GoW.Chapter9

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=1.)Summary= Chapter 9 captures the final moments before the tenant farmers are forced to honor their evictions and begin their journey to California. Men are required to sell the families’ possessions, many with emotional strings attached, for dirt-cheap prices in town, as their only alternative is to leave them behind to rot; they are in no position to bargain. The brokers to whom the tenant farmers grudgingly sell their belongings are accused of buying bitterness alongside the equipment, as their greed and heartlessness will not soon be forgotten. The prospect of leaving Oklahoma is devastating to the evicted farmers, as their homes and associated sentiments defined much of their lives; the carelessness of the brokers does not help to ease the pain. The chapter ends with an image of women and children toiling over the lost past while men look cautiously toward the future.

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 =2.)Passages= “Well, take it –all junk- and give me five dollars. You’re not buying only junk, you’re buying junked lives. And more -you’ll see- you’re buying bitterness. Buying a plow to plow your own children under…”

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 =3.)Reading Questions= What happens to solidify the family during the migration?

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 =4.)Discussion Questions= Steinbeck includes the following statement from the tenant farmers in chapter 9: “We could have saved you, but you cut us down, and soon you will be cut down and there’ll be none of us to save you.” What appears to be the social implication of this assertion, according to Steinbeck?

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 =5.)Song=

Harvester of Sorrow By Metallica

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5-1.)Lyrics
My life suffocates Planting seeds of hate Ive loved, turned to hate Trapped far beyond my fate

I give You take This life that I forsake Been cheated of my youth You turned this lie to truth

Anger Misery Youll suffer unto me

Harvester of sorrow Language of the mad Harvester of sorrow

Pure black looking clear My work is done soon here Try getting back to me Get back which used to be

Drink up Shoot in Let the beatings begin Distributor of pain Your loss becomes my gain

Anger Misery Youll suffer unto me

Harvester of sorrow Language of the mad Harvester of sorrow

All have said their prayers Invade their nightmares See into my eyes Youll find where murder lies

Infanticide

Harvester of sorrow Language of the mad Harvester of sorrow Language of the mad Harvester of sorrow

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5-2.)Theme Song Analysis
In this song, the “harvester of sorrow” refers to the corrupt society which is robbing tenant farmers of their traditional lifestyle. The farmers’ rant is expressed in the lyrics with such lines as “I give / you take / this life that I forsake” and “My work is done soon here / try getting back to me / Get back which used to be.” In sum, the song expresses the misery and rage that the farmers feel for their losses.

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5-3.)Hear The Song


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//**Passages Answers**// This statement from unnamed tenant farmers is foreboding of the societal ills which will result if the traditional agricultural lifestyle continues to be victimized by the corruption of society. Higher-ups on the economic ladder often take for granted that their status is only as stable as that of those below them. So, by arousing bitterness in the tenant farmers, the brokers are threatening their children’s stability or, symbolically, buying a plow to plow their own children under.

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//**Reading Question Answers**// Families during this time are forced to give up many of their possessions and rely on each other for support to a higher degree. People are quickly realizing that they have nothing but other family members to fall back on in this desperate time. In this way family bonds are strengthened.

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//**Discusion Questions Answers**// Steinbeck argues that the hierarchical structure of America’s capitalistic society is on verge of collapse due to abuse of the lower levels, which may eventually crumble and take the entire structure with them. He asserts that concern for the common good must be held in high regard in order to maintain some semblance of stability in society.

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