Grapes of Wrath Ch. 19-30

What "new method" do landowners invent to create even more profits?

"A great owner bought a cannery. And when the peaches and the pears were ripe he cut the price of fruit below the price of raising it. And as cannery owner he paid himself a low price for the fruit and kept the price of canned goods up and took his profit."

Why is Jim Casy in front of the peach farm?

After getting released from prison, he works to organize the migrant farmers. He explains that the owner of the peach orchards cut wages to two-and-a-half cents a box, so the men went on strike.

Why do the Joads leave Weedpatch?

After nearly a month in the government camp, the Joads find their supplies running low and work scarce. Ma Joad convinces the others that they must leave the camp the next day.

To whom is Al engaged?

Agnes Wainwright

What happens to the dam that Pa, Al, Uncle John, and Mr. Wainwright build to protect the boxcar from being flooded?

An uprooted tree cascades into the dam and destroys it.

Landowners ignored the fact that hunger easily turns into _____.

Anger

How does Tom help stop the riot instigators?

As the music begins, Tom and the other men quickly spot three dubious-looking men. They watch the men carefully. When one of the suspected troublemakers picks a fight by stepping in to dance with another man's date, the men apprehend the trio and evict them from the camp.

What does Black Hat suggest at the Weedpatch dance?

Black Hat suggests to the group that they form a union and that they start to arm themselves.

True or False: As the cost of labor falls, so do the prices of produce.

False. The price of the fruit, vegetables, and cotton remains the same, but the cost of labor gets smaller and smaller. As a result, the landowners grow rich.

What secret does Floyd tell Al and Tom? What is Tom's reaction?

Floyd tells Al and Tom that there's work up in Santa Clara Valley picking prunes and working in the canneries there. Santa Clara Valley is 200 miles north, which Tom feels is too far away.

What is Floyd Knowles' advice to Tom regarding the police?

Floyd tells Tom that when he encounters police, he must act "bull-simple": he must speak ramblingly and incoherently in order to convince the policeman that he is an unthreatening idiot.

According to Floyd Knowles, what will happen to Tom if he beats up a police officer?

Floyd tells him that if he tried to beat a law enforcer up, he would eventually end up dead in a ditch. Only a one-line obituary would appear in the local paper, and it would read, "'vagrant found dead'".

Who did the Californian landowners hire to work the land? How were the workers treated?

Foreign workers (more specifically, "Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Filipinos"). The landowners paid them very little and treated them badly.

Why is the man at the ranch store rude to Ma Joad?

He is ashamed of his job and acts flippant as a way of coping with his shame.

Where is Floyd Knowles moving his family? Why?

He is moving them up north in search of work.

How does Jim Casy learn about organizing while in jail?

He says once all of them were given sour beans to eat and they all started yelling together and the guards brought them something better.

According to Floyd, why don't the workers organize against the landowners?

He says that anyone who discusses such possibilities will be labeled "red" and dragged off by the police. Men who attempt to organize are put on a "blacklist," which ensures that they will never find work.

When Ma Joad tells Tom he must leave to preserve his safety, what piece of wisdom does he share with her?

He shares what he has learned from Jim Casy: that every man's soul is simply a small piece of a great soul.

What does Al promise the blonde girl he's been sleeping with?

He tells her he is leaving, but that he will come back with a lot of money and take her to the movies.

Instead of spending their extra profits on higher wages, on what do landowners spend it?

Money that could have gone to pay higher wages went to monitoring and controlling the migrant threat.

Who hires Tom? To do what?

Mr. Thomas, to lay pipe.

How does the rain make things even more difficult for the migrants? How do they survive?

No work can be done during the rain. Men are forced to buy and steal food.

At the end of the first day at Weedpatch, why are Ma and Pa Joad sad?

Now that she feels settled, Ma cannot stop thinking about all the sad things that have happened on the trip. Pa is also depressed because he could not find work.

Where do the Joads work after the peach farm?

Picking cotton

What is Rose of Sharon's response to Connie's departure? How does Ma deal with this?

Rose of Sharon is extremely upset, in hysterics. Ma tells her to pull it together and work to take her mind off of things.

Why does Ma Joad pierce Rose of Sharon's ears?

Rose of Sharon says she thinks her baby is going to be deformed because she has not had enough milk. Ma comforts her by giving her a pair of gold earrings and piercing her ears with a needle.

What does Rose of Sharon do during the engagement party?

Rose of Sharon walks out of the boxcar during the party and crawls into a thicket and goes to sleep there.

According to Mrs. Sandry, what must Rose of Sharon avoid? Why?

She must avoid the dancing and sinning that goes on in the camp: the babies of sinners, she warns, are born "dead and bloody."

At Weedpatch, what was one woman's experience with the Salvation Army?

She says they made them crawl for their food. They took their dignity.

What does the little girl tell Ma while she's making stew?

She tells Ma that she and her family have been here for six months now, and that her dad is out getting gas so that they can move on to find work. She says that she and her family used to live in a government camp. They moved north and, when they came back, the camp was full. She says government camps are like paradise.

Why does a woman berate Ma for serving stew to her children?

She tells Ma that she's working hard to make ends meet, and she doesn't need some benevolent woman to make her kids realize that their families are too poor to serve them stew.

Why does Tom decide to become a labor organizer?

Since every man's soul is simply a small piece of a great soul, Tom says that he has decided to unify his soul with this great soul by working to organize the people, as Casy would have wanted.

What new group of people competes with the migrant farmers for work?

Small farm owners who have been driven out of business by large farm owners.

What is the significance of the wine going bad in Chapter 25?

Small farmers are unable to compete with large ones, so their crops wither and their debts rise. The vineyards' wine goes bad in the vats because of this; Steinbeck uses this as a symbol of the anger and resentment spreading throughout the land.

What happens when the Joads and the Wainwrights go to the small farm to pick cotton?

So many workers have amassed that the entire crop is picked before noon. Glumly, the family returns to the boxcar, and it begins to rain.

Why do some cotton workers put stones in their sacks?

Some of the owners are crooked and rig the scales used to weigh the cotton. To counter this practice, the migrants often load stones in their sacks.

At what camp event does the Farmers Association plan to instigate a riot?

The camp dance

Who introduces Ma Joad and Rose of Sharon to the rules of Weedpatch?

The camp's Ladies Committee

Why does the Department of Health burn down some Hoovervilles?

The camps have become health risks. Typhoid has erupted.

Who is Ezra Huston?

The chairman of the camp committee who plans security measures for the camp dance.

Why do the California landowners, other workers, and merchants hate the migrant farmers?

The other workers hate them because they drive the price of labor down, the farmers hate them because they are afraid they will steal their land, and the merchants hate them because they don't have any money to spend.

Why have the Joads been hired to work on the peach farm?

The owner has hired a new group of men in hopes of breaking the strike.

What does the policeman charge Floyd Knowles with?

The policeman says he saw Floyd at the scene of a robbery, at a used car lot.

Why are small farmers unable to harvest their crops?

The small farmer has benefited by the scientific advances in agriculture, but because he has to sell his produce to large canneries at a price competitive with the produce from large farms he cannot afford to harvest his crop.

What happens when Ma makes the stew?

The stew attracts a bevy of hungry children. After feeding her family, she hands over the meager leftovers, which the children devour ravenously.

Why is it difficult for the Joads to pay for food while working on the peach farm?

Their wages go towards store credit at the ranch store. The products there are expensive and low-quality.

Why does Connie tell Rose of Sharon that they should have stayed in Oklahoma?

There are no jobs in California, and Connie says that he could have learned about tractors in Oklahoma.

Why do Ruthie and Winfield think they have broken the toilet?

They are not used to running water, which Weedpatch has. When Winfield flushes a toilet, the sound of rushing water convinces them they have broken it.

How much does the peach farm pay the Joads for picking peaches?

They are paid only five cents a box. At the end of the day, even with everyone in the family working, they earn only one dollar.

Why did American squatters claim ownership of California?

They believed that they owned the land because they farmed it.

How do the wealthy Californian landowners defend their land and their wealth?

They defend their land with security guards and protect their wealth by paying their laborers extremely low wages.

What do the Joads find when they arrive at the peach farm?

They find cars backed up on the roads leading to it, and angry mobs of people shouting from the roadside.

Why do the riot instigators agree to start the riot?

They have been paid well by the Farmers Association.

Why do wealthy Californian landowners resent the "Okies"?

They know that hungry and impoverished people are a danger to the stability of land ownership.

Where do Ma and Pa Joad leave Granma's body? Why?

They leave her body in a coroner's office because they cannot afford a proper burial.

Why did the Californian landowners lose their love for the land?

They lost their feelings of desperation (because they were growing wealthy), which made them lose their ties to the land.

During the rain, how do the women know that their men will not break?

They see the men's fear turning to anger. The women know that their men will remain strong as long as they can maintain their rage.

What are some of the methods the migrants have for finding escape from their misery and salvation?

They they make music; tell folktales; go to movies; dance; buy alcohol; and go to preachers who give fire-and-brimstone sermons about evil and sin, haranguing the people until they grovel on the ground, and conduct mass baptisms.

What do the Okies want out of living in California?

They want a decent wage and freedom from the threat of starvation.

Why did the Californian landowners pay their workers less and less?

When the Dust Bowl occurred, families from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arkansas flooded into California looking for work on the farms. These families were hungry and were willing to work for any pay. There is a surplus of workers.

How does Winfield get sick at the peach farm?

Winfield gets diarrhea after eating too many peaches and passes out in the field.

Where do the Okies live in California?

Workers' camps, called Hoovervilles

True or False: Rose of Sharon dances at the camp dance.

False. She is afraid of Mrs. Sandry's warning.

True or False: The contractor from Tulare County agrees to disclose wages and give out job contracts.

False

True or False: Uncle John uses the full five dollars for alcohol.

False. He gives Pa his five-dollar bill and asks for two, so he will not spend it all in one night.

What are the "three facts of history" that make the landowners afraid of the migrant farmers?

1. "When property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away." 2. "When a majority of the people are hungry and cold they will take by force what they need." 3. "Repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed."

After starting work on the cotton farm, with what does Ma Joad treat Ruthie and Winfield?

A box of Cracker Jack candy

What happens when one of the Okies tries to grow his own garden?

A cop kicks him off of the land and destroys the garden.

Why does Tom cry in Chapter 20?

A group of men will not let him and his family into town because they are Okies.

Describe the story about the mountain people.

A man tells a story about a group of mountain people who were hired as cheap labor by a rubber company in Akron. When the mountain people joined a union, the townspeople united to run them out of town. In response, five thousand mountain men marched through the center of town with their rifles, allegedly to shoot turkeys on the far side of the settlement. The march served as a powerful demonstration. The storyteller concludes that there has been no trouble between the townspeople and the workers since then.

Who is the Mayor of Hooverville?

A simple man who the Joads first encounter when they reach their first camp. He responds to all questions nonsensically.

Where does Connie go? Why?

Connie abandons the family; Al says that he saw Connie walking south along the river. He leaves because he feels pressured by Rose of Sharon to succeed, as Rose of Sharon does not want to give birth to her baby while living in a tent.

What do the owners of large farms do to the smaller farm owners?

Drive them out of business

True or False: According to Floyd Knowles, there is work in the area.

False

Where does Rose of Sharon deliver her baby?

In the boxcar

How does the hostility directed at the migrants affect them?

It brings them together.

What secret has Uncle John been keeping from the Joads?

John reveals a five dollar bill and tells them he's been keeping it a secret from the family. He's saved it up, because he knew he would have to get really drunk at some point. He feels awful about hiding the money from the family, but he really needs a drink.

According to the narrator, who used to own California?

Mexico

Who runs the Farmers Association?

The Bank of the West

Why does Mr. Thomas say he cannot pay his workers more than 25 cents an hour?

The Farmers' Association demands that he pay his laborers twenty-five cents an hour and no more. Even though he knows his men deserve a higher wage, Thomas claims that to pay more would "only cause unrest."

With whom do the Joads share their boxcar when living at the cotton plantation?

The Wainwrights

Who is Mr. Thomas?

The boss of the ranch that Timothy and Wilkie Wallace bring Tom to.

Why can't the Joads enter the next town (in Chapter 20)?

The family is turned away by a crowd of pick-handle and shotgun wielding men, who have stationed themselves by the road to keep Okies out.

How did the Californian farms change over time?

The farms became businesses, run by business-minded farmers who were concerned with making a profit. The farmers continued to become shrewd businessmen, hiring bookkeepers and teams of employees to manage the land. Some farmers never even saw the land they owned.

Who pays for Ma Joad's sugar?

The man working at the ranch store.

Who is Jim Rawley? Why is he important?

The manager of Weedpatch. He makes Ma Joad feel human again by speaking to her as an equal.

Why is the Farmers' Association uncomfortable with the existence of the government camp? What does the Association plan to do about the camp?

The members believe the place to be riddled with communists, or "red agitators." In hopes of shutting the facilities down, the association is planning to send instigators into the camp on Saturday night to start a riot. The police will then have the right to enter the camp, arrest the labor organizers, and evict the migrants.

Describe the situation in which the boy dies from malnutrition.

The men of the migrant families gather on a porch one night. They have heard that a little boy has died from not having enough nutrients in his body. His family can't afford a burial. The men take coins out of their pockets and make a pile of silver for the little boy's burial.

At Weedpatch, who governs the migrants?

The migrants govern themselves, thus avoiding the abuse of corrupt police officers.

Who does Tom first meet at Weedpatch?

Timothy and Wilkie Wallace

Why do California locals form armed groups?

To terrorize the Okies and keep them in their place.

Why does Tom go into hiding? Where does he hide?

Tom hides in a culvert close to the plantation—his crushed nose and bruised face would bring suspicion upon him—and the family sneaks food to him.

Why does Jim Casy get arrested?

Tom trips the deputy who is shooting at Knowles, and Casy knocks the deputy unconscious. Casy takes the blame for the whole thing, and is arrested. He wants to protect Tom, who is still on parole.

Where does the contractor want to bring workers?

Tulare County

Describe the situation in which Tom kills a police officer.

Two policemen approach Tom and Casy outside the peach farm, recognizing Casy as the workers' leader and referring to him as a communist. As Casy protests that the men are only helping to starve children, one of them crushes his skull with a pick handle. Tom flies into a rage and wields the pick handle on Casy's murderer, killing him before receiving a blow to his own head. He manages to run away and makes it back to his family.

Why is Uncle John so upset by Casy's arrest? What does he decide to do?

Uncle John is distraught by Casy's sacrifice. Uncle John had spoken with Casy about the nature of sin, and now that the former preacher is gone, John's wife's tragic death lies heavy upon him. He goes to get drunk.

How are the wages for working in the cotton fields?

Wages are decent, but workers without cotton-picking sacks are forced to buy them on credit. There are so many workers that some are unable to do enough work even to pay for their sacks.

What is the name of the government camp the Joads move to?

Weedpatch

Why does Knowles get threatened with arrest? What happens?

When Knowles demands a contract and a set wage for the fruit pickers from the contractor from Tulare County, the man summons a police deputy, who arrests Knowles on a bogus charge and then begins threatening the others. Knowles then runs off, and the deputy shoots at him recklessly, piercing a woman through the hand.

How does Tom's secret about killing the police officer come out?

When another girl, envious of Ruthie's Cracker Jack, picks a fight with her, Ruthie boasts angrily that her older brother has killed two men and is now in hiding.