In their journey to California, the Joads have to deal with the increasing reliance on technology. However, this new technology ends up being a negative thing, pushing out people from their homes and wrecking the land. The struggle between technology and nature can first be seen when a truck driver sees “the turtle and swerved to hit it” and “roll[ing] it off the highway” (Steinbeck 22). The turtle represents nature and the people, while the truck and its driver represents technology. Like the turtle, people are slowly migrating to another area. The driver pushing the turtle off the highway can be connected with the tractors and how they are moving the farmers off their land. After being hit, the turtle flipped upside down, but “little by little
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When the tractors plow across the land, the driver of one of these tractors “did not look like a man” and instead “was a part of the monster” (Steinbeck 48). Steinbeck describes the tractor as a “monster” that turns the men who drive it into something else; something inhumane and cold, like a machine, or a “robot” (Steinbeck 48) whose sole purpose is to bulldoze. A robot is a machine that typically does a repetitive task without any feeling. By becoming a “robot,” man will be separated from the land and feel nothing when wrecking it. Further emphasizing a shift in mentality, when the migrants embark on their journeys, their “thought[s] and [their] worr[ies] were not anymore with rainfall, with wind and dust, with the thrust of the crops. Eyes watched the tires, ears listened to the clattering motors, and minds struggled with oil” (Steinbeck 268). As opposed to being on the farm where nature ruled, the journey is now primarily influenced by how far one’s car can drive without breaking down. As opposed to being worried about the harvest or rain, now the people are worried about the tires or the engine. Technology is the main factor in the journey. Steinbeck tells his readers, “Listen to the motor. Listen to the wheels. Listen with your ears and with your steering wheel” (Steinbeck 162). Instead of describing the land’s sounds, Steinbeck primarily focuses on the sounds of the car, emphasizing the use of technology on the journey to
When the tractors plow across the land, the driver of one of these tractors “did not look like a man” and instead “was a part of the monster” (Steinbeck 48). Steinbeck describes the tractor as a “monster” that turns the men who drive it into something else; something inhumane and cold, like a machine, or a “robot” (Steinbeck 48) whose sole purpose is to bulldoze. A robot is a machine that typically does a repetitive task without any feeling. By becoming a “robot,” man will be separated from the land and feel nothing when wrecking it. Further emphasizing a shift in mentality, when the migrants embark on their journeys, their “thought[s] and [their] worr[ies] were not anymore with rainfall, with wind and dust, with the thrust of the crops. Eyes watched the tires, ears listened to the clattering motors, and minds struggled with oil” (Steinbeck 268). As opposed to being on the farm where nature ruled, the journey is now primarily influenced by how far one’s car can drive without breaking down. As opposed to being worried about the harvest or rain, now the people are worried about the tires or the engine. Technology is the main factor in the journey. Steinbeck tells his readers, “Listen to the motor. Listen to the wheels. Listen with your ears and with your steering wheel” (Steinbeck 162). Instead of describing the land’s sounds, Steinbeck primarily focuses on the sounds of the car, emphasizing the use of technology on the journey to