GoW: Chpt 16

Free write: "Ma, beside him, had folded her hands in her lap, had retired into a resistance against weariness. She sat loosely, letting the movement of the car sway her body and her head. She squinted her eyes ahead at the mountains. Rose of Sharon was braced against the movement of the car, her feet pushed tight against the floor, and her right elbow hooked over the door. And her plump face was tight against the movement, and her head jiggled sharply because her neck muscles were tight. She tried to arch her whole body as a rigid container to preserve her fetus from shock." (164)

Compare and contrast Ma & Rose of Sharon. Be specific in your comparison/contrast of the language used to describe each character. Come up with a thesis statement for a paragraph on this subject.

Reminder: close readings begin with an examination of language.

Character groups: quick check-in to add to your list. Be ready to report back to the group your findings on your character thus far. In three concise sentences, tell us about your character.

Discussion questions:

1. When the car breaks down, what is significant about Ma's reaction? How does this mechanical difficulty affect the relationship between Ma & Pa? Ma and the family? Tom & Al?

2. What advice does Tom offer the one-eyed man in the junkyard? What might the one-eyed man represent, metaphorically?

3. In the camping area, what information does the ragged man give to Pa about California? What effect does this information have on the Joads? (Pa, Tom, Al, & Ma)

GoW: 14 & 15

Free write: Reflect on and write about a time when you realized there was more power in a "we" than in an "I".



Character Groups: check in. What have we learned about your character?

Discussion questions:
1. Chpt 14 repeats the following line:
"The Western land, nervous under the beginning change." (150)
"The Western States nervous under the beginning change." (151)
"The Western States are nervous under the beginning change." (152)

What are the literal differences between these lines? What impact do those differences have on the meanings of these lines? And why repeat this idea?

2. Chpt 15: What causes Mae's prejudice to fade?

3. In the introduction of The Grapes of Wrath, Michael Szalay says, "[Grapes] does not solves problems but makes compassion, empathy, and commitment not only possible but desirable in a class-stratisfies society" (xv).  Where is this evident in Chapters 14 & 15.

GoW: Chpts 12&13 — Migration Begins

Free write: "66 is the path of people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight, and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight" (118).

1. List all the significant verbs
2. List all the significant adjectives
3. List all the significant nouns
4. Using your word lists, describe the tone of this passage. Remember that when you talk about tone you use adjectives, and link your tone directly to the words of the passage.

Character groups: Quick check in with your group to add to your lists (5 min max)

Discussion questions:
1. Chapter 12 is somewhat chaotic in its narrative. Why do you think Steinbeck did that?
2. What is xenophobia and how can we see it expressed in these two chapters? How can you foresee it playing a large role in the remainder of the novel?
3. What is the first unpleasant event on the Joad's journey and what does it foreshadow about what lies ahead?
4. What's the significance of Granpa's death?
5. What is the value of Jim Casy's prayer on p.144? What are the Joads and the reader to take away from it?

GoW: 10 & 11 — Part 1 Concludes

Character groups: Let's get down to business.

1. Look at a description passage pertaining to your character. A. List all of the verbs that stand out (significant actions). B. List all of the nouns that stand out (significant objects — possibly metaphorical). C. List all of the adjectives that stand out (descriptors). Think like writers. What techniques does Steinbeck use to create your character?

2. Share findings on the board OR on butcher paper OR in some other way .....

GOW: Chpts. 7, 8, 9

Free write: Jim Casy says, "But when they're all workin' together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang — that's right, that's holy" (81). Write about a time when you were "harnessed to the whole shebang," when you were not working or doing for yourself or someone else, but for the larger community.

OR

"How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past?" (88). How has your past been a framework for who you are today? Think about three specific possessions that have shaped who you are. How might the absence of those objects in your daily affect your sense of self?

Character groups: What have we learned? Who have we met? Share away in groups and then report back to the larger group.

Discussion questions:
1. What is Tom's homecoming like? What does it reveal about the Joad family structure?
2. Three family members have asked Tom Joad if he busted out of jail. What does this reveal about the family? About Tom?

3. At the close of the chapter 9, the family (not the Joads) burns its belongings. Why?

4. What animals have we encountered in these chapters? What do they signify/connote?

5. Looking back at Chpts 1, 3, 5, 7 & 9, what have we learned about life in Oklahoma? These descriptive chapters definitely pack a punch in terms of showing the reader about life on the plains. Summarize each chapter into one or two sentences, focusing on the major themes and ideas expressed.

GOW: Chpts 5 & 6

Free write: Muley Graves mentions the idea of the hunter versus the hunted. Think of a time when you were the hunter and compare it to a time when you were the hunted. How did your sense of self vary in the two different situations? How did you act differently? Similarly?

Character groups: we learn something about almost all of the selected characters even if they haven't made a first-hand appearance in the text.

Discussion Questions:
1. Chapter five address a stark contrast between an "us" and a "them". How does this dichotomy erode community? Think about the tone created in this chapter and the language that leads you to that tone.
2. How does prioritizing the self negatively/positively affect a community?
3. How does Steinbeck use Muley's connection with the land as a way to suggest he might be crazy/"touched"? What does this connection with the land say about it's role in forming Muley's identity?
4. What kinds of animals have we seen in these chapters and what might those animals represent? Look closely at the last few lines of Chpt 6. What is Steinbeck trying to convey about life on the plains?

Grapes of Wrath: Chpts 1-4

1. A little free write post-video to get us thinking about the Joads and their migration.
You suddenly have to leave your home. You must leave your belongings behind, and, aside from a few clothes, you can take only four of your possessions. What would you take? In a letter to a friend, identify these possessions. Then explain what those items mean to you and why you chose as you did. Include your feelings about the items you had to leave behind and any anger or frustration that you felt, as well as sadness.

2. Introduce idea of character analysis
3. What do the first two paragraphs tell us about the story? Looking closely at the language, what kind of tone is set? (remember when we talk about tone we use adjectives)
4. How is the idea of struggle set forth in the first four chapters?
5. What's up with that turtle? What could the turtle symbolize?