Tom, I have known--still know--people who think they are true Christains, but I think they are fanatics. I was raised in a religion in which we were literally taught to be scared to death of going to a fiery Hell. When my daughter was three years old, I took her to a Vacation Bible School, which is where children make crafts, and hear Bible stories, etc. At the end of the evening, the preacher got up and he told the children, "I don't want to scare you, but if you died tonight without Jesus, you would go to hell." Needless to say, I never took her back for the next session. So, what Steinbeck speaks of in the Weedpatch is still going strong.

Izzi, the extra chapters that Steinbeck has put between his story chapters could be put together in a separate book, couldn't they?

Yes, leaving the land killed grandpa--but I'd drugged him, too. Remember Muley?

What the ending says to me, is that no matter what happens, somehow Mama Joad will see her family survive. Inch by inch, day by day, the Joads will hang on, and she will have her house--just a small house, but I see an orange tree in her yard, and everything inside spotless.
I want to tell each of you that it is a pleasure being in the book club with you.

...and I want to say sorry, once again I have been considerably absent...I have been up to my ears in work.However, I really loved the book (GREAT choice , once more folks) and your comments as usual were so good. I really love being part of all this Thanks so much.

Thanks from myself as well. This is the first month I have been able to join in and it was great to get the different viewpoints and have topics to think about. I'm looking forward to June's selection "Adam Bede".

I've been trying to find a quote I'd read somewhere which was purported to have been taken from an old interview with Steinbeck. Although without actually being able to find it again, I'm unable to verify its authenticity.

One section was regarding a question about his biblical metaphors. I can't recall the wording now, but Steinbeck would neither confirm nor deny intentionally using biblical themes, and replied to the effect that if people read things into his book that way, then that was their choice. Sitting on the fence like that just seemed a bit of a cop out to me, and I felt rather disappointed that it had the impression of demeaning his work somewhat. Personally, I thought that the biblical imagery played a highly effective role in the storyline and without it the book wouldn't have been nearly so powerful.

This was certainly an historically significant book, as SillyLily said earlier in the thread, it is still used widely in schools and colleges as background material for that period of American history. The Great Depression and dust bowl era affected so many people to a greater or lesser degree, and Steinbeck shows us that although the wealthy had more to lose, the poor were far more vulnerable.

It would be difficult to close the book without wondering what might have become of the Joads and, of course, the real migrant families. I've read quite a few personal accounts by people who lived through those times and the stories of their courageous struggle had quite an affect on me. I've unearthed some fascinating material whilst researching archives.

If anyone is interested, this webpage, The Migrant Experience, is packed with information and has many other links within the body of the text.

An excerpt from the above mentioned link:

quote
>>>As World War II wore on, the state of the economy, both in California and across the nation, improved dramatically as the defense industry geared up to meet the needs of the war effort. Many of the migrants went off to fight in the war. Those who were left behind took full advantage of the job opportunities that had become available in West Coast shipyards and defense plants. As a result of this more stable lifestyle, numerous Dust Bowl refugees put down new roots in California soil, where their descendants reside to this day.<<<

I had assumed that the Weedpatch Camp was purely fictitious, but it was an actual camp, (The Arvin Federal Camp), run just as described by Steinbeck, and is still used by migrant workers today. Read more about its history at www.weedpatchcamp.com