Chapters 1-30

Chapters

1-7 The Grapes of Wrath takes place in Oklahoma in the dust bowl during the Great Depression. It begins with a truck driver in a diner. When he leaves the diner there is a hitch hiker by his truck. The man in Tom Joad. Tom Joad has been recently released from prison and is now on parole. He is on his way home to be with his family. While in the truck, the driver questions him and soon Joad gets out of the truck. He begins his journey on foot. On his way, Joad comes across a man sitting next to a tree. The man is Jim Casy. Joad remembers Casy from his childhood days at church. Casy was Joad's preacher but no longer preaches. Casy believes no longer in the Holy Spirit. He now believes in the Human Spirit and that is part of each other. He believes there is no sin, just things people do.

When Joad and Casy reach Joad's house, they realize it has been abandoned. They then see a man coming towards them. This man is Muley Graves. Muley is an odd man. He has stayed behind while his family has gone to the West. Muley tells the men about the banks and the land. He explains that everything has been taken from the people. All three men eat supper and then go to sleep. Muley sleeps in his man-made cave while Casy and Joad sleep outside. The next morning Casy and Joad start their trip to Uncle John's where the family is.

Chapter 8

When they arrive at Uncle John's the house is filled with numerous characters. We meet Granpa, Granma, Pa, Ma, Rose of Sharon, Noah, Al, Uncle John, Ruthie, and Winfield. Granpa has somewhat of a childish attitude. Granma has a wonderful spirit and is very "religious". Pa is the head of the house, although not as well rounded as Ma. Ma is said to be the backbone of the family. Rose of Sharon is Tom's sister, married to Connie, and is pregnant. Noah is the oldest brother. He is somewhat mentally slow. Al is the teenage brother who tom-cats himself around. Ruthie and Winfield are the two younger siblings. Uncle John is a nuisance to the family because he is always giving things to the kids.

Chapter 9

All of the tenants are selling all of the belongings that are not necessary for the trip to the West and packing what is necessary. All of the buyers compromise prices. The tenants get irritated and hurt because they are selling their past. After everything is gone though, they become very anxious to go to their new life in the West.

Chapter 10

Ma discusses her worries about going to the West with Tom. She does not want him to get in anymore trouble. While they are talking Casy comes and asks if he could join the family on the road. Ma and Tom say yes, but that they would have to okay it with the other men. In beginning Grandpa is very excited about going to the West.
The rest of the family comes home with only eighteen dollars from the household products they sold. Later, the men hold a meeting and decide the preacher is able to go. Then the whole family works loading the truck, slaughtering pigs and, curing pork.
When they are ready to leave, suddenly, Grandpa changes his mind. Ma puts syrup in his coffee to put him to sleep, and they get him in the truck.

Chapter 11

In this chapter, everything is abandoned. The only things left are sheds, houses, and tractors. All of these items soon die. The tractors are no longer used so the engine is bad, the houses are not kept because no one is there, and the shingles and windows are broken off the sheds and houses.

Chapter 12

This chapter displays the struggles the family, like the rest, are are going through. There are thousands of families on Route 66. Throughout the despair, the family finds strength in each other.

Chapter 13

The family pulls off to the side of the road because Al notices possible signs of a breakdown. When they pull over they meet the Wilson's, Ivy and Sairy. They are very generous and caring people. Grandpa starts to develop sickness. They get him in the Wilson's tent and give him Sairy's quilt. Grandpa has a stroke and struggles until he is out of misery. The family each take a turn with the shovel and bury Grandpa in Sairy's quilt. They write a note so when the dirt sinks and people find Grandpa they will know what happened.

Tom and Al fix the Wilson's car for the generosity, and then the group decides to travel together.

Chapter 14

This chapter discusses who or what is at blame for the Depression. They discuss whether to blame the people or the government.

Chapter 15

The setting for this chapter is in a diner. The waitress is Mae. They watch thousands of cars travel on their ways to California. There are wealthy families that drive by in nice cars trying to brag. Two truck drivers come to the diner and tell Mae about an accident. A man and his two sons also arrive and ask to buy ten cents of bread. Mae refuses to give them the bread, but Al orders her to sell it to them anyway. She then sells them two sticks of peppermint for a penny. To make up for the losses, the truck drivers leave fifty cents for something that costs fifteen.

Chapter 16

As the Wilsons and Joads progress on their journey, Rose of Sharon tells Ma about her and Connie's dream. Connie wants to take correspondence classes and open a store. Ma is hurt by this because she does not want the family to split up. The car breaks down and Tom and Al start to fix it. They urge the family to go on without them, but Ma resists. Al gets the family to a camp, and then him and Tom go to look for a con-rod. When arriving back at camp Tom refuses to pay the fifty-cent charge and walks to the family. A stranger appears as Pa is talking and shares his tragic story. His wife and children starved to death because of lack of work. Pa asks Casy if the man is telling the truth and Casy verifies.

Chapter 17

"In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all. The loss of a home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was one dream. And it might be that a sick child threw despair into the hearts of twenty families, of a hundred people...." This is a theme of unity. This theme follows us through the band. It shows how the migrants bond together and become family.
Chapter 18
The finally makes it to the promised land, California. The men bathe in the river and a man informs them of what California is truly like. He says there is not any work and people are starving to death. Ma and Rose of Sharon lay in the tent with ill Granma.a policeman comes to the tent and tells them they need to be gone by morning. This infuriates Ma. She threatens to beat him with a Skillet. Then, Me sends Ruthie to get Tom. Tom enforms Ma that Noah will not be going on with them. Noah wanted to stay on the river. The family immediately leaves. The agriculture inspectors stop the Joad's but Ma pleads with them because they need to get Granma to the doctor. The inspectors let them go, but Granma is already dead. Ma finally tells the family, and they are amazed by the love she shows.
Chapter 19
This chapter shows the history of how Americans got land. It explains how the owners made laws to protect them and for the law to enforce. The parents pray for their children to have food, and when that does not work they go into action. They start revolting.
Chapter 20
They Joad's take Granma's body to the coroner. Then, they find a camp site. They soon meet Floyd Knowles. Floyd is quick to tell them about the punishments for disobeying the law. Ma gets surrounded by children as she cooks stew. She tells the ones that have eaten to get and tells the rest to get sticks. She gives small portions to her family then allows the children to clean the pot. A child's mom approaches Ma furiously. Angry because her child wonders why they do not have stew. A contractor comes and says there is work north. Floyd hits a police officer, Tom trips him, and Casy kicks him. Casy takes the blame and is sent to jail. Seeing how Casy took the blame influenced Uncle John to tell the truth. He has been keeping five dollars from the family. He goes to get drunk. Connie leaves the family.
Chapter 21
It is a descriptive setting exemplifying the thousands of people moving into towns and scaring residents. The townspeople are not owners of land and have their own financial needs. The big land owners buy more land causing more poverty around the area.
Chapter 22
The Joad's find a new place to reside at a government camp. Ma is a little weary at first but then eased. Tom is the first to find work. There is a washroo at the camp, hot and cold water, music, and dances. Rose of Sharon panics because she thinks she is going to lose her baby.
Chapter 23
The migrants search for food and tell each other stories. Some get drunk, some play music and dance. The dance ends and the young dancers pair off and disappear.
Chapter 24
The whole camp is preparing for the dance while Ma is trying to convience Rose of Sharon to go. She has to promise no one will bother Rose of Sharon. When a guy asks her to dance Ma has to tell the no. Tom and other men find three men sneaking in. The men try to start a fight, but are forced to leave. Uncle JOhn and Pa meet with people to discuss about work. The "Okies" want to have a "Turkey shoot".
Chapter 25
Planters strive for a better way to produce crop while chemists do tests on pesticides. The land owners push labor down and small loandowners cannot afford to harvest. The starving people wacth mounds of foor be burned in front of them. They are not allowed free food in order to keep stores running.
Chapter 26
The men have stil not found any work. Ma is worried and talks Pa into moving to find work. Rose f Sharon is due at any time. After the family gets on the road, they get a flat tire. When they are fixing it, a man offer them jobs picking peaches. Of course the Joad's take it. When they get there it is nothing as expected. The people are yelling orders and there are sire fences all around. On their first day of work, the entire family earns a dollar. Ma goes to the store and buys very poor hamburger and coffee. She does not have enough money to buy sugar and the salesman does not give her credit. After dinner, Tom goes for a walk and manages to find Casy. As Casy tells Tom about the strike, a man comes up, hits and kills him. Tom then picks up the pick handle and beats the man who killed him. He runs to the orchard and hides until he is safe to go home. The strike is ended and the wages are dropped. Windield gets ill from eating peaches. Tom is being hunted so the family hides him in the truck and leaves. As they drive, they see a sign the says "Cotton Pickers Needed". They try for work and tell Tom to say close enough Ma can bring him food.
Chapter 27
Cotton pickers are needed everywhere. People have to have their own ags, but if they do not they can buy one. The people are paid well and can afford to buy meat for their families.
Chapter 28
Winfield approaches Ma and tells her that Ruthie had told kids about om hiding because he killed two men. The family had been making enough to live better and share a boxcar with the Wainwrights. Ma goes to find Tom. He takes her into his cave and she tells him what has happened. They both agree that he should go far away. He tells her about his feelings on Casy's theory. How everybody is a part of everyone else. He says she will see him in everyone. Ma is scared they will kill him like Casy, but Tom is confident in himself. When Ma returns to the boxcar, the Wainwrights worry about Al and their daughter. Pa tells Ma he think life is over. Al and Aggie come back with news on their engagement and the families celebrate. It is the last day of picking and their are many people picking. When they return home Rose of Sharon gets sick.
Chapter 29
The fields flood with the water from he rain. All the work is ruined and the people steal. The rain finally stops and the men gether to look at the land. They become engry which reensures the womes.
Chapter 30
The men in the boxcars all join together to build an embankment to stop the water. Rose of Sharon begins having labor pains. Ma tells Pa, and he tells the men to qork quickly because his daughter is having her baby. As Rose of Sharon drives throuh pain, a tree uproots and lands on the embankment the men were building. Al runs to try and start the car, but it is already surrounded by water. Rose of Sharon delivers her baby, and it is still born. Al suggest to build a platform to keep them and their belongings dry. The family gets on the platform and stays there all night. Ma demands they move to higher ground. al stays behind with the Wainwrights. The family finds an old barn and realize they have a boy with them. The boy tells them of his starving father. There is a silent agrrement between Rose of Sharon and Ma. Ma takes the family out of the barn, and Rose of Sharon allows the man to feed off of her breast milk.