What is one dream or illusion that they have that is shattered or that they stubbornly hold despite all evidence to the contrary? What is one epiphany or enlightenment they learn? Is there a connection between the two?
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Dreams and Epiphanies
The Joad family begin an epic journey with dreams and hopes. Grandpa, for one, imagines a life of ease picking grapes and eating all the fruit he wants. Rose of Sharon and Connie imagine a successful career as a radio operator with a new house for the new baby and ice. Yet, along the way they learn harsh truths about their new reality from the cost of labor, discrimination, and suffering endemic to the human condition.
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ReplyDeleteRose of Sharon uses Connie's disappearance as a crutch to explain why her dream of creating a happy new life shattered, rather than accepting that it could not have happened anyways due to the exploitation of migrant workers in California. After the Joads set off on their journey to California, Rose of Sharon spoke to Ma about her and Connie’s plan once they arrived at their destination. She explained how they are going to live in a small town, where Connie could study at night and get a job at the radio station. Listening to her daughter full of excitement, Ma was worried because she “suddenly seemed to know it was all a dream” (Steinbeck 165). Ma understood that Rose of Sharon's dream could not come true because of the reality of migrant life during the Dust bowl. Migrant workers were manipulated and used for their labor with little to no payment, so it would be almost impossible for them to build a comfortable life. Later on, right before the Joads decide to leave Weedpatch, Rose of Sharon exclaims, “Ef Connie hadn’t went away, we’d had a little house by now, with him studyin’ an’ all. Would a got milk like I need. Would a had a nice baby. This here baby ain’t gonna be no good” (Steinbeck 354). Rose of Sharon doesn’t want to accept that her and Connie's idea of starting a new life together was always only a fantasy. It is easier for her to blame it on Connie's disappearance because that way there is still hope. If Connie came back, she believes they could still carry out their plan. However, if she allowed herself to see the reality of the harsh migrant life, she would have to live with knowing that she would never and will never be able to have that wonderful life in the city.
Throughout the whole book the Joad family had one big dream. That dream was to get work in California. From the beginning the Joad family was struggling. Tom just got out of jail, Granpa was sick, and the farm was lost due to the dust bowl. The road to California was not any easier than their life in Oklahoma. Grandpa died, then Granma died, and then they left Noah at a river. They were dropping like flies. Despite losing half their family and killing multiple animals, the Joads kept going. Their dream of California kept them going. California promised work, happiness, and prosperity. Upon arrival all those promises were broken. The Joads were shocked. California had no work and the work it did have was paying almost nothing. People were rude to the Joads, constantly calling them names like Okies. Except, they should not have been so surprised. The road to California held a million different bad signs. Such as, the two groups of people who warned them along the way about the bad conditions. Truly, they may have realized how bad it was going to be but just chose to ignore it. For example, Ma Joad kind of knew that California would be rough but thought that if she stuck to her values everything would be fine. Her values being family, unity, and trust. She was the one who kept the family together. Through death, abandoning, and sickness she made sure those who had a goal kept that goal.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the novel it’s made clear that the Joad family has the dream of making it to California, but even after going through the treacherous travels, they remain stubborn on completing the trip. They have many obstacles in their way. These include Grampa’s worsening illness that eventually leads to his death, Tom being on parole, Rose of Sharon being pregnant, Grama dying, and so much more. When starting a journey like this with the end goal of starting a new life, it is very normal to have the belief that it will all turn out well. But when you have to uproot your life completely like the Joad’s did, it is not very surprising that there were some troubles ahead of them. Early on in the journey, Grampa dies and they bury him. Unexpectedly, this did not have a major effect on the family as they continued their travels. Later on, Grama dies and they leave Noah at the river. This causes more of a reaction than Grampa’s death, but still isn’t enough to stop their journey. There is so much evidence of this journey not going their way, but they keep on moving. It’s almost as if there was a delusion that when they got to California, it all would have been worth it and life would become amazing. When in reality, once they got there they realized it would just be more hard work, pain, and starving. Still though, to the Joad’s, anything in California is better than the life they left behind in the Dust Bowl ridden Oklahoma. Their determination reflects the hope, yet also the delusion and desperation of starting a new chapter in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family holds onto many hopes and dreams that unravel in unexpected ways. The Joads are driven by a desire to experience the American Dream. They see California as the place where they will have a chance at a better life, where they can find land, work, and be able to eat all the fruit they want. However, the Joads were unaware of how hard this journey would be. The Joads' dream begins to shatter on this journey when they experience poverty, mistreatment, and physically harsh conditions. The Joads journey had many hurdles along the way including deaths of family members. Despite the harsh complications they came upon, the Joads were determined to finish their journey to a better life in California. When the Joads arrived in California they were surprised, but not in a good way. They discover that there are not a lot of work opportunities in California, but take any opportunity they can get. The Joads found work at a farm, but in a camp where they were paid unfairly and treated inhumanely by the owners of the farm. All of the money the Joads work for on the farm goes towards feeding the family. The money they collect is barely enough to feed the whole family. This makes being able to travel hard because they do not have gas money. The Joads dream of living the American dream is crushed when they arrive in California to see the harsh reality.
ReplyDeleteThe “new life” the whole Joad family dreamed of turned out to be nothing like they imagined it to be. Instead of prosperity and success, they were met with relentless struggle, forced to work all day just to make a mere dollar. It was a “new life”, but not in a good way. At the beginning of the Joad family's journey, they held onto the belief that California would present opportunities of stability and success. Rose of Sharon and Connie dreamed of a future where they could settle down in a nice house with their unborn child, along with Connie securing a stable job. Grandpa dreamed of eating grapes in California, soaking in the peace of the state. However, throughout the journey to California, including when they arrive, these dreams are shattered. The reality of migrant life is brutal. There are little to no job opportunities that offer a high enough wage to support a family, leaving the Joads to run into more struggles of hunger, exhaustion, and chaos. They are forced to take jobs that have very low pay and demanding working hours. The dreams of prosperity from a high-earning job turns into a daily fight to survive, as the Joads begin to realize the dream they once held was just an illusion. Connie, unable to handle the constant struggle, abandons Rose of Sharon. Rose of Sharon is then left depressed and vulnerable as she is left to support her soon to be born child in dire times. The Joad family's sorrows continue to worsen as the death of Grandpa and Grandma affected everyone traveling with them. Grandma and Grandpa never got to experience the dreams they had about the prosperous land of California. The experiences the Joad family endured in California and on the trek there led to an understanding that the promise for a better life was nothing more than false hope, with survival and resilience becoming their everyday reality and struggle.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, The Grapes of Wrath, a major part of Rose of Sharon’s character is her dream of a modern lifestyle with her husband Connie and her soon-to-be-born baby, and she carries this farfetched dream along the trip with her, trying not to face reality until it is too late. In the beginning of the book, we see many characters dream of what could be waiting for them in California, from Grandpa wanting to eat grapes until his belly is full, to Al wanting to be a big shot at a car garage. For these characters their ideas of their lives in California are hopes. For Rose of Sharon the dream of her life in California goes beyond a normal fantasy. In the novel's beginning, Rose of Sharon is portrayed as a very mature and set-straight woman and she seems to fit into her adult role very well as they prepare and begin their trip. During this time she mentions her dream life in California many times. When in conversation with Ma in the early stages of the trip Rose of Sharon shares, “‘Connie gonna get a job in a store or maybe a fact’ry. An’ he’s gonna study at home, maybe radio, so he can git to be a expert an’ maybe later have his own store…An’ Connie says I’m gonna have a doctor when the baby is born” (Page 164). For a family like the Joads, this fantasy was a pretty high hope, but Rose of Sharon was very sure that it could happen. As time goes on this dream begins to start sounding like a plan for her, yet she doesn’t have any idea of what is waiting in California, and she isn’t doing anything to ensure her dream. This is where the issue begins. The whole basis of her dream was that Connie could find himself a job, and put in the work to sustain a good life for them and their incoming child. As a pretty young adult, Connie being late teens to early twenties, providing for a family at this hoped-for scale put a lot of pressure on the young man. All of this pressure built up on Connie, which I think is the reason behind him ending up abandoning his building family and leaving his hope-filled wife. When Connie left, everything changed for Rose of Sharon, she became a ghost of the mature person she was at the beginning of the story and refused to accept that her dream picture of her future life could not be, and whenever this was brought up to her she often responded with episodes of acting hysterical and crying. Losing Connie and her future life enacted Rose of Sharon to quickly go through stages of grief, this is notable when she says, “‘I don’ feel good. I wisht Connie would come. I don’t feel like doin’ nothin’ ‘thout Connie’” (Page 302). After Rose of Sharon finally accepts that she can’t achieve her fantasy, it is as if she becomes a new person. Towards the end of the book, the majority of Rose of Sharon’s appearances are her freaking out over little things, most of which concern her incoming baby, this stems from her not being able to rely on Connie to bring her to her dream life which now makes her try and control everything that she can, and when she can’t it stresses her out. The portrayal of Rose of Sharon at the beginning and end of the book seem to be two different people, one calm and collected, and the other controlled by anxiety. The story of her character carries one of the major recurring themes of the book that the author tries to show, being that for many, the hopes that migrants held with them while chasing opportunities ended up being their own demise, and I think that Rose of Sharon’s obsession of her dream was a perfect way of showing this.
ReplyDeleteIn the Grapes of Wrath, Rose of Sharon’s dreams of having a luxurious life with her baby and Connie end up being delusions. Near the start of the book, Connie, who is dating Rose of Sharon, is living with the Joad family and is going to have a kid with Rose of Sharon. Rose of Sharon has many dreams for her family. She thinks they will thrive with many leisures once they get to California, like when she says “Soon’s you get studied up we could get ice an’ stuff, I guess”(223). She’s dreaming of having ice and Connie getting a job. However, ice is a luxury during these times. Only wealthy and established people have ice, and getting a job is hard because Connie needs to study a lot and take night classes. To take the night classes Connie needs to stay in one place so they can mail him the papers. Connie does not want to take these night classes that Rose of Sharon is dreaming of. Connie would rather be back in Oklahoma driving a tractor. Connie says “If i’d of knowed it would be like this I wouldn’ of came. I’d a studied nights ‘bout tractors back home an’ get me a three dollar job. Fella can live awful nice on three dollars a day”(252). This is when Rose of Sharon realizes that her dreams have truly turned into delusions. Connie is angered that he went with Rose of Sharon to follow her dreams rather than his own. The moment that Rose of Sharon realizes that all her dreams are illusions is when she says “We got to have a house ‘fore the baby comes. We ain’t gonna have this baby in no tent”(252). At this point, she knows there will be no house, no ice, no job, and most importantly, no Connie. Her dreams of having a prosperous life and family have turned into a delusion. She has no faith in her life soon after Connie leaves down the river, leaving her alone with no one to provide for her. Rose of Sharon thought that her family could help her with her baby, but to her they are only making it worse. She says “that lady tol’ me. She says what sin’s gonna do. She tol’ me. What chance I got to have a nice baby? Connie’s gone, an’ i ain’t gettin’ good food. I ain't gettin’ milk.”(393). Her baby would not have enough food or nutrition so she accepted that she has no chance to make her dreams of having a healthy family come true. Rose of Sharon's dreams once they started moving to California were big. She was expecting a new place to start a new family, but all the dreams came crashing down and became delusions.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most impactful epiphanies for me was the rediscovery of faith for Jim Casy. Being a preacher by profession is a serious commitment for anyone in life and means that they must be committed to the utmost level to live that lifestyle. In my eyes, having someone shift from that hard-set lifestyle must mean that they had an astronomically large epiphany. In the case of Jim Casy, his epiphany originated from the spirit of the people. On page 24, Casy states that “Maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of,” (Steinbeck 24). Casy’s new outlook very heavily challenges the traditional Christian belief of the Holy Trinity. Tom Joad even seconds the absurdity of the comment when he responds, “People would drive you out of the country with idears like that,” (Steinbeck 24). Having read further in the book, I think this early example of Casy’s radical ideas really speaks to who he is as a character. For example, in our recent reading, Jim Casy is killed for his brave attempt at leadership in the peach farm. Steinbeck uses Casy as a tool to explain that radical thinking can transform lives for the better, but comes at great risk. His ultimate sacrifice at the peach farm is more than a tragic end; it is the physical existence of his one big soul theory. When he dies for the group, he proves that the individual is less significant than the survival of the we. This shift from I to We is the main catalyst for Tom Joad’s own transformation, illustrating how one man’s radical epiphany can ignite a broader movement for social justice.
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ReplyDeleteI think these quotes are an example of an epiphany for Tom, when he finally meets Casy, he tells Tom the truth that they are using Tom and his family. I think when Casy tells him, “Lookie,” said Casy. “We tried to camp together, an’ they druv us like pigs, scattered us. Beat the hell out fellas. Druv us like pigs. They run you in like pigs, too. We can’t las’ much longer. Some people ain’t et for two days. You goin’ back tonight? (383) Tom realizes that he should not have come to this camp and that they liked the government camp way better. He realizes that when someone tries to speak up about the wages they are getting and trying to start a union to fight. “Well-tell the folks in there how it is, Tom. Tell ‘em they’re starvin’ us an’ stabbin’ theirself in the back. ‘Cause sure as cowflops she’ll drop to two an’ a half jus’ as soon as they clear us out.” (383)
ReplyDeleteThat person gets thrown out of the camp, the cops want the camp to look perfect so that more people will come, and yet get a horrible wage. “I knowed a fella. Brang ‘im in while I was in the jail house. Been tryin’ to start a union. Got one started. An’ them vigilantes bust it up. An’ know what? Them very folks he been tryin’ to help tossed him out.” (384) The camp needs people to work so that the camp can get a wage. If the workers do not do their jobs, then the camp does not get its wages. In conclusion, when Tom finally realizes what is happening with him and his family. He understands that there is more injustice in this camp than it actually seems.
From the beginning, the Joad family had endured obstacles and setbacks on their journey to a better life. It started with the dust bowl which caused them to lose their house and farm land as well as everything they had to their name. They dreamed of getting to california because, there, it would have everything they needed; job opportunities, stability, food, and a second chance at life. they endured a treacherous journey down route 60 in hopes that the grass would be greener on the other side. Despite all of their challenges and hardships that they face along the way, the Joad's continue to move forward and keep on their journey to new beginnings. Along the way they lose Granpa to his worsening illness and shortly after, they lose Grama as well. From everything they have been told, California was the only way they would be able to find a job and live happily, however once they arrived, it was not what they were expecting. Since the start, the Joad’s knew getting to California was going to be difficult, but they hadn’t even considered that they like be met with similar conditions as back home. Nevertheless , the Joad’s would much rather be in California with the chance of the “American Dream” rather than staying in Oklahoma.
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