Grapes of Wrath Plot summary Chapters 11- 20

The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 10 - 20

Refugees (binary/octet-stream)

• The Grapes of Wrath. Chapters 1 -10. Plot Summary
• The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 21- 30

The Grapes of Wrath: Chapters 10 - 20

The narrator explains the effect of an abandoned farm.  In the shed, where once was the warmth of life, there now sits only the dead machinery of the tractor. The tractor is a tool and has no connection to the land, as is the tractor driver is merely no better than a component of the machine. When the farmhouse is abandoned, it falls apart quickly. Neighboring kids come to scavenge the ruins. The cat returns to find his masters gone. The cat becomes feral, reintegrated into the wild. In no time, nature reclaims the farm. What the new landowners cannot understand is the connection between the men and the soil -  'Carbon is not a man, nor salt nor water nor calcium. He is all these, but he is much more, much more; and the land is so much more than its analysis.'

Abandoned Farmhouse (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 12

The narrator tells us that Route 66 is the highway that connects Oklahoma to California.  From all the towns and all the counties; from the hill country to the valleys; from the drying lakes to the dusty wastes, the refugees made their way westward. The journey between towns was a worry - always listening for a problem with these old cars. If you broke down, a mechanic was likely to swindle you.  'This is a free country. Fella can go where he wants.' But as they got closer, they heard more tales of people coming back East. California may be a false promise, but what choice did they have? 

Route 66 (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 13

Their Hudson truck needs to stop for water and gas. When they pull into a run-down garage, the attendant suspects them to be thieves, like so many others that have passed that way - 'Most folks stops here ain't got nothin.'The garage owner has his own money troubles. The big 'yellow pump' fuel companies have moved in to take customers from town. In a bad omen, their dog is killed in a hit and run. The family camps beside the Wilsons, Ivy and Sairy and they all agree to travel together. That night, Granpa has a stroke and dies. They have to bury him themselves, to save money. Tom and Al fix the Wilson's car and in return, they take some weight from the overloaded Hudson. Working together is their only hope. 

Grave Desert (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 14

The narrator explains the nervousness of the Western Land at the incoming influx of migrants. The rich landowners fear new laws, new unions, new taxes and the forces they feel are gathering against them. For the narrator, these are results, not causes. The cause is a million hungry bellies, looking to work and pay their way to a new life.  The didactic narrator, separates the selfish owners and the poor workers into the opposing factions of I and We -  'If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin, were results, not causes, you might survive. But that you cannot know. For the quality of owning freezes you forever into "I," and cuts you off forever from the "we."'

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Chapter 15

The focus changes to the diners on route 66. Life goes on in these places as the migrants pass by. Truckers talk cars. Salesmen talk product. In one of these, Al works the grill and Mae works the tables. A starving migrant and his two sons ask if they can buy a loaf of bread for 10 cents. Mae complains that she needs the bread, and the price is 15 cents. Al growls at her to give them what they need. As the starving boys eye the candy jar, she throws in two big canes for a penny. Two truckers recognize her kindness and leave her a big tip. Kindness may be its own reward, but Al empties the slot machines just to be sure. 

Diner (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 16

On the road, Rosasharn tells Ma of her and Connie's plans for the future. In California, they will live in town - away from their rural family. Connie will study in order to move up to a better job.  The Wilson's car breaks down again. Tom and Jim offer to stay behind and get it fixed, but Ma does not want to break up the family. They all remain.  Camped that night, they meet a man returning from California. He tells the jobs that the leaflets lie - there are no jobs. His wife and child starved to death in California. He is returning East to an empty life. This meeting is another bad omen for the Joad family. 

On the road, Rosasharn tells Ma of her and Connie's plans for the future. In California, 

1940s Wreckingyard Junkyard Scrapayard (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 17

The narrator explains how the migrant families organize themselves on the road.  One family might stop for water, when another joins it. Soon cars form a camp - 'In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in the West was one dream.' Micro societies form on the basis of a shared need and a shared goal. Shared fears become shared taboos. Communities quickly establish their own norms and hierarchies. The spirit of cooperation is the glue that binds them together. These micro societies recall the pioneer spirit that built America.    

Life For The Average Family During The Great Depressions Featured Photo (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 18

The family travels on through Arizona during the night and arrives at the Colorado river, California's border, at sunrise. The journey, and the loss of Granpa, has been tough on Granma. Ma takes her to the shade to rest.  They meet more migrants heading back from California - the same stories of hardship, cheap landowners and hostile locals, who label the newcomers 'Okies' as a term of disdain. The disconnected Noah, decides he will remain at the river to fish. Granma worsens and tensions rise this close to the border with the locals. The Wilson's stay due to Sairy's health. The Joad's cross after an argument with an inspector. Ma uses Granma's condition as an argument to get across - she must see a doctor. Unknown to all but Ma, Granma has already died. Ma's composure is remarkable, under the circumstances.  

Colorado River Grand Canyon (binary/octet-stream)

Chapter 19

Once, the narrator explains, California belonged to the Mexicans. Then the hungry Americans came - 'They could not resist, because they wanted nothing in the world as frantically as the Americans wanted land.' These hungry farmers worked the land until they became prosperous. They became fat. They became greedy. They became suspicious. Some remembered the way they had become rich. They feared a fresh wave of hungry men, who might take the land as they has once taken it from Mexico. The landowners make new laws and order the police to enforce them. Hungry 'Okies' are driven to desperation and pray for food to feed their children. When they stop praying and start taking action, then things will change. History has shown that the many revolt against the few when their situation demands it.   

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Chapter 20

California - The family has crossed to border to the 'promised land' and their first act must be to provide Granma with a pauper's burial.  They meet Floyd Knowles, who explains the tactics of police brutality as well as the leaflets that brought them there - 'You can print a hell of a lot of han'bills with what ya save payin' fifteen cents an hour for fiel' work.' The cops bust anyone who complains. Labels them a communist, imprisons them or worse. No-one cares for dead 'vagrants' in California.  Later a man arrives, who offers little for needed fruit pickers. Floyd tries to organize the poor. The cops try to arrest him. He escapes with the help of Tom and Casy, who trip the cop (who shoots a woman onlooker). Tom runs  and Casy turns himself in to save his friend. The cops burn down the 'Hooverville' in retaliation.  

Burning Hooverville (binary/octet-stream)