The Grapes of Wrath Section 2 (Chapters 5-10)
Chapter 5 explains how homes and farms have been lost by nearly all farming families in the Midwest. Most farmers lease land from owners, but over the past few years, owners have been forced to evict their tenant families after losing the land to foreclosure. With no other place to go, many of these families are advised to go to California, where people believe work to be plentiful.
Those evicted are frustrated that there is no person to confront or argue the eviction over, as the banks and corporations are nameless, faceless, entities with the power to uproot lives with anonymity and lack of concern.
Once the evictions occur, and the people drift away, tractors are brought in, sometimes even driven by wage-desperate neighbors, to plow the land. If houses and barns are in the way, the tractors raze them, erasing the homes that generations had lived in, and wiping the landscape of their memory.
Upon arrival at the homestead, Tom is surprised to find that the house is abandoned, and is even heavily damaged, knocked off its foundation, with a corner of the house crushed and open to the elements. As Tom and Casy speculate as to what might have happened, they spot Muley Graves walking through a nearby field. Muley had been a neighbor of Tom’s at one time, and the two know each other fairly well.
Muley explains that every farm and homestead within the community has been repossessed by the bank, and that families have been forced to leave. The crops have done poorly for the past few years (i.e., “The Dust Bowl”), and money problems have forced farmers into foreclosure. The banks were taking all of the foreclosed properties, and consolidating them into huge mega-farms, tilled and harvested by industrial-grade tractors and machines. One of these same tractors had intentionally crashed into the corner of Tom’s family home, causing the damage.
Muley explains that his own family has already headed off to California, seeking better prospects. Muley’s farm was lost, in the same fashion as others, so Muley has resorted to sleeping in ditches, caves, or wherever he can find to lay down for the night. He was unable to find the strength to leave, though, as this land was all he’d ever known as home. He remained behind when his family left, sleeping on the ground, foraging for food, and hiding from authorities intent on rousting and evicting all who remained. Muley also mentioned that Tom’s whole family had gone to stay at the home of Tom’s uncle, John, at least for the time being, as he understood that the entire clan was planning to move to California soon, where work was plentiful, and life was good.
The three men camp for the night at the old house, but their campfire is spotted by a deputy. The three men are forced to hide in the fields, an activity that Muley sees as sport, and is quite proficient at. The deputy is unable to catch the men, but Tom deeply resents the idea of hiding from anybody on his own family’s land.
The men spend the night in a nearby cave, although Casy finds sleep difficult, given the changing state of affairs. The burden of all of these changes weighs heavily upon him.
We are given insight into the sales tactics and voracious greed of a used car salesman’s greedy and devious tactics for buying and selling vehicles. When purchasing, he pays only bottom dollar, knowing that people are desperate, but later sells at top dollar, squeezing every single penny out of others who are desperate. In between the purchase and the sale, he’ll do everything he can to deceitfully present the vehicle as being in good condition, and simply sees lying and deception as part of doing business. The car salesman wants nothing more than to sell more, more, more… the endless pursuit of more money, with no regard whatsoever for the people who have been cheated.
The following morning, Tom and Casy make the eight mile journey to John’s homestead. There, Tom finds his father (Pa, also named Tom), his mother, just known as Ma. Tom’s siblings: Winfield, Age 10; Ruthie, age 12; Al, age 16, who knows a lot about mechanics and driving, but prefers to spend his time romancing ladies; Rose of Sharon (“Rosasharn”), 18 years old and newly married to Connie Rivers (age 19); and Noah, Tom’s only older sibling. Uncle John (Tom Sr.’s older brother) is here as well, along with the grandparents, “Grampa” and “Granma” Joad.
Tom’s parents are overjoyed to see their son. They are preparing to head to California, and are in the process of converting an old car into a truck, and making other preparations to leave Oklahoma forever. They were unaware of when Tom might be released from prison, and had made plans to tell him they were going to California, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
Uncle John, in particular, is a complicated fellow. He is single, and perhaps a little crazy. He is known to spend a lot of time to himself, but is also known to be amazingly kind and generous, especially towards children. He had been married years before, but while pregnant, his wife had complained of pain in her abdomen. John had dismissed it as trivial, but then his wife died, with their unborn child. John has never forgiven himself, and appears to be making atonement by going out of his way to be generous and kind to others. Still, his self-imposed guilt gnaws at him constantly. He is fairly certain that what he did is a sin, possibly even an unforgivable sin.
Tom learns more about the pilgrimage to California, predicated much in part to the handbills distributed over much of the Midwest promising bountiful jobs out west. Farm workers are needed, and the wages are excellent, according to the flyers. Since the farms here in Oklahoma are all going to the bank, most of the families here have either left already, or are making plans to do so. This includes Tom’s family.
Written from the perspective of sharecroppers desperate to liquidate, usually for the purposes of relocating to California. We are given insight regarding the tactics of merchandise resellers, whose business is booming. Their methods are very similar to those of the car dealers, in that they are taking full advantage of the desperation of people who are forced to leave, but cannot take many of their possessions with them. Those people are offered pennies on the dollar for tools, farm equipment, or anything of even rudimentary value, and the reseller will generate
dollars to the penny when he goes elsewhere to sell the second-hand merchandise.
Al, Pa, Uncle John, Ruthie Winfield go into town to sell the possessions that cannot be taken on their journey. They get very little money, disappointingly far less than they’d even expected.
That night, the family, along with help from Casy, slaughters their two remaining pigs, in preparation for travel. The meat and bones are preserved as well as possible for travel rations.
As they prepare to depart the next morning, Muley arrives to see them off. He’s invited to join them on the journey, but declines the offer. Then Grandpa decides he simply cannot leave. The family secretly drugs him with a near-fatal dose of “soothin’ sirup,” a medication, and once he is unconscious, they load him onto the truck with the others. The family is unable to take their three dogs, so they leave two of them with Muley. All told, 12 family members, along with Jim Casy and one dog, depart with the few meager possessions that the family can fit onto the tired old vehicle.
Analysis:
This group of chapters solidifies the theme of conflict, as characters face inner conflict, individual conflict, widespread social and economic conflict, and conflict with the elements.
But we also see the depth of human compassion. The joy at Tom’s return to home serves to prove that family is of utmost importance, above all other things. We learn that Ma is the driving force, carefully maintaining the family’s cohesion and morale. We see that the family structure has well-established roles.
The dichotomy of gender roles is introduced, with certain rules in place for men that do not apply to women— such as seating positions in the truck—, and vice versa. However, under certain circumstances, roles can be adjusted, such as when it comes time to salt the pork in preparation for the journey. This job is too big to be separated by gender, so all hands pitch in.
