Chapter 24
Cast of Characters: Erza Houston, Willie Eaton, Jeremy, Ruthie, Winfield, Tom, Al, Rose of Sharon, Pa, Ma, Uncle John, Jackson, Jule, Blackhat
Summary: It's the night of the dance and the Joad Family attends. Tom and some men are on the look out for people trying to start a riot and get the camp shut down. Tom and the men spot some suspicious men and keep an eye on them for the time being. One of the suspects gets into an argument about someone's dance partner. The men gather up the suspects and kick them out of the camp. The final result being that the dance continued and the camp was not shut down.
Themes:
Ma continues to be the Anchor of the family
Tom begins to grow as a person
Questions:
How/ Why were these men picked to start a riot?
How would have things been different if the men didn't catch the suspects?
Quotes:
Pg 340 "These here dances done funny things. Our people got nothing, but jes' because they can ast their frien's to come here to the dance, set ' em up an' make 'em proud"
Pg 337 "You're a good girl", Ma said. "you always was a good girl. I'll take care a you. Don't fret."
Compare/Contrast:
This chapter and as chapters before shows Ma Joad's love and value for family and that she is a true bond like an anchor for ship of the family. This chapter is different because people have temporarily forgotten about the present challenges and hardships and are currently amused by the dancing.
Chapter 25:
Characters: Small farmers and larger monopolizing landowners.
Summary: Small town farmers get overrun by larger monopolizing landowners just like the migrants. Crops are poor and debt continuously increases.
Themes:
Depression
Devastation of small business
Quotes:
Pg 349 "In the souls of the people and the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage"
Pg 349 "There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize."
Compare/Contrast:
This chapter like others takes a step back from the main characters of the story and looks at the big perspective of the situation.
I found it interesting how the people of the time would forget about their worries. For a few hours a week they would stop worrying about they are going to do for dinner the next day or about the hard time they are in in general.
ReplyDeleteGood selection of quotes. They share a lot of emotion with the reader and the description reveals a deeper meaning
ReplyDeleteI agree with seeing the themes of depression and how Ma is keeping everyone together. Hopefully she can continue to keep them together as time goes on despite their hardships. Good job.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis for chapter 25 was dead on. I really like the quotes you selected and the two themes.
ReplyDelete