Chapters 1-10, Repetition, (H)******

"His eyes were very dark brown and there was a hint of brown pigment in his eyeballs. His cheek bones were high and wide, and strong deep lines cut down his cheeks, in curves beside his mouth. His upper lip was long, and since his teeth protruded, the lips stretched to cover them, for this man kept his lips closed. His hands were hard, with broad fingers and nails as thick and ridged as little clam shells." (Steinbeck 6).

The phrase "his" something is repeated. The purpose of this repetition is divided into three groups. First of all, Steinbeck uses this as an intro to the transformation that Tom goes through, changing from a very self-oriented person to a worldly man. This repetition serves to function the great attachment Tom had to his physical self. Secondly, the repetition also serves the emphasize his gender, creating a theme of gender roles that later appears in the text. Lastly, it plainly shows the type of simple man Tom is.

A big theme in the text are that of transcendentalism. Tom plays out a classic transformation. At first he is unaware of the "truth" of the universe, and as he is exposed to the way life that people are really living, he learns of the way things are run. The application of the repetition is a device used to show how Tom was in the beginning. The constant use of a possessive pronoun shows how Tom really identified with his personal self, allowing himself to feel detached from everyone else, and not a noticeable attachment to the Over soul.
Similar repetition is later used to show how Tom has changed, however this is not in this section.

A not as important function of the repetition is the introduction on gender roles. The masculinity of the repeated pronoun "his" is used to show the big emphasis on the male gender at the time. Also used to emphasize the change when the gender roles are flipped in times of necessity, as people become more in tune with their common man.

A plain way of stating the facts that are describing Tom shows the type of person Tom is. A simple format of information implies a simple person to begin with. These parallels are emphasized with the use of repetition. The lack of hard evidence for this statement introduces the possibility that the basic way of stating the facts is used to show the non-emotional characteristic of one's physical appearance. Because is in not emotionally attached to his self, he cannot act in a selfish manner, but this is contradictory to previous insights.

My Personal Philosophy 8*******

My belief system and how I judge the morality of a situation are largely based on my following of the LaVeyan Satanism religion. Although I do not particularly agree with a lot of the dogma of the religion, it is easy to bypass this for the thought process behind the basic ideas, of which there are 7. However, it is more relevant to state which sects I particularly choose to follow. The most important once is my strong desire to satisfy selfish desires. To me, there is nothing wrong with doing anything, as long as it gets me closer to a goal. This is one of the big ideas: indulgence over abstinence. 

Unfortunately, this kind of mindset can easily get one into trouble, so there must be a certain degree of moderation. My basis for such a skill is not very well developed, but a new theory has been internally developed. This theory of mine is that regardless of my actions, or my internal thought process, everything is going to happen the same as it always would. In other words, it is impossible for multiple things to occur, therefor there is a defined path for the future, that must be strictly defined by the laws of physics and the universe. Such a belief destroys your perception of so called "free choice." With this revelation, you are able to live in a world free of responsibility. People get pretty pissed at me.

However, it is easy to buy into to the perception of choice so I often do, so I can live a life of purpose. When in such a mindset I will often try to optimize my life, for I believe that there exists a very key sequence of choices that I make that will result in the perfect reality. Such a reality is very reachable, if only I possessed the precise knowledge of how to acquire it. Such a belief allows for infinite hope, as theoretically anything is possible. However, most cases my attempts will result in very disappointing results, but such is life.

Overall, life is a pretty bland form of existence. Such a boring experience begs for exploration into other realms. Travel is big goal of mine, but with it comes great economic responsibilities. It is highly important that my future can support all of my choices. That's pretty stupid, but such is life.

"Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or
emotional gratification!"

This is a quote from the one of the satanic statements.

Source:

Satanic Statements

ch 16-19, d (family unity)

The family acts as one entity when it can. It performs all task as if it were one thing. This system is not the mandatory order, though, which is why when the family moves to California, they start to act less as one unit and more as individuals.

" 'we don' want you to go 'way from us,' she said. 'It ai't good for folks to break up." (p110)

This shows Ma's desire for the family to stick tigether. She doesn't want to see the family break up because she is the biggest advocate for the famnily because she is the head of it.
It makes sense for Ma to want the family to stick together, because without it, she would have very little. Her accomplishment in life is the family, and if she can't be with them, then her most prized posession will live away from her.

In general, the members of the family want to stick together so they can all benefit from each other's work. But as the stress of living increases, the family may need to break up in the name of necessity. To find work, inidvidual memebers may have to act as individuals in order to get a job, as an employer will not be able to hire an entire family in their work force.


Overall, family goes from a mandatory part of life, to an optional convenenieance, due to the change in background/.+-

Chapters 16-19, C, POEM GREED

This poem attempts to explore how trapped these people are. Not just the migrant farmers, but the bankers, the brokers, everyone. This explores how everyone is trapped in the opportunity of greed and wealth.

I'm not a dog,
I don't have a leash
I don't have a collar
I don't have four legs
I don't eat out of a bowl

And yet when master calls
I answer

When master leaves I worry
worry about my family
my job
my life

When will he be back?
What will he bring me?
Has he gone with another?
Why? Why? Why?

I'm not a dog,
but I still don't understand.

I don't understand where this concept came from.
When did he decide to 'own' me?
Why?
How?

His words are my own,
and I am him

he defines me, and without him
I am nothing: not by choice
But by the naturally occurring order of the universe

Chapters 11-15 Blog Post G, SELFLESSNESS ******

There is no such thing as selflessness. Even if someone truly does believe that what they are doing will only help some other thing, there is always a positive benefit in the infinite array of consequences that result from an infinitely insignificant action. For the sake of discussion, however, selflessness will be defined not as an action that exactly only helps someone else, but an action that results in helping someone else more than one's self. Such an idea is not pure selflessness as the self is still being taken care of, but it will be more accurate to the actual human experience, which is always optimal.

" Ma said, 'You won't be no burden. Each'll help each, an' we'll all git to California. Sairy Wilson he'ped lay Grampa out,' and she stopped. The relationship was plain" (Steinbeck 100).

The Wilsons and the Joads, two strangers on the road, meet together and realize they have the same goals. This leads they to work together and attempt to accomplish their goals under a new faction. Doing so not only helps themselves, but helps everyone around them.

In this time, it was extremely necessary for you to help other people. When there were so many people in dire situations, a small contribution would be making a huge difference to these people. For example, the following quote.

"Al said snarlingly, 'Goddamn it, Mae. Give 'em the loaf." (Steinbeck 107).

Al gives the shitheels bread, because even though he is going to lose money, he knows that what it will cost him is nothing to the starvation the family would go through without it. When a person really understands how greed and selfishness hurt people, they will be inclined to help these people. It is when people are desensitized by the Machine that they can deliberately hurt people. The Machine tells them its okay, and the Machine tells them that they HAVE to do it otherwise bad things happen.

Steinbeck wants us to see that no one is really selfless, because all these actions can be seen as selfish. Steinbeck is showing us the cutthroat world that we live in, and how in the blink of an eye the nicest person will stab your back for your stuff if they have to. Steinbeck is revealing to us the dark side of human nature. That side that will put everything forward to continue it existence, because what is the cause of existence? EXISTENCE!

Chapters 11 - 15 Blog D, THE BASIC HUMAN CONNECTION

"What do ya think a guy in business is? Like he says, he ain't in it for his health. That's what business is. What'd you think it was? Fella's got-See that sign 'longside the road there? Service Club. Luncheon Tuesday, Colmado Hotel? Welcome, brother. That's a Service Club. Fella had a story. Went to one of them meetings an' told the story to all them business men. Says, when I was a kid my ol' man give me a haltered heifer an' says take her down an' git her serviced. An' the fella says, I don't it, an' ever' time since then when I hear a business man talkin' about service, I wonder who's getting' screwed. Fell in business got to lie an' cheat, but he calls it somepin else. That's what's important. You go steal that tire an' you're a thief, but he tried to steal your four dollars for a busted tire. They call that sound business" (Steinbeck 81).

These business people have the same problems as these migrant farmers, but their approach is different. What impacted me so greatly was the similarities the two parties share, and yet how radically different their approaches to these problems, and thus their lives, are. Both migrant farmers and these so called business men live in a country in a depression. Money is tight, and each wonder about their future, unsure if they will be able to pay their bills in a week. Both share this problem, but to different degrees, and perhaps this is what causes the difference in the two, but how can such a small difference in parameters result in a completely different person?

There must be something said to the different forms taken by the business men. They aren't all the same kind of person. Some are nice and some are mean, but they all do the same thing. When the character of the businessman is shown to have no effect on their career and business choices, then it can be stated that a businessman doesn't make these choices because of who they are. This is what Steinbeck means when he talks about The Machine. There is no person making these choices. No one chooses to do this, but they are all subject to a reality that rewards this behavior. If they choose to steal and lie, they will be able to go about their life. Without this, they are at risk of having no money and no control. What they don't realize is that they had no control to begin with. They were forever under the control of The Machine, forever creating new traps so that it may perpetually exist. The existence of The Machine is fueled only by its mere existence. It offers no benefits to anything. It is allowed to exist in this society, because it exists. The fact that it is there makes it there, and thus it can be there some more. It is impossible to stop!

Well then why? Why is Steinbeck telling us about this Machine if it can't be stopped? Well, in his eyes it can be stopped. It can only be stopped by the many, the migrant farmers. This returns me back to my original question: What is the fundamental difference between a migrant worker and a businessman? When it is concluded that there is none, and the different actions between the two are caused by how The Machine will deal with them, and having little bearing in their characteristics.

Highway 66 - Blog Post B Chapters 11-15 *******

Highway 66 was created under the Federal Road Act of 1921. Its "birthday" is on April 20, 1926. This was the day they officially released the plans of its creation. It was suggest my Cyrus Avery, who gave the route the name "Main Street of America." Its intentions at first were to allow Americans to move west into California for reasons much more pleasurable than those of Grapes of Wrath. Regardless of the perversion the highway underwent, it still was an admirable sight, stretching 2448 miles from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.

The road was initially primarily dirt and gravel. It was not completely paved until 1938. The road gave a location for many businesses that would otherwise not exist. Lucille Hamons owned such a business. He operated a gas station and tourist court that was supported by the customers who drove down the road. Such a trend was reason for the government to create a long highway: an increase in jobs.

It was named "The People's Highway" because of the crowd it attracted. The large amount of lower class members travelling west for jobs allows the highway to become paired with these people. These people are often referred to as the "people" because they are the ones who toil endlessly and are still manipulated by the "machine."

The road was extremely important to the Joads and all other migrants. The route allowed these people to have hope. Without a straight path to California, such a migration would have been impossible. Giving a means to their goals gave way to much migration. This aspect of the road, enabling farmers to survive when they had been kicked off their land, is an very American aspect of this road. American, for many generations, had been the mother to farmers, providing their families with food and shelter. Unfortunately, with the introduction of big business, small farmers became obsolete. The small essence of what America used to be remained in route 66. This highway allowed these impoverished farmers to believe that this country would continue to support them. This gave way to the nickname of the "Mother Road," which came from Steinbeck himself! Additional evidence for this sentiment was the fact that the road was dirt and gravel, allowing farmers to still feel connected to the land, even when on a giant slab of artificial road.

 Look at these rich fat cats! These are the people that kicked the Joads off their land! Look at how well they are doing. How can such a group of people travel on the same highway that their victims traveled? What kind of society would allow such a perverse contradiction to occur? Highway 66 also served to highlight the class gap between the extremely wealthy and those Americans who were struggling for the necessities. In many ways Highway 66 was symbolic of America at the time.

Sources: Highway 66 Map, Restaurant 66 Stop, 

Geography of Route 66, Route 66 General Info