Muley is frustrated and lonely. While his relatives, who can no longer support themselves on the land, have left for California, Muley has stayed in order to watch over things. Slowly, he has realized the futility of trying to protect the land that was once his. In this quote, Muley explains both his own, and the broader farmer population's, connection to the land. He sums up, in a simple yet profound way, the injustices of industrial agriculture and the corporate world's lack of compassion.
Everything can be reduced to a bottom line, margin of profit, and there is no space for humanity in that equation. A callous and deeply unfair economic and agricultural system has pushed the people off the land and has taken away their means of survival.
How will we know it's us without our past? Leave it. Burn it. They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How'll it be not to know what land's outside the door?
How if you wake up in the night and know -- and know the willow tree's not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can't. The willow tree is you. This quote is located in a chapter that deals with the broader struggle that the Joads are going through and that highlights the difficulties of saying goodbye to prized possessions and moving on to a new place. The challenges that the Joads and others in their situation face are not only economic but also emotional.
It is clear that the family is leaving behind everything of both economic and sentimental value, in the hope that a better life awaits in California. Yet even if California is everything that the Joads have imagined, the trip and transition still require a remarkable amount of sacrifice. And even if the family members are able to create new lives for themselves, they have still left a part of themselves behind in the Oklahoma land that they once considered their property.
I lost my land, a single tractor took my land. I am alone and I am bewildered. And in the night one family camps in a ditch and another family pulls in and the tents come out. The two men squat on their hams and the women and children listen. Here is the node, you who hate change and fear revolution. Keep those two squatting men apart; make them hate, fear, suspect each other.
Here is the anlage of the thing you fear. This is the zygote. For here "I lost my land" is changed; a cell is split and from its splitting grows the thing you hate -- "We lost our land. In this broad, generic chapter which does not consider the Joads alone , the narrator speaks of the potential for underprivileged people to unite. When just one man realizes the unfairness of his personal life -- whether it's losing his land to a company with a tractor or having to overpay for a broken-down jalopy -- that man does not realize the systemic unfairness that affects everyone.
The owner men and the other perpetrators of this systematic injustice want the individuals on the bottom to stay isolated and not interact with others. When these individuals go about their lives as separate persons, they lack the power and momentum to create change. Yet when they meet others with the same goals, the volume of their complaints grows -- as does their awareness of the extent of the injustices they face.
The transition from "I" to "we" terrifies those who perpetuate economic inequality; with this shift, their system begins to become endangered. He's awright. He got a job to do, but it's all laid out for 'im an' there's on'y one way to do it. But us, we got a job to do, an' they's a thousan' ways, an' 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. When Casy delivers this "sermon" to the rest of the Joad group, he speaks to many of their fears of the future. They don't know what awaits them: even though they have been promised a fruitful future in California, doubts have started to creep in and new possibilities and alternatives have begun to multiply.
Mirroring the many possibilities are the differing reactions of the members of the Joad family. Ma is calm and refuses to think much about the future, Pa remains preoccupied with the great things that await, and Tom refuses to engage in conversations about the future out of self-protection, since he doesn't want to be disappointed. Overall, Casy believes that the people who have no clear direction in life are the ones who are in need of the prayers, so that such prayers are applicable to the Joads as they face an uncertain future.
His message is important because it applies to all of the people moving to California -- not just to the Joads. Steinbeck implies that these people are the stuff of folk epics and folk music. The storytellers are respected, and they reinforce the migrants' dignity and faith in themselves. The jest and energy of the young dancers suggest an intense appetite for life.
In contrast to the happiness at the dance, there are always preachers close by to warn about sin and frivolity; as they try to point the way to salvation, they make most of the migrants squirm with discomfort.
There is constant bathing from early afternoon to evening as women and children clean up and ready themselves for the Saturday night dance. Ezra Huston, the chairperson of the central committee, has made plans to forestall the expected troublemakers. Willie Eaton, the chairperson of the entertainment committee, reports that twenty additional members have been appointed to the committee who are going to move about during the dancing and peacefully weed out the troublemakers.
They have strict orders not to hurt anybody, for this would give the police an opportunity to interfere on grounds of rioting. Al dresses for the dance and hopes to meet some girls. Rose of Sharon does not want to go to the dance because she is pregnant and hates it when people look at her.
Moreover, she is still worried about Connie. Ma persuades her to change her mind and promises to tell any men who want to dance with Rose of Sharon that she is too ill to dance. Willie Eaton informs Tom that he has been appointed to stand guard at the front gate with a Native American named Jule Vitale; they have the responsibility of picking out the troublemakers.
Jule Vitale suspects some men as troublemakers; they say a Mr. Jackson has invited them. Jule says he will keep an eye on the men while Tom verifies the truth of their story. His generous character is supported by the fact that he ensures that the impending threat will be dealt with humanely.
Active Themes. Humanity, Inhumanity, and Dehumanization. Meanwhile, Rosasharn agrees to come to the dance with Ma , but on the condition that she can abstain from dancing.
Dignity, Honor, and Wrath. The dance begins. Tom and other young men keep watch for the riot-starters, and they notice three suspicious characters. As the three intruders force their way into the center of the dance floor, Tom and his friends quickly surround them and keep them from starting any fights.
The police, expecting a riot to be started by this time, try to enter the camp without a warrant, but are turned away.
As the troublemakers are thrown out of the camp, they reveal that they were just trying to earn money to eat. Ezra Huston tells them that their actions are only hurting their own people. An entertainment committee guard wants to assault the interlopers, but Willie Eaton insists that they leave unharmed. I been thinkin'. All our folk got guns. I been thinkin' maybe we ought to git up a turkey shootin' club an' have meetin's ever' Sunday. The response to this call to action will be seen in the strikebreaking efforts of Jim Casy as he attempts to put into practice the beliefs we have seen develop throughout the story.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title. Are you sure you want to remove bookConfirmation and any corresponding bookmarks? My Preferences My Reading List. The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck.
0コメント