Ending Chapters and Title

Pages: 502 completed

I finished The Grapes of Wrath over the March Break but was away so I didn't have much time to actually blog. So now I'm going to talk about the few last chapters.

Firstly, it surprised me that Tom Joad left since I saw him as the main character. He killed a man for revenge when Jim Casey was killed for leading a strike. I'm not quite sure if the characters who left like Tom and his brother Noah, will ever see each other or the rest of their family again. I have a strange feeling they probably won't see Noah ever again. I also believe they will NEVER see Connie again because he probably won't risk showing his face near the Joad family ever again.

The last chapter was about Rose of Sharon delivering a still born baby and a flood coming.

Floods can also occur in rivers, when the strength of the river is so high it flows out of the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders and causes damage to homes and businesses along such rivers.

This statement about floods is similar to what happens in the novel. Many people moved to California from the East at the same time for better jobs and pay. When they arrived, they 'damaged' businesses by taking jobs from people who lived there and taking homes away from people there who also wanted home.

The still born baby being born has many meanings behind it. Babies are seen as new life, rebirth of one's self and a happy time. They have a chance to see the world differently and not tainted as when you grow older. When Rose of Sharon had the still born baby, it represented to the story how even trying to start fresh and move away to somewhere else, is hard to do. Rebirth is defeated in this case and shows the readers that one can never leave themselves behind. Later when Rose of Sharon is letting the sick man drink some of her milk, she is almost given another chance for rebirth, to start fresh and engage in a new life meaning. It also plays on the extended family theme by reaching out to a stranger and helping them.

The Grapes of Wrath title is interesting and is mentioned in chapter 25, ...and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. It basically says that people are starving and they will do anything because they are desperate for a good life. The grapes are tearing people up and turning against each other because they want money and a new, clean start in their lives in California.

The Grapes of Wrath was very sad and depressing tale of extended family and the search for rebirth but a good intake of what life was like for people similar to the Joad family. I have started the Great Gatsby and hope to finish it soon. I can see the rebirth theme in that book also.