Once again Ma has to whip her family back into something she can be proud of. Ma demands that the men "get busy" (Steinbeck 350) and find work because Winfield and Rose of Sharon don't look too well and everyone could use some more food. When Ma "proudly" says to Tom, "He ain't beat." (Steinbeck 352) that shows that all of the ribbing she is doing to Pa is worth it to make sure that he can continue on. She still has a family to be proud of and that is what motivates her to continue doing her job. But when the Joads have to find work and leave the nice government camp to go to a peach farm that underpays them. Their new house is greasy and is very small. Then the work is bogus because they only get a nickel for every unbruised peach box they fill. So even though the Joads are working, they are barely feeding themselves because the grocery store in the camp sells overpriced food even with the knowledge that the workers aren't being paid much. The system is rigged to always favor the rich and the poor always get the short end of the stick.
"Say, who in hell you think you are, J. P. Morgan?" (Steinbeck 377) That quote cracked me up. I read about J. P. Morgan in my AP US History summer book and with that knowledge I very much appreciate the reference. That is the first time in the book that I laughed (the other quote about the salesmen screwing people made me smile, but the Morgan quote made me laugh). Tom was asking if their was a sanitation unit or somewhere to get tidy up when the guard laughed and uttered the line. I think that J. P. Morgan would have asked for something more fancy then a "bath" (Steinbeck 377), but regardless that was still funny.
Casy is back! He is rebellious and somehow got out of jail (the book doesn't clarify, but I assume either the offense wasn't that bad on go got out on good behavior). But Casy isn't here for long because he was arguing with a guard and the guard killed him with a pick handle. I, for one, don't think that is the best way to go, but Casy was preaching about what he believed in, and I am sure he was happy. I would rather die happy then upset or angry.
Winfield becomes very sick and I figured he was going to die. He ended up recovering, but I still believe in the Oregon Trail game, and I never made it to Sacramento with more than half of my starting party. Right now the Joads are 8 for 12, or 66.7%. That is why I figured Winfield would die. The death would drop the percentage to close to 50 and then Ruthie could have some character development regarding loss and loneliness.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
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