chapter15

=Chapter 15 Hotseat Project=  Summary Passages Reading Questions Discussion Questions Theme Song





Summary
//Chapter 14 is a short intercalary chapter, in which Steinbeck describes the Western States’ fear of the migrant flood, and the collectiveness of the migrants’ plight. He explains that the Western states’ fear of the migrants stems from a misunderstanding of cause and result relationships…they believe the migrants are the cause of their problems, whereas they are really a result of harsh times and drought. Also, he states that man’s strength lies in his ability to create and accomplish things, and man is made better through labor and work.//

Chapter 15 is also an intercalary chapter involving a roadside diner on Route 66. Mae, the waitress and register operator, and Al, the cook, own the diner, and the chapter begins with Mae explaining why truck drivers are the best and why she treats them differently. She states that they leave the biggest tips, and, if your food and coffee is good, they’ll come back every time they’re passing by; if the food is bad or the coffee stale, they’ll never be seen again. Akin to raising the status of the truck drivers, she is demeaning to the migrants who have little money, and those unscrupulous people who feign choking or bad service as to eat for free. Migrant have somehow attained the stereotype that they’re all thieves, and they should be watched very closely. This negative sentiment toward the desperate migrants was widespread, and made it much more difficult for the hard working migrants to get jobs and find secure footing in the economic classes. Mae treats a migrant and his children in a very uncompassionate manner, and refuses to sell them bread, even though it is obvious that they need it badly. The man offers a dime for how ever much bread she’d be willing to give them, and she uses several excuses not to, such as the need for the bread for sandwiches, that the loaf is a 15 cent loaf, etc. Al yells at her to give them the loaf, and, although initially protesting, she gives it to them. When the man pulls out a penny as well as the dime, he notices his kids are staring longingly at a couple of stick candies. He asks if they are penny candies, and Mae responds that they’re two for a penny, and gives them to the two boys. The nameless migrant leaves, and not long after, the truckers that were at the counter leave as well, leaving one of the biggest tips Mae’s ever received. This large tip was an unseen reward for her generosity, and symbolizes what people all around should do for the displaced peoples…help out in any little way possible, and you shall be rewarded.



Passages
“ ‘People says they steal. We ain’t got nothin’ layin’ around. They never stole nothin’ from us.’ Big Bill, munching on his pie, looked up the road through the screened window. ‘Better tie your stuff down. I think you got some of ‘em comin’ now’” (page 158-159)

This passage shows how rumors and stereotypes are proliferated, how quickly they catch on through ignorance, and how they’re detrimental to others' livelihoods. It was the general aura of the time that the migrants were all crooks who weren't able to make it on their own - something prized in a capitalist society - and didn't deserve any respect as humans.

“ ‘Wonder where they all go to,’ said Mae. ‘Come here for gas sometimes, but they don’t harldy never buy nothin’ else’” (page 158)

Mae’s statement presents the ignorance of the time, misunderstanding that the migrants are a result, not a cause, and the presumptuous nature of those not connected to the "Dust Bowl" area.



Reading Questions
Why is it significant that truck drivers are used as the "good guys" in the chapter, and why do they leave the large tip for Mae?

The truck drivers represent those who are removed from the migrant situation, and receive almost all their information second-hand. They're more like outsiders looking in, so they have more objective views on the migrant plight. Steinbeck uses truck drivers to try and reach those who haven't been hurt by the dustbowl...



Discussion Questions
What is the effect of Steinbeck's use of intercalary chapters?

Chapter 15 is an intercalary chapter containing the specific characters of Al and Mae, and the vague characters of the migrant family and the truck drivers. This chapter presents a single situation that represents a national aura of the time, and invalid stereotypes. While, in the chapter, it is Mae that is hesitant to sell the family the loaf, and even characterizes them as theives and low-lifes, it represents the overall ignorance of the plight of the migrant workers and who they really are.



Theme Song
My eyes seek reality My fingers seek my veins Theres a dog at your back step He must come in from the rain
 * Low Man's Lyric** -Metallica

I fall cause I let go The net below has rot away So my eyes seek reality And my fingers seek my veins

The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bare to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn

So as I write to you Of what is done and to do Maybe you'll understand And won't cry for this man 'Cause low man is due

Please forgive me

My eyes seek reality My fingers feel for faith Touch clean with a dirty hand I touched the clean to the waste

The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bare to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn

So as I write to you Of what is done and to do Maybe you'll understand And won't cry for this man 'Cause low man is due

Please forgive me Please forgive me Please forgive me

So low the sky is all I see All I want from you is forgive me So you bring this poor dog in from the rain Though he just wants right back out again

And I cry, to the alley way Confess all to the rain But I lie, lie straight to the mirror The one I've broken, to match my face

The trash fire is warm But nowhere safe from the storm And I can't bare to see What I've let me be So wicked and worn

So as I write to you (yeah) Of what is done and to do (yeah) Maybe you'll understand And won't cry for this man 'Cause low man is due

Please forgive me Please forgive me

So low the sky is all I see All I want from you is forgive me So you bring this poor dog in from the rain Though he just wants right back out again

My eyes seek reality My fingers seek my veins



Lines such as "I fall cause I let go/the net below has rot away" and "There's a dog at your back step / he must come in from the rain" suggest that it is not the migrants' fault that they've lost everything and that they appear to be beggars and theives, contrary to Mae and the truck drivers' comments about the migrants. But, some of the migrants do blame themselves, and are ashamed at what they've become, and a corollary can be found in the lines "And I can't bare to see / What I've let me be / So wicked and worn". Finally, the lines "the trash fire is warm / no where safe from the storm" shows the state of the migrants' lives at the time and what they felt like they were going through.