For today's reading we had to read from Chapter 7 through the end of Chapter 14, in all of the reading Chapter 8 stood out the most to me. Why this is? What meant the most to me was that Joad and Casey finally found Joad's family. This chapter really impacted me as I attempted to place myself in Joad's position. I can only imagine the feelings and thoughts that were rushing through his body and mind. Four years of separation from his family were going to be alleviated by a sweet reunion. Now that I am in college and out on my own, I too, feel emotions of excitement and joy whenever I have an opportunity to return home and see my family once more.
A theme in chapter 8 that stands out to me is just how important family is. No matter what the circumstance may be as long as the family is together the challenge can be overcome. At least the challenge can be more bareable. For Joad and his family the challenge was being uprooted from their land and home and embarking on a long journey to a foreign land and with the whole family being reunited there is a rekindled spirit amoungst them. Many times struggles have come up in my life and I see now that the outcome could have been entirely different if I didn't have my family.
A passage to support the theme of family in chapter 8 is found in the last paragraph on page 75:
"Pa broke in, "Yeah, ever' night Grampa'd get mad. Tumble over Winfield, an' Winfield'd yell, an' Grampa'd get mad an' wet his drawers, an' that'd make him madder, an' purty soon ever'body in the house'd be yellin' their head off." His words trumbled out between chuckles. "Oh, we had lively times. One night when ever'body was yellin' an' a-cussin', your brother Al, he's a smart aleck now, he says, 'Darnit, Grampa, why don't you run off an' be a pirate?' Well, that made Grampa so mad he went for his gun. Al had ta sleep out in the fiel' that night. But now Granma an' Grampa both sleeps in the barn."
(I also loved the passage on page 73 describing the two dogs and their reactions to the "strangers")
Hey Mike, I totally agree with what you are saying about putting yourself in Joad's place and how one would feel when reuniting with family. I also think that Joad showing up to his family home and it being deserted added to that. Maybe it added a bit of anxiety after expecting his family to be there and being disappointed.
ReplyDeleteI think that their are at least two kinds of old people. Those that get angrier and meaner as they get older, and those that stop caring and get calmer and more peaceful.
ReplyDeleteI really liked like the quote in the end you included from page 75 because I feel like it really helped include character description. It also set up good reference for later in the book, it established Granpa as a stubborn character and is shown thouroughly later when he refuses to leave his land and go to California
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