Grapes of Wrath - Chapters 5 - 8

At the start of these four chapters it flashes back to when the men from the bank are telling the families that live on the land that they must leave. They say that it is no actual person's fault, but instead more of a monster that the bank must keep happy. Of course, the families do not want to leave, but they are told that if they stay the tractor will simply run right through their house, and that is what it did.
The next chapter comes back to present time and starts off with Joad and Jim Casey exploring the Joad's property. Joad now knows for sure that his family no longer lives here, and as they are sitting on the porch Joad recognized a man approaching them. The man's name is Muley, and used to also farm some of the land that was taken away by the bank. Joad and Jim soon find out that Muley's family has gone to California, but he has chosen to stay behing because he doesn't want somebody else telling him what to do. But in order to keep from being caught by the cops he must always be on the move wondering from one old abandoned house to another, which is why he ended up at the Joad's place. Joad and Jim also find out that Joad's family is staying 8 miles away at his uncle's house, but are planning to also take off for California. This makes Joad very pleased to find out that they have not left yet, and decides that in the morning he will make his way to his uncle's. For the rest of the night, the three men build a fire and roast a rabbit that Muley had trapped, and simply talk. Muley hasn't talked to anyone recently so he begins to ramble on about everything he has been thinking, when all of the sudden Jim declares that he feels God in him again. He also said that he wants to go to California and ben with the Joad family and everyone else on the road because in a time like this they need someone to talk to. Just as they are finishing eating the rabbit they see a car coming down the road. Muley knows it is the sherrif and finally convinces them to hide with him in the cotton field until he leaves. The plan works perfectly, and soon the sherrif is leaving again. Just in case the sherrif comes back they follow Muley down to an old cave that Joad had dug out when he was just a boy and this is where they sleep for the night.
The 7th chapter in this book talks nothing of any of the characters. It simply describes what it is like at a car dealership while they are trying to sell used cars to all the families going to California. The dealership is taking great advantage of this high demand for vehicles and therefore seems to rip-off most of the customers. I found it a little strange why they put this chapter in the book, but maybe it will have more meaning later in the book.
In the last chapter I read today Joad and Jim finally make it to his uncle's farm. They can see Joad's father working on some sort of truck and decide to sneak up on him. At first Joad's father doesn't notice him, but when he does he is very surprised to see him. After a few moments they decide he should also surprise his mother. She is more startled when she see's him and like everyone else, assumes that he escaped prison. Soon everyone is inside the small house and is wanting to eat breakfast when Grandma declares that they should be a prayer said considering there was a preacher there. At first Jim is reluctant, but once he starts he kind of begins to ramble until he remembers to say "amen". Once they finish breakfast the men wonder outside to find Joad's other brother coming towards the house. His name is Al, and he thinks that he gets a lot of attention because his brother killed a man. Therefore, he was dissappointed when he found out that he had only been parolled and had not escaped prison.
At the end of the chapter they decide that they will leave for California either tomorrow, or the day after.
In these four chapters the book finally started to get a little better. We were introduced to alot more characters and have figured out that they will be going to California. I predict that the whole Joad family, and Jim Casey will go to California, and their journey there will make up the main portion of this book.

Grapes of Wrath - Chapters 1 - 4

In the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath the author provides detailed imagery of how life is changing during the dirty thirties. For instance, people are struggling to keep the dust from coming through the smallest cracks in their houses, and are struggling to figure out how to keep their crops alive. We are also introduced to a main character, Joad. Joad is given a ride by some sort of truck driver when we find out a little more about him. We find out that he has just been released from prison on parole after serving only four years for a homocide. When the driver lets him off at his stop Joad soon runs into his old preacher. The preacher, Jim Casey, is no longer a preacher any more, yet Jim and Joad talk about many things from past memories to the thoughts and feelings they have of religion right now. But when the sun finally started to go down and the air started to cool off Joad, along with Jim now, decided it was time to walk the last part of his journey to his home. As they came up over the hill and looked down onto the house Joad once called his home, he knew that something was different. He realizes that his parents no longer live there.