chapter13

=Chapter 13 Hotseat Project= For what to do, click here

Summary Passages Reading Questions Discussion Questions Theme Song



Summary
This Chapter starts off with the Joad family stopping for gas. As they are servicing their car and rehydrating themselves with water the family comes upon the service station manager who implies that they are asking for handouts; as Tom and the rest of the Joad's are offended by this they find that the man is in just as much of a hard spot as they are. Before the family realizes that their hound is in the middle of the street he has been run over by a truck and severely mutilated. The justification that the family has for not being sad is the fact that they have no secure way of fending for themselves on their way to California let alone another dog. Thus the loss of the dog is simply shrugged off and the family continues on the road. When the Joad family finally decides to settle down for the night, they stop with another family who is also camping on the road. The names of these folks are Ivy and Sairy Wilson, along with the rest of the Wilson family. Sairy is suffering from severe pain as she is ill. As they are getting settled in, Grandpa has a stroke and dies. As this is a more significant loss than the dog, he is buried and attended to by the family. The preacher takes to his duty and presides over his body and says a few words. At the end of the chapter that very same night as the death of Grandpa the Joad's reside to keep on the road with the Wilson's as companions and also so that the Joad's can keep their car in working condition. Jobs seem to be readily available in California as they find posters for crop picking. Sairy Wilson falls asleep with sharp pains at the end of the chapter.



Passages
"'An' i wouldn' pray for a ol' fella that's dead. He's awright. he got a job to do, but it's all laid out for 'im an there's ony one way to do it. But us, we got a job to do, an' they's a thousan' ways, and' we don' know which one to take. An' if i was to pray, it'd be for the folks that don' know which way to turn. Grampa here, he got the easy straight. An' now cover 'im up and let 'im get to his work.' he raised his head." (page 144)

This passage shows the horrible uncertainty of the time, it shows the struggle and the numbness that came about during the time. Rather than mourn the death of Grampa it was just dealt with and done. This is not to say that the family did not mourn the death of their patriarchal leader, they simply dealt with it.

"' You fellas can make some kinda new life, but Grampa, his life was over an' he knowed it. An' Grampa didn' die tonight. he died the minute you took 'im off the place.'... 'Oh, he was breathin',' Casy went on, 'but he was dead. He was that place, an' he knowed it.'" (page 146)

This passage is significant because it shows the true ties to the land and the heart and soul of a man. The heart and soul of "Grampa" was found in his pride, in what he knew. People during this time like "Grampa" did not simply lose family, did not simply get a stroke, or did not simply become poor and hungry. They lost much much more than all of these material things they lost the will to live because they lost a part of themselves when they were forced to change their way of life. In essence when they were forced to change their way of life they were killed because their way of life was as much a living part of them as was the breath they took and the heart beat they steadily kept.



Reading Questions
Why does Steinbeck kill the family dog in this chapter. What does he represent? Why does Steinbeck kill grandpa in this chapter. Is this a turning point in the chapter, if so what does it mean for the whole family?

By killing these characters in the story the old life is essentially being left behind by the Joad's. The dog i believe is more of a symbol of weakness seeing as they can't hardly survive on their own, the added weight of a dog would have made the trip unbearable. As this was a sacrifice they did not necessarily make by themselves in other words they did not kill the dog, he simply died; it was still a sacrifice made in order to proceed with the trip and hopefully make a better lifes for themselves.

Grandpa is more of a human figure and while the dog signified a sacrifice made in the necessity for moving on; grandpa signified much more. Grandpa was essentially the last tie to the old land and perhaps the biggest contributing factor to this is the idea that he died because he left the land. His death was needed to be experienced in the novel in order for the progression of the novel to continue. Without him, there is no more need to look to the road behind them, there is no more need for them to live in the past, they can make a new life. Grandpa couldn't because he was the land.



Discussion Questions
Why are the Joads called Oakies? Discuss some of the other words and phrases used in the film/novel?

The Joads are called Oakies by different people because they were presumed to be from Oklahoma as many of the migrant workers were similarily stereotyped. The Wilson's stereotype the Joads as Oakies because they have different accents and dialects.

An example of the dialect used are found in words such as a-cussin' and breathin' or Grampa instead of grandpa. This ironically does not pertain to the Wilsons seeing as they are from the mideast and this also does not pertain in California but seeing as the migrant workers are mainly from the midwest they all have this form of dialect.



Theme Song
Welcome to the cruel world hope you find your way welcome to the cruel world hope you find your way it's a cruel world try to enjoy your stay Yes it is a cruel world when you're tryin' to get by it's a cruel world when you've seen the look in their eye makes life hard living but I'm so scared to die

Welcome to the cruel world welcome welcome

Don't know how we've lasted here so long there must be more good than bad or we'd already be gone and if you get up to Heaven before I do I'm gonna tell ya It's gonna be cruel there too

You can't hide from this cruel world cause there is no place to run you can't hide from the cruel world there just is no place to run it's been cruel from the beginning it will be cruel when we're done

So when I'm gone I will gladly say goodbye when I am gone I will gladly say goodbye and if you want to feel me put your hands up to the sky

Welcome to the cruel world welcome welcome hope you find your way try to enjoy your stay