the grapes of wrath. john steinbeck. (144)

 

i follow the penguin truck online and was excited to discover that it was coming to bakersfield!  it would be joining a group of people that will be retracing the route taken by the joad family from john steinbeck's classic, the grapes of wrath.  i am so excited to be able to purchase books from the penguin truck, we know my love of food trucks, now imagine the bookstore equivalent of one!  since the truck would be in bakersfield for an event for the grapes of wrath, i decided i should read it.

as i mentioned in my post for of mice and men, since steinbeck writes about okies, i perceive his book as being lowbrow, in addition to that i figured it might be tedious and boring at times due to its discussion of the dust bowl but how i misjudged.  the grapes of wrath is a beautifully written novel and well deserving of the pulitzer prize.  i was thoroughly surprised how much i enjoyed it but then again steinbeck is an excellent storyteller.

the thing that surprised me was how much truth was in this book.  there were a handful of topics that steinbeck discussed and shed an interesting light on.  i will discuss each topic as they appeared in the book.

first, since tom joad was an ex-con, steinbeck discussed prisons.  growing up in delano and being a frequent rider of the greyhound (they send prisoners home on it), i have very solid opinions on the prison system.  in a nutshell, i think prisoners have too many rights and luxuries.  furthermore, i believe prisons have become a cesspool of corruption and promotes the same immoral lifestyle the prisoners are supposed to be rehabilitated for.  it is often discussed that prisoners become accustomed to prison life and are therefore unable to function in the "real" world.  steinbeck expressed this same idea and i found it interesting that 50 years ago prisons were considered too comfortable for prisoners and that there has been no call for reform.  about 20 pages later, joad explained that he wasn't rehabilitated in prison but would commit the crime just the same if he situation arouse again.  (he killed a man who had started a right with him, the killing was done as self-defense.)

but again a critique of the US prison for not rehabilitating people.  and before you say, but wait tom joad was an honest man but he had that heart the whole time, he didn't gain it in prison.

another character with a heart of gold was pastor casy, he was filled with wisdom and truth.  i valued what he said about sin in a discussion with uncle john.  uncle john wanted to know if it was a sin that he let his wife die.  casy said "well, for anyone else it was mistake but if you think it was a sin--then it's a sin.  a fella builds his own sins right up from the groun'."  this is true, we can not judge our neighbor and label their wrongdoings as sin.  we can only be responsible for ourselves, and we are the only ones who truly know what our sins are and are the only ones that can ask for forgiveness for them.

there was also a great point steinbeck made about bad mouthing parents.  in today's world, there are some many single parents and one thing that happens is the bad mouthing of the other parent.  i have talked with friends about the negative effects of it on kids.  steinbeck wrote that "it ain't good for a baby to grow up with folks a-sayin his pa ain't no good".  if kids do they will internalize what they hear and think themselves to be no-good as well.

another thing that steinbeck wanted to make clear was the fact that when people are in need it's poor people who will help them out.  ma joad told the store owner, 

"i'm learning one good thing.  learning it all the time, ever'day.  if you 're in trouble or hurt or need--got to poor people.  they're the only ones that'll help--the only ones."  

the reason for this is that poor people understand the need.   they have been down and out with no alternatives so when they see others in that situations they try to help.  my mom was homeless for a while because our house went into foreclosure, and she always tries to help others because of that situation.  Steinbeck further demonstrated this by the story of the family and their little boy that died while traveling.  the family did not have enough money to bury him, but the other poor families that were travelling gave what they could to help bury the little boy.  poor people are often seen being needy but in fact they are usually the most charitable. 

in addition to discussing class, steinbeck also discussed gender roles as well.  towards the end of the novel, ma begins to tell pa what needs to happen in order for the family to be safe.  upset by being told what to do, pa said

funny! woman takin' over the fambly.  woman sayin' we'll do this here, an' we'll gothere.  an'i don't even care. 

to which ma responded

'women can change better'n a man . . . woman go all her life in her arms.  man got it all in his head.

later on in their talk she explained, after pa said that life was over and done:

it ain't, pa.  an' that's one more thing a woman knows.  i noticed that.  man, he lives in jerks--baby born an' a man dies, an' that's a jerk--gets a farm an' loses his farm, an' that's a jerk.  woman, it's all one flow, like a stream, little eddies, little waterfalls, but the river, it goes right on.  woman looks at it like that.  we ain't gonna die out.  people is goin' on --changin' a little, maybe, but goin' right on."

maybe i'm must biased because i am woman but we are more flexible than men.  we are more easily adapt to adjust to a new situation than men.  i am not sure why this is and will save that analysis for another day.  and of course our ability to go with the flow, i'm going to say has to do with our period.  if you can endure that once a month, that you have the ability to get on life filled with hope!

perhaps the most famous quote of the grapes of wrath, was tom's joad's speech, he gave when he left his family.  he said,

then, i'll be aroun' in the dark.  i'll be ever'where--wherever you look  wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, i'll be there.  wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy.  i'll be there.   if casy knowed, why, i'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'--i'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry an' they know supper's ready.  an' when folks eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build--while, i'll be there.  see? god i'm talkin' like casy.  comes of thinkin' about him so much.  seems like I see him sometimes.   

in my high school history class, my teacher was so excited when he shared the rage against the machine song, the ghost of tom joad*.  at the time i loved me some rage against the machine, i even had a band shirt with thequote, "who controls the past now, controls the future . . ." (which i learned found out was actually from 1984, god i was such a tool in high school, lol)  but even then i didn't get the hype.  i mean i thought it was cool that rage decided to be literary in their songs but didn't see why mr. myovich was so excited about sharing it to us, to be honest, i don't recall studying the dust bowl, when he presented the song to us.  however, now as an adult and having read the grapes of wrath, i see how interesting it is that a rap rock band from the 90s decided to have such a politically charged message. 

but back to tom joad's speech, that small speech embodies the greatness of steinbeck.  his words are so simple just they speak volumes (i apologize for being so cliché but it is the best way to define his writing!)  his words are so simple but provoke profound thoughts.  if you look back through the quotes i shared, it reads like hicks talking but there is so much more to the words.

this book is truly a masterpiece and truly deserved the pulitzer.  not only is it a beautiful tale of a family and what they endure to survive, but it works on a whole other level politically about how we treat the lower classes.  this work can applied to all farm workers.  as i read, i was reminded of my grandfather and what he had to endure, not only being a farm worker but also one of color.  the migrant farmers from the midwest had to endure so much hatred that i can't imagine what the mexican and filipino farm workers had to endure since they had to deal with addition of racial prejudices.  i also tried to contextualize it for myself right now.  growing up in delano, which is a migrant farmer worker community, i can admit that i do discriminate against migrant farm workers.  not so much for taking my jobs, this may sound horrible but i always say that my grandfather toiled in the fields so that we didn't have to (meaning we should have a better life because that is what he wanted.)  but for abusing the systems that are in place to help those in need.  being in the school systems i see the amount of aid there is now for the poor and there needs to be reform.  when steinbeck wrote the grapes of wrath, there was nothing to help those in need, however, everyone now just gets a free ride from the government.  if he were to rewrite this today, it would be a different story.  yes, the joads utilized a government camp, which we saw, but we also read how they wanted to be able to make it on their own without the help the government.  if the joads were around today, they still hold tight to their morals and use government assistance to help them get on their feet as opposed to making it their lifestyle and means of income.  there is nothing wrong with working in the fields there is something wrong with abusing government assistance.  my grandfather worked kn the fields and both my grandparents worked to help support my mother and her siblings without any government hand-outs.  aide is fine as long as it is helping those that need it.  the grapes of wrath was not a call to take complete care of the lower classes but rather not to discriminate against them and allow them the opportunity to achieve their american dream. now that i think about it if steinbeck were to write this today it would be a tale of the 99 percent against the 1 percent.  

but politics aside, this is a truly wonderful book and if you have not read it, make sure to pick it up!!!

also it's banned book, for god knows why?  maybe the call to stand against a unjust government and unfair economy?  not sure, but it should not be banned but read and studied as a part of american history.  

*i just now, thanks to wikipedia discovered that this song is actually by bruce springsteen

howl and other poems. allen ginsberg. (61)

the library of congress recently released a list of 88 books that shaped america. and "howl" was one listed on it and thus i was inspired to check it out.

after reading "on the road", i decided i would have been a beat in a previous life. though i would have to be a male in that previous life cos there really wasn't a place for women among the beats, they were either sex objects or beards, plus i wouldn't want to miss out on all of the gay sex that happen between the beats. the nomadic-ness, the drugs, the rejection of post ww II conservatism and social standards, sounds glamourous but there was a dark and dirty side too but was worth the suffering.

before i start, i am not one for poetry so did not have too deep of thoughts about this so this post is not an analytical one. i loved the imagery and realized that i need to study the beats more. i will admit i did consult wikipedia for a thorough reading because i did not get any of the references. and if you read it, i suggest you do too. (ps if you want to read it, www.poets.org has it listed.)

part 1 is a look at chaos that is the beats generation, a praise of the "angelheaded hipsters" that lived as they wanted regardless of the consequences suffered. it was dirty and dangerous but also exhilarating.

the poem reads as what i what i could imagine (or would have loved) my twenties would have been if i did more drugs. it is filled with random incidents of jazzing, sexing, wandering, protesting, questioning, experimenting and living.

my favorite incident/story from the poem was:

"who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes on the windows of the skull"

which wikipedia explained to me as:

"Part of the reason Ginsberg was suspended in his sophomore year from Columbia University was because he wrote obscenities in his dirty dorm window. He suspected the cleaning woman of being an anti-Semite because she never cleaned his window, and he expressed this feeling in explicit terms on his window, by writing "Fuck the Jews", and drawing a swastika. He also wrote a phrase on the window implying that the president of the university had no testicles."

i love that story because it captured the great spirit of ginsberg.

part 2, i can admit was over my head.

part 3 is about being institutionalized which sadly was the fate of many of the free-thinkers of the time. it's sad that your unconventionality or deviant sexual behavior could resulted in shock treatment. its also horrible to think how we treat and marginalized outsiders.

all in all, it did shape america and for someone not born of the generation also romanticized it. though i am unsure i have thick enough skin to be a beat.

other poems were also included with "howl". there was a great one about walt whitman being in a california supermarket. my favorite image was "wives in the avocados! babies in the tomatoes".

there was also one about greyhound. being a frequent rider of the greyhound this was a treat and a very accurate description of the greyhound. my favorite line was "an aluminum box of human blood for Stockton" because i have actually seen human blood be delivered via the greyhound. i was at the greyhound in bakersfield, when i saw a brown box labeled "human blood" be picked up by a houchin blood bank employee.

lastly i have to share my favorite quote which is from william carlos williams' introduction:

"hold back the edges of your gowns, ladies, we are going through hell."

their eyes were watching god. zora neale hurston.

this has been on my list to read ever since high school. i "borrowed" it from my friend samantha's older sister's amy's book shelf. (amy, if you are reading this, sorry i stole your copy, send me your address so i can mail it to you, also your notes were helpful!)

so a while back flavorpill listed "30 books to read before you are 30" (link:  http://www.flavorwire.com/298020/30-books-everyone-should-read-before-turning-30?onswipe_redirect=never) and since i am turning 30, figured i should start sorting out life and read that list. (in addition to this, since i am turning 30, i have decided to create my own 30 list.)

then the library of congress came out with "88 books that shaped america" (link:  http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/books-that-shaped-america/) and i decided to check out some of the books on that list. and so lucky me because "their eyes" is on both.

i will start by saying that i had no idea that "their eyes were watching god" was the original "how stella got her groove back." and though i always admired angela bassett for her youthfulness and beauty in that movie, she is nothing compares to janie crawford. after reading, "their eyes" janie crawford was added to my canon of amazingly strong women.

when first introduced to janie, what i admired most was her self-assurance. she had just returned home and was the talk of the town but she didn't let the gossip faze her. she had gone out and lived life and all the small town-ness meant nothing in contrast because as she tells her friend pheoby, "ah been a delegate to de big 'association of life. yessuh! de grande lodge, de big convention of living' is just where ah been . . .". growing up in a small town i admire her outlook. i don't know if anyone talks trash about me but i have encountered some people who talk down to me. however, i remind myself that in the large scope of life, it doesn't matter because i have experienced things in life that they never will, so should not be insulted by their negativity.

interestingly enough, janie's self-assurance is a due to her sexuality. sexuality is a major theme of the book, especially the oppression of female sexuality. janie discovers her sexuality under a pear tree at the age of 16 and spends the rest of her life searching for the feeling she experienced under that tree. her nanny instantly recognizes and represses it by forcing janie into marriage with mist' killicks. janie then runs away from her husband with a man, joe who sparks something in her, but ends up extinguishing her flame by keeping her as a trophy wife. then joe dies and janie meets tea cake and he awakens life inside of her. but the issue is that tea cake is half her age! but janie decides that she has lived her life doing what was others expected of her but now she was going to live life for herself!

however, before you assume this is all about sex (there isn't really actual sex in it). let me explain that janie's sexuality is not simply sexual desires but a symbol for freedom. janie's search for freedom of sexual expression is actually a search for freedom from gender roles. it is like the free love movement, where sex is a means of female empowerment. where by taking ownership of our bodies, we take ownership of ourselves. and by having sex on our own terms, we redefine life for ourselves. janie discovers how to life once she learns how to truly love. this discovery of love than leads to the discovery of happiness because janie now has the power to recognize what she wants out of life.

in addition to sex, race is also a major theme. this work is a reminder of all the injustice that african-americans (esp women) have encountered in the past and still experience today. i could not help but think of hurricane katrina and kanye west's "george bush doesn't care for black people" remark while reading about the tea cake's experience with hurricane clean up. and at the risk of sounding like a pessimist, even with the progress that has been made in terms of race relations, some things stay the same.

i will add that i was surprised by the outcome of janie's trial. (spoiler alert) i had no faith in the court, well the white court to be exact. it was interesting that the remark "well, you know whut dey say 'uh white man and uh nigger woman is the freest thing on earth.' dey do as dey please" was made at the end of her trial. especially since it contradicts a remark made earlier in the book by nanny that "de nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as ah can see." however this change in perspectives is based upon the change in janie. she went from being a mule to being free all by seeking what made her happy in life.

so should you read this before 30? yes, especially if you are a woman, janie is an excellent role model. in fact, this has a spot on my 30 before 30 list.

and did this shape america? yes it's an important narrative of america from the perspective of a african-american woman.

quotations:

“when God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. then after that some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. so they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. so they covered each one over with mud. and the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another, but the mud is dead and dumb.”

“love is lak de sea. it's uh movin' thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore. ”