too hot, loose connections, loose bearings, rattling bodies." Note the imagery.
11. P. 122: Some good deed were done.

Chapter 13:
12. P. 123: Al becomes the soul of the car.
13. P. 125: Grandpa is now clearly senile.
14. P. 126: Vendors are suspicious of Okies.
15. P. 126: Why do people with money go to gas stations in town?
16. P. 128: Why does Steinbeck have Tom react irritably to the fat man's question, "...what's it coming to...?"
17. P. 130: Does the dog's death foreshadow a problem for Rose of Sharon?
18. P. 131: Ma rejects Rose of Sharon's fears about the baby.
19. P. 134: Ma asks Tom about the problem of his crossing the border.
20. P. 134: Note Okie etiquette: Tom asks permission to park near another car.
21. P. 135: How do we distinguish Okie diction from Kansas diction?
22. P. 135: Note the comment on Massachusetts diction.
23. P. 135: Grandpa is now ill physically.
24. P. 136: Why does Grandpa cry?
25. P. 136: Is Grandpa having a stroke?
26. P. 137: Why does Casy say he does not know to whom to pray?
27. P. 138: Grandpa dies.
28. P. 138: Why is Grandma "on show?"
29. P. 139: Why do Al and Tom offer to repair the Wilson's car?
30. P. 141: Grandpa is buried in a quilt shroud. Was this burial legal?
31. P. 142: Why does Ma say a child born out of sorrow will be a happy child?
32. P. 142: Tom write a note for Grandpa's grave. The burial note is put in a fruit jar. Note the Bible Verse added to the burial note.
33. P.144: Note Casy's prayer.
34. P. 146: Why does Steinbeck have Casy say that Grandpa and the old place were just the same thing?
35. P. 146: Why is Uncle John upset with Casy?
36. P. 149: How can Ma yawn "luxuriously" at this point?
37. P. 149: Does Sara Wilson's illness seem like cancer?


FORTES FORTUNA ADIUVAT!