GOW: 23 & 24

The Joads have learned a lot during their time at Weedpatch Camp. Life in the comfortable community is good but can't last forever, and things are going to get difficult. But somewhere in a moment of quiet, in a moment of solitude, each Joad has written a letter. Maybe the letter is to Muley Graves. Maybe it's a letter from Rose of Sharon to Connie. Maybe it's a letter to the land. Maybe it's a letter from Winfield to Noah. You get the idea. Regardless, your assignment is to 1. select a Joad from whom to write a letter and 2. select a recipient of such a letter. And then ...

Guidelines

1. The letter must contain at least FIVE specific pieces of textual evidence about the journey and life thus far.

2. The letter must accurately capture the tone and mindset of the writer.

3. The letter must be in proper letter form (i.e. salutation, paragraphing, concluding sentiment, signature line, etc)

Before beginning, think about what it means to take on the voice of a character and try to mimic their language/style.

GOW: 22

Why we read: literary allusions

Free write: The Joad family shows ignorance to many modern conveniences (toilets, showers, etc) and ideas (unions). Reflect on a time when you were ignorant to either a modern convenience or product or idea. What did this ignorance teach you about yourself? Those around you? Who enlightened you? How could ignorance lead to struggles later on in life?

My example: After a water polo game a few years ago, our bus was late picking us up. I don't carry a cell phone with me, so I needed to borrow one of the student's phones to call the driver. A student handed me a phone (a brand new iPhone) on which I could call. There we no numbers, no buttons, no nothing. I pressed the screen a few times but still didn't recognize anything that looked like a touchpad, so I tossed the phone back to the student and asked for a phone with buttons and numbers. This moment still makes me laugh. I still don't carry a cell phone, but I do know how to work an iPhone and other touchscreen items. Who enlightened me? The students who endlessly mocked me for not knowing how to use the phone. As for struggles down the road, I think of my dad. He doesn't own a cell phone, and when he uses mine (a normal, blackberry style phone) he struggles. Of course, he has a iPad. Alas, I do think about the impact of technology or the lack of it in the lives of younger people. Will ignorance hurt people? Will an ver reliance on technology hurt people? There's got to be a happy medium.

Let's check out Weed Patch: some history, recent pics, older pics, life, school, 

Discussion

1. What do the events in Chpt 22 say about religion, charity and hard work?

2. Who and what are the "reds"?

3. What role does order, dignity, and pleasure play in the lives of the migrants? Why are the locals trying to strip these things from the migrants' lives?

GOW: 20 & 21

Free write:

Jim Casy sacrifices himself for the betterment of the Joad family. Think about a time when you had to sacrifice your own personal well-being for the well-being of someone else. How did you feel about making this sacrifice? How did the sacrifice change you? How did other people respond to your choice?

Discussion Questions:

1. Modern day Joad dilemma

2. What does Casy's attack on the deputy reveal about his character?

3. Why is Uncle John so upset? What does his response to his emotions tell us about his character?

4. What does Ma mean when she says, "Why, Tom — us people will go on livin' when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people — we go on" (280).

5. There's a lot of change talked about in Chapter 21. Taking an educated yet totally unsupported guess, in what way do you think the migrants and the Joads will be changed? (be as specific as possible)

Character Check-ins:

As time permits, let's add to the character lists.

The mighty travelers

Our LibGuide


B Block
Eli & Katie
Devan & Erika
Laine & Olivia
Emi & Kyle
Julia P & Eliza
John & Ju Ro
Chris & Claire
Brian & Bryce

F Block
Patrick & Hannah H
Trevor & Kate
Kevin & Albert
Caleb & Aislinn
Chloe & Katarina
Hannah B & Chely
Lindsay & Eric
Ally & Grace
Mitchell & Lotte

Blogger tips

Here's a quick informational sheet to help you with Blogger. If you have other questions, I'll help you out as best I can.

How to share blog authorship

To share authorship of the blog go to Settings --> Basic. Scroll down a bit to Permissions. You'll see a section called "Blog Authors". Click on "Add Authors", and send your partner an email to invite her/him to be an author. Once your partner has signed in, change his/her permission to ADMIN. Then you'll both have writing abilities.


Hope this helps.

GOW 16-19 plot fun

The Bible & The Grapes of Wrath


Discussion questions from lots and lots of reading

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)

4. What effect does the nightly camping have on the people heading for California? How does it give them strength and power? In what way does the night camp influence the identity of the migrant people?

5. What is the Joads' first view of California? What impressions of California do the father and son from the Panhandle provide?

6. p. 233: let's look at the use of the word Okie and how the narrator, a person we assume sides with the migrant worker, is able to turn the word around into something powerful instead of a slur of weakness.