The Grapes of Wrath
Outline
MOVEMENT 1
Chapter 1
-Fields shrivel up in drought
-Dust clouds fill the skies
-Farmers have nothing to do but watch their crops die and
wonder how they will survive
-Women and Children are afraid of seeing their men break
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Theme
The importance of the land to the people
-These people live off of the land. Their entire life is
focused on working the land. When the drought comes, they can’t work their
fields anymore. They don’t have anything to do. This drought destroys the
central aspect of their lives. Without the land, the people have nothing.
Chapter 2
-Tom Joad is freshly released from the McAlester State
Penitentiary
-Served four years on a manslaughter conviction
-Ash for a ride from a trucker whose vehicle has a no rider
sign
-Trucker talks about people being kicked off of their farms
by landowners and bankers
Type: Family
Theme:
In this chapter, the
trucker’s “no rider” sticker shows how corporations are already taking over
humanity. Tom pointing out that the sticker was just some rich man’s way of
controlling the trucker defined this theme.
Chapter 3
-A turtle is trying to cross a highway
-A woman swerves to miss the turtle
-A young man purposefully tries to run it over and nicks the
shell of the turtle
-The turtle struggles but manages to flip back over and keep
trudging on
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Theme:
The turtle represents the migrants leaving the land. It
continues to trudge on, despite the fact that things, like the young man trying
to kill it, could affect its movement and success. Regardless, it continues
trudging forward, like the families do.
Chapter 4
-Tom is walking down the road and sees a turtle
-He wraps it up and takes it with him
-He encounters Jim Casy, a previous preacher
-Casy speaks of baptizing the rowdy Tom, and admits to
inappropriate behaviors after prayer meetings
-Casy believes the human spirit is the holy spirit
-Tom tells Casy about how he was in prison and hasn’t heard
from them in ages
-Casy asks to tag along
-They find the farm deserted and in tatters
Type: Family
Theme:
The Importance of Family
In this chapter, Tom is trying to get home to his family. He
hasn’t really heard from them recently, but they were still one of his top
priorities. He could have started a brand new life after getting out of prison,
but instead decided to return home to his family. This shows that family was a
very important part of everyone’s lives in this time period, Tom’s included.
Chapter 5
-Landowners and banks evict the farmers
-The farmers say they have nowhere to go
-The owners suggest they go to California
-Tractors arrive to plow the land and are driven by the
farmer’s neighbors
-The neighbors have to explain that they have their own
families to feed and that the banks pay fairly well
-Farmers are furious and lash out but banks are faceless and
cannot be fought
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Theme:
This chapter touches on the We vs. I theme. The tractor
drivers have to tear down the land of their neighbors and friends in order to
get paid. While it’s a terrible job, they have to support their families. They know that they are ruining the lives of
the farmers, but they are putting themselves and their families above their
neighbors and friends. They are putting themselves against a group of people to
do what they think is right for their families.
On top of that, this chapter involves the theme of Anger.
These farmers are furious that their farms and houses are being destroyed and
there’s nothing they can do about it. They could try and fight back, but killing
the tractor driver won’t do anything to affect the corporations behind the
destruction. They are angry because there are more people they’d have to attack
and harm than they can imagine. Someone else would replace the murdered tractor
driver the next day, and the farmer would be arrested. There would be no way to
get revenge, and that makes the tenants angry.
Chapter 6
-Tom and Casy find the home fairly untouched except part of
it had been crushed
-There were usable materials left which showed that the
neighbors had left, because normally they would have scavenged and taken things
left behind
-Muley Graves is walking towards the men
-Muley tells them that the family has gone to move in with
Uncle John to pick cotton to save up for a car
-Muley says a large company has bought the land and has
evicted the tenants
-Tom asks to stay at Muley’s, but Muley says his family has
moved to California, leaving his stubborn self behind
-They eat rabbits Muley caught
-A police car drives by and they hide in fear of being
arrested
-Muley takes them to the cave where he sleeps, but Tom
sleeps in the open air outside
-Casy is worried and can’t sleep
Type: Family
Theme:
This chapter’s main theme is the importance of the land to
the people. Muley is so connected to the land that he couldn’t leave it. Even
though his family left him, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. He said
he knew he’d die on that land one day, but he needed to be there for his entire
life.
Chapter 7
-Point of view of a used-car salesman
-He is explaining how to cheat the family
-The movement westward has created a demand for vehicles so
he is teaching them how to sell whatever run-down, terrible cars they can find
-They fill engines with sawdust to conceal noisy
transmissions
-Replace good batteries with cracked ones before delivering
them
-The families don’t know anything about cars, so they’ll pay
anything to get out, unaware of the terrible quality of their cars
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Theme:
This chapter shows how capitalism is dominating the time
period. These cars salesmen don’t care about the people or their well-being;
they only want more and more money. They aren’t able to function like people
and cannot be empathetic. This shows that money comes first and actual real
people are not the priority.
Chapter 8
-John’s deceased wife had stomach pains but John dismissed
them and she died the next day
-Thusly, John acts generous and kind to others, trying to
make up for his one instance of stinginess
-John cannot console himself and still feels terribly guilty
about what he did (or rather, didn’t do)
-Pa was piling things into the truck
-Pa and Ma fear Joad has broken out, but they are relieved
that he was paroled instead
-Tom assures his mother that he isn’t going crazy or isn’t
upset about his time in prison
-Tom reunites with grampa and granma, praise god for victory
-Casy prays before their meal but he doesn’t do a
traditional prayer (he instead speaks of mankind and its unholy-ness) and the
family eats when he says amen
-Al comes back to the home and idolizes Tom, thinking him
tough for being in prison
Type: Family
Theme:
The theme of this chapter is the strength of women. Ma is
the anchor of the family, providing support and comport to all. She cares for
everyone, feeding and helping the entire family. She is concerned about the
legality of Tom as well as his emotional well being. She is a strong woman who
is a very important part of their lives.
Chapter 9
-Tenants talk about preparing for the move to California
-Tenants explain about items and what they mean to them
-Farmers pawn most of their belongings, but are ripped off
-Wives destroy their extra belongings before they leave to
California
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Theme:
We vs. I
This chapter shows the sacrifices made by the families. The
men know they should be paid more for their items, but they have no choice.
They have to sacrifice the extra bit of money their tools would be worth in
order to get money and get out as fast as possible. The people are sacrificing
their belongings in order to move. These items that have been passed down for
generations are sold or burned, leaving behind decades of history and family possessions.
Chapter 10
-Ma is nervous about California but trusts the handbill that
said they’d find work
-Grampa is excited about eating as much fruit as he wants
-Pa goes to town to sell the possessions, but only earns 18
dollars
-They decide to let Casy come with them
-They pack
-Casy helps Ma salt the meat
-Rose of Sharon and Connie arrive and the family gets ready
to leave
-Muley Graves says goodbye, but Grampa wants to stay
-The family drugs him by putting sleeping medication into
his coffee and load the old man into the truck
Type: Family
Theme:
The importance of family
This chapter shows the family working together to pack for
California. Although they don’t have a lot of money or possessions, they have
each other to work through this with. They are entering a completely unknown
environment, but they know they can work together and have a successful
journey.
Chapter 11
-The land become vacant when the tenants leave
-The men who work the fields don’t have any connection to it
-The corporations don’t understand the land and don’t care
for it
-The farmhouses are invaded by animals
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Theme:
This chapter’s theme is the connection to the land, or, in
this case, the lack thereof. The people who now own the land hire incompetent
people who don’t understand anything about farming. The tenant’s family has
farmed this land for years, so they have a much deeper connection to it. The
land isn’t properly cared for, only being continuously plowed by men who don’t
care for it.
MOVEMENT 2
Chapter 12
-Long lines of cars move down Highway 66
-They are worried about their cars
-When they try to buy parts to fix their cars, salesmen rip
them off
-People are hostile and harsh towards the farmers, telling
them to go back home
-A family with only a trailer makes it to California,
showing the random kindness of others
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Theme:
This chapter’s theme is how capitalism is taking over. Salesmen
try their hardest to rip off unsuspecting farmers, who have no choice but to
pay the steep prices in order to go one with their journey.
Chapter 13
-Al is driving, listening carefully to the car in order to
detect if something is wrong the moment it happens
-He talks to Ma about his fears about California
-They stop at a service station
-The Attendant implies that the family has no money to pay
for gas
-He says that customers have nothing and beg for the fuel
-The new cars stop at nicer company stations in town
-The service station is painted yellow in an attempt to
imitate the fancier gas stations
-The family drink water and rests
-Their dog is hit by a car and killed
-The attendant agrees to bury the dog
-Rose of Sharon, being her irrational self, thinks seeing
the traumatic event will hurt the baby
-Winfield throws up, saying it’s nothing like seeing pigs
get killed
-They drive through Oklahoma City
-They camp alongside Ivy and Sairy Wilson, whose car is
broken down
-Grampa is sick and rests in the Wilson’s tent
-He has a stroke and dies
-They have a funeral of sorts and bury the grandfather
-They convince the Wilsons to travel with them to California
-Sairy is still very sick but won’t let on about it
Type: Family
Theme:
The importance of the land to the people
Grampa has lived on the farm for his entire life. He knows
nothing other than what life was like on that land, and can’t live anywhere
else. Without the land, he dies. Older people can’t cope as well with change,
so they are more affected by this dramatic change of moving to California.
Chapter 14
Western people don’t understand the hardships faced by the
Midwest, and are afraid of the migrants forming and starting a revolt.
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Theme:
Anger
The western people know the farmers are angry. They know
there’s enough of them to start a revolt. They know it’s possible for the men
and women and children to fight back, and so the western people fear it. They
treat the homeless farmers terribly, fearing the day the Okies could rise to
power.
Chapter 15
This chapter is about a waitress named Mae and a cook named
Al
-Mae wants truckers to stop by and leave her big tips
-Mae thinks the farmers are thieves and scavengers
-A man enters the place with two boys asking to buy a loaf
of bread
-Mae tells them no and that this isn’t a grocery store
-She says it would be fifteen cents for a loaf
-Al tells her to give him the bread and she does
-She tells the boys the candy is 2 for one penny instead of
nickel candy
-The truckers leave her a large tip because of her kindness
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Theme:
This chapter highlights the kindness of others, even in
terrible situations. Although Mae was fighting it at first, she finally does
the right thing and sells the man the bread. Even though she didn’t make as
much money as she could, she helped the man out.
Chapter 16
-Rose of Sharon says when they arrive in California, she and
Connie will live in town and Connie will study to make his own store
-Ma doesn’t want to split up the family
-The Wilson’s car breaks down
-Al and Tom go to the local car lot to find parts
-The attendant feels sorry for himself because he has one
eye and isn’t allowing himself to leave
-Pa speaks to a man about going to California for work, but
the man says there’s no work there
-He says that his wife and children starved to death in
California
-This freaks out Pa
-Casy tells him they’ll have a different experience
Type: Family
Theme:
The importance of family
Ma doesn’t want the family broken up. She knows they work
well together already and couldn’t imagine having someone leave the group and
work somewhere else. She refuses to leave Tom because she doesn’t want the
family splitting up. She thinks things will fall apart as soon as they
separate.
Chapter 17
The masses of cars travel and camp together
-Little communities spring up among them
-They all act like one family
-They have their own rules of conduct and enforce them
-They become migrant men
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Theme:
Socialism vs. Capitalism
The people are all in charge of their grouping. They depend
on each other and need to help each other in order to survive.
Chapter 18
-The family travels through New Mexico and Arizona and
finally arrives in California
-They bathe in the river
-A man returning from California speaks of the hostility
towards “Okies” and the wasteful ranchers
-Noah decides to stay and live off of fish from the river
-A policemen tells them that the family will have to move on
-They leave the Wilsons behind
-They are stopped for a routine inspection
-Ma tells the officer to let them go as Granma needs medical
attention, but in reality the old woman had been dead for quite some time
Type: Family
Theme:
The importance of the land to the people
Granma dies because she isn’t on the land she’s used to.
Older people don’t adapt well to change, so it was only a matter of time before
she died.
The strength of women
Ma is a very strong woman. She was able to lie next to the
dead granma for the rest of the night. There are very few people who would be
able to do that. She is the emotional anchor that holds the family together.
Her family is slowly falling apart, but she doesn’t lose hope.
Chapter 19
-California once belonged to Mexico but was taken away by
hungry squatters
-Squatters believed they owned the land by farming it
-They resent Okies because they know their hunger is
dangerous
-Sometimes the desperate men try to grow a small secret
garden on the land, but it gets destroyed
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Theme:
People vs. Moloch
The people are trying to farm a tiny square of land in order
to feed their families. Even if the land isn’t being used, the police are
fighting against them using it because it’s the property of richer people. The
force and the farmers clash and the police eventually win.
