This is seen in how the families assist each other and bond through their struggles, in how the migrants create communities and worlds together, and in how the Joads interact with other families.
Intercalary chapter seventeen effectively demonstrates the theme of unity through the migrants’ willingness to assist each other and bond through their struggles. In this way, because they “all come from a place of sadness and worry and defeat,” they grow closer together and “share their lives, [...] the very things they hope for in the new country” (Steinbeck 193). This observation shows the families bonding over their struggles; uniting under their shared trepidations of change. Fear is a powerful motivator throughout The Grapes of Wrath. It pushes …show more content…
By giving away their valuable supplies, the migrants are showing that they now view anyone in the same situation as a member of their unified family. Migrants also use their talents and skills to boost morale around the campsites, bringing comfort to their fellow travelers. Often enough, this comes in the form of music, as they join their voices in song. Their efforts cause the camp to rally together, and as a result, “the group [is] welded to one thing, one unit, so that in the dark the eyes of the people were inward, and their minds played in other times, and their sadness was like rest, like sleep” (199). By taking comfort in despair like the line suggests, the migrants are using the music supplied by other members of the camps for a sense of comfort. Both this, as well as the migrants’ willingness to share their meager supplies amongst themselves, demonstrates that they are building up a sense of unity.
Another example in intercalary chapter seventeen that portrays how the theme of unity is growing amongst the migrants is prevalent in how they refer to their shared campsites as worlds. In a country where people are losing their land with little support to recover, the migrants feel abandoned by their government and lack the structure to hold them …show more content…
Their dedication to a brighter future in California binds them all together, the pain of moving from their homes shared by thousands of former farmers. In this way, their shared mindset further develops this belief that the people are uniting throughout their journey west. As this is a time of hardship for the migrants, the Joads meet several families on their journey that they briefly bind together with. For example, one of the first families the Joads encounter, the Wilsons, happily assists them on the way to California. Both families are benefitting from the deal, the Wilsons serving as a reminder that “[everyone] needs to help” (141) to contend with the difficult situation the Dustbowl presents. The Wilsons supply this aid by providing Grampa Joad with a comfortable place to rest in, reassuring the Joads that “[t]here’s no beholden in a time of dying” (139). Because the Wilsons lend them their supplies, the Joads, in turn, offer their services to fix the Wilson’s car, and both families join together for the journey to California. Despite their insistence that the Joads owe them nothing, Ma Joad states, “Each’ll help each, an’ we’ll all git to California” (148). The bond that the Joads and the Wilsons create lasts until Sairy Wilson is eventually too sick to continue
Intercalary chapter seventeen effectively demonstrates the theme of unity through the migrants’ willingness to assist each other and bond through their struggles. In this way, because they “all come from a place of sadness and worry and defeat,” they grow closer together and “share their lives, [...] the very things they hope for in the new country” (Steinbeck 193). This observation shows the families bonding over their struggles; uniting under their shared trepidations of change. Fear is a powerful motivator throughout The Grapes of Wrath. It pushes …show more content…
By giving away their valuable supplies, the migrants are showing that they now view anyone in the same situation as a member of their unified family. Migrants also use their talents and skills to boost morale around the campsites, bringing comfort to their fellow travelers. Often enough, this comes in the form of music, as they join their voices in song. Their efforts cause the camp to rally together, and as a result, “the group [is] welded to one thing, one unit, so that in the dark the eyes of the people were inward, and their minds played in other times, and their sadness was like rest, like sleep” (199). By taking comfort in despair like the line suggests, the migrants are using the music supplied by other members of the camps for a sense of comfort. Both this, as well as the migrants’ willingness to share their meager supplies amongst themselves, demonstrates that they are building up a sense of unity.
Another example in intercalary chapter seventeen that portrays how the theme of unity is growing amongst the migrants is prevalent in how they refer to their shared campsites as worlds. In a country where people are losing their land with little support to recover, the migrants feel abandoned by their government and lack the structure to hold them …show more content…
Their dedication to a brighter future in California binds them all together, the pain of moving from their homes shared by thousands of former farmers. In this way, their shared mindset further develops this belief that the people are uniting throughout their journey west. As this is a time of hardship for the migrants, the Joads meet several families on their journey that they briefly bind together with. For example, one of the first families the Joads encounter, the Wilsons, happily assists them on the way to California. Both families are benefitting from the deal, the Wilsons serving as a reminder that “[everyone] needs to help” (141) to contend with the difficult situation the Dustbowl presents. The Wilsons supply this aid by providing Grampa Joad with a comfortable place to rest in, reassuring the Joads that “[t]here’s no beholden in a time of dying” (139). Because the Wilsons lend them their supplies, the Joads, in turn, offer their services to fix the Wilson’s car, and both families join together for the journey to California. Despite their insistence that the Joads owe them nothing, Ma Joad states, “Each’ll help each, an’ we’ll all git to California” (148). The bond that the Joads and the Wilsons create lasts until Sairy Wilson is eventually too sick to continue