Week 7- December 10, 2007

The last chapter is written two years after Gatsby's death, or I guess one would say murder. The press fill the area surrounding Gatsby's mansion, and outrageous rumors begin to go around about how Gatsby was murdered and his "relations" with Myrtle and Wilson. Nick attempts to give Gatsby a large funeral, but all of his friends fail to show up. I think that this shows that Gatsby didn't really have any friends. The people he knew only liked him so they could go to his parties. Tom and Daisy also move away. The only people who do show up at his funeral are Owl Eyes, some of his servants, and Gatsby's dad from Minnesota.
Nick later breaks up with Jordan and moves back to the Midwest. This disappointed me because I thought that Jordan and Nick were good together. I thought that she meant more to him than just to leave her. Why didn't he bring her with or at least offer to? Before he heads back, he meets up with Tom in New York City. Tom tells Nick that he was the one who told Wilson everything and that Gatsby deserved to die. Nick decides to himself that Tom and Daisy, both, are uncaring people who destroy other's and their things, using their own money to get out of anything they need. Nick begins to remember life in the West, and thinks that compared to the East, it is full of Christmas spirit, whereas the East is very distorted.
On the night before he moves back to Minnesota, Nick lays on the beach and looks at the sky and the moon rising. He compares the dreamers and explorers trying to find America to Gatsby searching for Daisy. He imagines America's green plains and the green light from Daisy's dock. Gatsby was living the "American dream" with all of his wealth and success, but he didn't realize that his dream was over and that his goals were nothing without Daisy. Nick thinks that people are moved by their own dreams, and pictures it as boats moving across the water; struggling.

Week 6- December 5, 2007

I found this a very exciting chapter. In the beginning, Nick goes and visits Gatsby to see if there is anymore news about the day before and tells Gatsby that he should just leave Long Island so he doesn't get into trouble. Gatsby refuses to leave Daisy behind. He reveals to Nick that Daisy was the first girl that Gatsby felt really close too, and that he lied to her about where he grew up and went to school just so she would like him; and so he would feel like he measured up to her standards. He goes on to tell Nick that Daisy had promised to wait until he came back from the war, but she ended up marrying Tom. Then the gardener barges in and tells Gatsby that he had planned to empty the pool and wanted to know if he was going to. He tells his gardener not to drain it fore he hasn't even gone in it yet. Since I have already read this chapter, I know that this is forshadowing something big to come. Nick leaves because he doesn't want to be too late for work and says to Gatsby that he is worth more than any of his friends including Tom and Daisy.
Nick falls asleep while he is at work, and is awakened to the ringing of the telephone. It is Jordan, and her and Nick get into a fight because he is too distracted to even go on a date with her. I would be mad if my boyfriend did that too. Think about it, wouldn't you want your boyfriend/girlfriend to talk to you about whatever is on their mind. Jordan just wants to be filled in on the personal information in Nick's life, but Nick does not seem to be a very open guy. He keeps to himself a lot, at least with his thoughts anyways.
The book then tells us of what happened after Myrtle was killed. George Wilson stayed up talking to Michaelis, the restaurant manager. He told Myrtle that he knew about her affair and that she could not keep this sin from the eyes of God. Then the next morning when Mr. Wilson wakes up, he sees the sun shining down on Doctor T. J. Eckleburg's eyes, and he believes that they are the eyes of God. He then decides to himself that whoever killed Myrtle must have obviously been the person she was having an affair with and sets out for revenge, little does he know that he is completely wrong about who her lover is. He first looks for Tom, but knows that it could not have been Tom because Tom arrived in a different car after the accident. Wilson eventually THINKS that he figured everything out. He goes to Gatsby's mansion to get his revenge for Myrtle's death. At the mansion he see Gatsby laying on an air matress floating in the pool. Wilson shoots Gatsby and then shoots himself.
Nick quickly get back to Gatsby's, only to find Gatsby floating in his pool dead with a, I guess you would say, puddle of blood around him. Nick tries to imagine Gatsby's last thoughts, meaningless without Daisy in his life. Then he finds Wilson on the ground not to far from the pool. What I don't understand is why did Wilson kill himself? No one would have found out that he was the one who killed Gatsby, or was it because he felt guilty?

Week 5- November 28, 2007

On a very hot day, Nick travels to Tom and Daisy's house for lunch. He is somewhat surprised to find Gatsby and Jordan there as well. While they are talking over lunch, their nurse brings Daisy's baby girl. Gatsby is shocked to find out that she has a child. This also surprised me because I actually forgot that Daisy and Tom even have a child, so I couldn't imagine how much it stunned him to find this out.
Later that afternoon, Gatsby's and Daisy's love for one another becomes obvious for Tom when Daisy asked Gatsby if he wanted to go to the city with her. After Tom figures this out, he says that maybe they should all go to the city together. I found it weird that Nick, Jordan, and Tom ride in Gatsby's car, and Daisy and Gatsby ride in Tom's car. Why didn't they just take their own vehicles? I also don't think that this helped with the fact that Gatsby and Daisy are trying to hide their "relationship" because this only makes it more apparent to Tom that they are in love. They all stopped at Wilson's for gas. At this time, they find out that Wilson knows about Myrtle's affair, but he does not know who her secret lover is. Nick realizes that Wilson and Tom are in the same situation because both of them know that their wives are having an affair. Also, Tom and Gatsby are in the same situation because they are the secret lovers that Myrtle and Daisy are attempting to hide. So I don't think that Tom has the right to do anything about Daisy and Gatsby even though he knows about it because he is doing the same thing.
They go to a suite at the Plaza Hotel, and it is there that Gatsby reveals Daisy and his relations. He says to Tom that Daisy loves him, not Tom. Also Nick realizes that it is his 30th birthday. On their way back to East Egg, Nick, Tom, and Jordan come upon a car accident. The Greek guy who runs the all-night restaurant beside Wilson's tells them that Myrtle was in it. It was a hit-and-run. Nick thinks that she was probably hit by Gatsby and Daisy coming back from the city in Gatsby's car. Tom assumes that Wilson will remember the yellow car and that Gatsby was the one driving.
At Tom's house, Gatsby is hiding in the bushes, and he tells Nick that Daisy was driving and hit Myrtle. I think that Daisy hit Myrtle on purpose because she knew about her affair.

Week 4- November 20, 2007

In chapter 6, we finally learn the truth about Gatsby. He was not what everyone expected him to have been. Gatsby grew up on a farm in North Dakota. He went to school, but soon dropped out because he had to do janitor's work to pay for college. The next summer, he worked fishing for salmon and digging for clams. I didn't that would be such a bad job. I mean seriously, getting paid to fish. That would be awesome. One day, he rowed out to a yacht to tell the man that a storm was coming. The man that owned the yacht made Gatsby his personal assistant. Gatsby soon became wealthy, and he absolutely loved it. Also, Gatsby had to watch his "boss" while he was drunk so he didn't do anything stupid. This caused Gatsby not to drink. His boss died and left Gatsby quite a bit of money, but was not allowed to claim it due to the man's mistress. Gatsby then decided he was going to become a successful man. I did not expect that Gatsby was from such a poor family. I figured that he was born that way and had everything since he was young. He seems like a very elegant guy for growing up poor.
Nick goes over to Gatsby's house and finds Tom there too. But Tom is only there because he was out riding around with the Sloanes, and they stopped at Gatsby's. He invites then to dinner, but instead he ends up going with them out to eat. What Gatsby does not know is that Tom is becoming suspicious of Daisy seeing Gatsby so much, but he does not realize their love YET.
The next weekend, there is another party at Gatsby's. This time, Tom and Daisy attend. Tom merely went to keep an eye on Daisy and Gatsby. Nick does not have a good time and neither does Daisy, and this make Gatsby feel bad. Gatsby says that he wants everything to be the way it was before he went to war. He wants Daisy and Tom to break up so he can be with Daisy. Nick tells him that he can't bring back the past, but Gatsby says that money can do anything. I didn't like when Gatsby said that because money doesn't bring true happiness. True happiness comes from love, and love cannot be bought.

Week 3- November 14, 2007

In the beginning of chapter 5, Nick returns home after another wonderful date with Jordan. Gatsby's mansion is very brightly lit up, yet no one seems to be in it. As Nick is walking up to his house, Gatsby scares him. Gatsby seems to be in a good mood, or at least a very good mood towards Nick. Nick finds out that Gatsby is being this nice to him because he wants Nick to set up a tea date and invite Daisy over. Ecstatic that Nick will go along with him, Gatsby offers Nick a chance to make some money, but Nick declines. I think that this part shows a side of Gatsby that is sensitive and somewhat overwhelmed with feelings for Daisy that he has not been able to let out for a long time.
The day that they have tea, it rains. I think that this is foreshadowing something terrible to come. That Gatsby and Daisy meeting again is a bad idea. Then when Daisy arrives, I don't understand why does Gatsby leave and walk around the house in the rain just to come in the front door. I found that quite unusual, unless he wanted it to seem like he was just stopping by for a visit and Daisy happened to be there at that particular time.
At first, Gatsby thought that this "reunion" was a terrible mistake because everything seemed to be going wrong. Then after the rain stops and Nick leaves, Daisy and Gatsby have a great time. I think that the rain stopping is a sign of hope. That there is hope for Gatsby and Daisy still being together. Gatsby invites Nick and Daisy to his house and tells Daisy of the nights that he dreams about being with her and being happy for the rest of his life. They listen to the piano, and Nick leaves, realizing that he has been forgotten. He leaves Daisy and Gatsby alone. I think that this part of the book is a major turning point because I think that this will be the cause of many major events to come.

Week 2- November 7, 2007

At the beginning of Chapter 3, Gatsby throws another party like he does about every weekend. But what I don't understand is that if Jay Gatsby has so many parties and a lot of people come to them, then why does nobody really know anything about him? I figure that he must be really secretive or not very social even though he is the host of the parties. I don't know, that just confuses me. But I am guessing that a lot more about Mr. Gatsby will be uncovered because of all of the speculations and rumors going around about him.
Nick gets invited to one of his parties. At the party, he meets up with Jordan Baker whom he met when he went to the Buchanans'. Later that night, Nick and Jordan are sitting at a table outside when the man sitting next to Nick say that he recognizes him. Nick finds out that it is Jay Gatsby, and they serve in the war together. They talk for a long while, and Nick becomes fascinated with Gatsby. I found this very ironic because earlier that evening Jordan and Nick went looking for their host to see what he is like, and later they meet him anyways. I guess it's just one of those things that was meant to happen.
In chapter four, Gatsby tells Nick about his life. He says that he is the son of wealthy, deceased parents from the Midwest. I didn't understand this part because he says that he is from the Midwest, but when Nick asks him what city, he says San Francisco. The last time the I checked, San Francisco wasn't in the Midwest. So does this mean that Gatsby just doesn't know his places or does it mean that he is actually lying?
As Nick and Gatsby are driving through the valley of ashes, a policeman pulls him over for speeding. Gatsby shows the officer a white card, and the officer apologizes and allows them to continue driving. After eating lunch with Gatsby and his friend, Meyer Wolfshiem, Nick sees Jordan. She tells him about her mysterious talk with Gatsby. She said the Gatsby told her that he is in love with Daisy. Gatsby tells her that Daisy was a beautiful girl in Kentucky and that all of the military men were in love with her, but Daisy fell in love with Jay Gatsby. After Jay left for the war she chose to marry Tom. Jordan also added that Gatsby bought his mansion on West Egg only to be by Daisy. At the end of this chapter, they plan to reunite Gatsby and Daisy.
This was a lot of information to take in and comprehend, in what seemed like such a short amount of time. For some reason it made me somewhat suspicious of Gatsby because it seems to me like he made up everything. I don't know why, but I don't believe a lot of what he says because if what he says is true then how come nobody else knows anything about him?

Week 1- October 31, 2007

"Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." This quote, by the narrator's father, will be significant throughout the entire book. In my opinion, it means that just because someone doesn't have as many material possessions as you do, does not mean that you should make fun of or comment about them. In speaking about them, all you will do is misunderstand them.
In the beginning of the book, I was very confused. I didn't begin to understand the book much until I read the first chapter. Then it became a little easier to follow. Nick Carraway, the narrator of the book, tells us that in the summer of 1922, he moves to New York from Chicago to work in the bond business. He lived in a house located in West Egg, which is on Long Island. Unlike East Egg, West Egg was for people who weren't familiar with the area or the people. Nick knew many of the people from East Egg and graduated from Yale, yet he still dwell in West Egg. This house that Nick lives in is neighbor to the Gatsby mansion.
Nick goes to visit two of his friends, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, that live on East Egg. When Nick arrives there, Tom is on the porch, and Daisy and her friend, Jordan, are sitting on the couch. They have dinner, and as Nick is leaving, Tom and Daisy hint for him to get together with Jordan. When Nick gets home he sees Gatsby standing on the lawn reaching for the water and a green light towards the end of the dock.
As Tom and Nick are on the train to New York City, Tom gets Nick to follow him at on the the stops. He leads Nick to George Wilson's garage. Tom's lover is George Wilson's wife, Myrtle. Tom makes fun of Wilson, and then Tom, Nick, and Myrtle take the train the rest of the way to New York City to an apartment that he keeps for his affair. While there, the couple that lives downstairs, the McKees, and Catherine, Myrtle's sister join them. They drink a lot and Nick says that it is the second time that he has ever gotten drunk. Nick then tries to leave, but becomes fascinated by the way the others are acting. Myrtle becomes very loud and obnoxious, and she begins to talk about Daisy. Tom tells her to stop, but Myrtle says that she will talk about whoever she wants whenever she wants and repeats Daisy's name. Tom breaks her nose, and this ends the party immediately. Nick leaves drunk and takes the train back to West Egg on Long Island.

Chapters 27-30

In chapter 27, they begin picking cotton, but in order to pick the cotton and make any money they are to purchase a bag. Also the men who weigh the bags change the scales to make sure that the workers don't make the amount of money that they are supposed to.
In chapter 28, the Joads finally have enough money from picking cotton to buy clothes and food, and they now live in a boxcar near a stream. Ruthie gets into an argument for showing everyone her Cracker Jacks and tells that Tom is hiding because he committed a murder. That night, Ma finds Tom in the woods. She wants Tom to take seven dollars and ride the bus to get away. Tom tells Ma that he is going to do what Casy had done, and he promises her that he will return. When Tom was gone, it began to rain and Ma went back to the boxcar. There, Al and Aggie announce to their families that they are going to get married. The next morning, they go out before sunrise to pick cotton. Many other families are out there already and it begins to rain causing Rose of Sharon to get sick.
In chapter 29, it continues to rain. It hurts many car, tents, and other shelters. There were relief shelters open during the storms, but one was not allowed to get relief unless they had lived in California for at least one year. Because of the storms, there would also be no work for at least three months. Many families began to starve, begging for food.
In chapter 30, it continues to rain, and Pa is afraid that the stream will flood so he and some other men try to build a damn. Also at this time, Rose of Sharon goes in labor, making it impossible for the Joads to leave with the Wainwrights. The water rushes through the damn, so Al, Pa, and Uncle John hurry to the car only to find that it will not start and Rose of Sharon gave birth to a stillborn. Unle John places the baby in an apple box in the stream and lets it float downstream. They begin building a flat surface on top of the car. The water continues to rise, and they remain on top of the car until they find shelter inside of a barn. In the barn, there is a starving man and boy. Ma orders everyone else to leave, and Rose of Sharon breast feeds them.
Throughout this book, everything just kept getting worse and worse, showing us no hope until the end. Rose took care of the man even after she just lost her child. This shows us the hope and how important family truly is.

Chapter 26

During this chapter, the family cannot find work near Weedpatch so they must pack up and leave. After Tom tells them of the work near Marysville, they head north, where the cotton is about ready to be harvested, and stay at the Hooper Ranch, which is much less comfortable than Weedpatch. The family soon begins to fall apart. Pa makes a comment about how women seem to be in control, and it might be time to get the stick out. Ma hears this and explains to him that the control has changed because the men no longer provide for the family like they are supposed to. After this, Ma become the head of the household.
Al becomes preoccupied with finding a girl to settle down with, along with a steady job as a mechanic. Rose becomes fearful of her child, and thinks that the murders her brothers committed will scar her baby for life. This shows us in some way how Rose is like Mrs. Sandry, the woman who told Rose not to hug-dance or act because it was sin and she would lose her baby.
A store near Hooper Ranch, has raised prices because it is the only store near the ranch where the workers can purchase groceries. Besides that, the wages are high enough to raise the prices because of a recent strike. While Tom is walking to the store, he is joined with Jim Casy again. Casy was released from jail and is now an activist who has found his religious side again. He is with a group of men that are also on strike. At this time, the police meet Tom, Casy, and the strikers. One of the men hits Casy in the head with a pick handle. This angers Tom, and he begins to fight with the man. He gets the pick away from the man and hits him with it, killing him. Tom leaves immediately.
Because of Tom's "heroic" act, Tom must leave Hooper Ranch so as not to get captured by the police. Tom wants to flee the area by himself but Ma will not let him split up the family anymore.

Chapters 22-25

At the beginning of what I was reading, Ma seems to be rather suspious about the camp manager when he comes over to have a cup of coffee. I don't understand why Ma talks to him as though she is trying to protect something. Is it because of all of the other cops and everyone else who act superior to them? Another event that I didn't really understand or found weird was when a woman walks up to Rose of Sharon and tells her not to hug-dance or act because other pregnant women who did that lost their baby. Rose gets worried, but the camp manager tells her that the woman just tells other people things like that to make them miserable and that the two women lost their babies because they were weak and didn't have enough to eat. At the end of the day, Al, Uncle John, and Pa come back to the camp and have to found jobs yet even though Tom had.
At this camp there is a lot of music and dancing, especially on Saturday night when they have their weekly dance. On that night, the Farmers' Association planned to start a riot on purpose just to get the camp shut down. Someone on the camp committee hires someone to watch for anything unusual that could start a riot. Tom and some other men see a couple of suspicious men. When one of the men tries to dance with another man's date, the men are evicted from the camp.
Chapter 25 talks about how beautiful California is in the spring.

Chapters 20-22

After Connie and Rose were done talking, Connie ran off and nobody has seen him since. Where did he go and why did he leave? I think that the purpose of Connie within the novel was to show that sometimes women are stronger than men because Connie ran away from the problem. I don't think that was the true purpose of Connie, but I can't figure out what it is.
Also, I don't understand why exactly Jim Casy "took the wrap" for something that he didn't do. Did he just feel like he had to because they took him along and fed him? Or did he really feel that he was no use and it would be better for the family if he was the one to go? Personally, I think that Casy, being a preacher at one time, knew the right to do and was compelled to do it, even though he may not have wanted to. I think that since Casy was a preacher, it shaped him into the man he is now, and even though he says that he doesn't know who he is praying to, deep down I think he knows exactly who he is praying to. He just may have been mislead at one time because he felt that sin was weighing him down like he was talking about at the beginning of the book.
Now Uncle John is a different story. Ever since Uncle John's wife died, he feels like his sins will never go aways because he think that it was his fault. So even when the children are all crowded around the campfire hoping that they will get some food, he can't eat because he feels bad for them. And then after Casy turned himself in for something that he didn't do, Uncle John felt like he had to tell the family his sin of keeping five dollars to himself so he could get drunk. Pa told him that it wasn't anymore sin than anything that they'd done. So Uncle John gave Pa the five dollars and told Pa to give him back two dollars because he said that it would be enough. So Uncle John went across the street and bought some whiskey and walked down the river while drinking. Tom had to go find him, so they could move to the nicer government place because the camp that they were at was going to get burned.

Chapters 18-20

As the book continues with chapter 18, the two families are just getting through the mountains and travel through the desert without any unusual or noticeable problems. When they get through the desert successfully, they enter a greener area and find a river to camp beside. After unpacking the tents and cooking supplies, the men walk down stream and bath in the river. I found this rather funny, how they were so open with themselves and took off their clothes. We would call this "skinny-dipping," and most people wouldn't do that anymore. The men found this very relaxing. Then a man and his son come along and join them. They speak of how they are going back home because they can't find work, and how it would be better to die at home. The Joads seem to shrug off this comment that the man made, and still go on thinking that they have a better life ahead of them. The men leave the river, and as they are going to take naps, Noah tells Tom that he is going to stay behind. Tom tells him that he can't, and Noah says that he is going to find a line and catch fish on the river because nobody really wants him around anyways. Tom realizes that it is no use arguing with him, so Tom watches Noah walk further downstream until he can't see him anymore. During this part, I didn't understand why Tom didn't go with him. He probably knows that Noah will be better off than they will be because of what everyone has said. What is the point of going on if you aren't going to find anything better?
Back at the tents, Granma's health is getting worse and worse, but Ma is in complete denial and claims that she is just really tired, and if she gets some sleep she will be fine. Not long after, a policeman arrives at the tent and tells Ma that they have to be gone by tomorrow. All the men return, except Noah, and they begin to pack up. Mr. Wilson comes to speak to Casy because his wife wants to talk to him in their tent. Sairy tells Casy, the ex-preacher, to pray for him because she knows that they can't travel on with them, and it won't be long before she dies. The Joads leave the Wilsons behind with some money and head for the valleys. At this point, I really realized that if there were more people like the Joads on this earth at this time, then they would be better off, and I think that they would be happy even if they didn't have everything or even close to everything that they need.
On their night drive, they are stop for an inspection, but Ma tells them that Granma is in desperate need of medical attention. The policeman looks at her and allows them to move on. At the time, Ma knew that Granma was already dead, but she did not want the policeman to find out. So when they arrive at Hooverville she tells the rest of the family, and since they don't have a lot of money left, they drop Granma's body off at the coroner's office.
Also in Hooverville, they find a camp to stay for the night. Many other hungry families are staying here and they speak about how they can't get any work. One man talks to Tom and tells him that when the police are around he should act "bull-simple" so as not to be suspected of anything. Tom does not understand why people just don't rebel, and the man tells him that anyone caught doing this would be drug off by the police. Other men who attempt to are put on a list so that they will never be able to find work.
In one of the tents, Connie and Rosasharn are talking, and Connie tells her that they should have stayed in Oklahoma where he could have studies tractors. She tells him that he is planning on studying radios, and that she won't have the baby in a tent. Connie leaves the tent, and Rose of Sharon puts her thumb in her mouth, using it as a gag, and cries. Outside of the tent, Ma cooks stew while many hungry children crowd around it. Ruth gets jealous of another older girl and keeps eyeing her.

The Devil's Temptations

As quoted by an anonymous source, “We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.” For me, this was particularly true of my presently fifteen year old cousin and best friend. I have learned an immense amount from her, and she has definitely taken a different path that no one thought she would. Because of that, she has been an amazing influence on my life. Indirectly, she has unquestionably been the best teacher of life lessons to me.

She has been through a lot for being only fifteen, from cutting to drugs to alcohol to prostitution, and through all of her inner battles and current struggles she has taught me a lot. Although she is a year younger than me, I have learned, in my opinion, the most important life lessons from her just by watching everything that she has gone through and is currently going through. Ever since I can remember, I have looked up to my cousin, but at the time I didn’t know what she was getting herself into. She was popular and friendly; I couldn’t understand how she could be doing those things to herself.

I just recently found out how bad she had gotten. I did not know anything that had been going on for the past couple months; and who would’ve known that so much can happen in such little time? It was just a year ago that she was cheerful all the time and everyone loved to be around her. Now she is high a majority of the time, and she has become a completely different person; someone that no one wants to be around. It still baffles me; how my best friend could be purposely hurting herself? Wow! I can’t believe it. She went from cutting at the age of ten to piercing herself. Then she began going to parties, drinking, and doing drugs, until she became addicted. A drug addict? My cousin? No way!! But sadly, it was all true. She had every kind of drug imaginable… meth, acid, pot, cocaine, ecstasy, and at one point she even tried to snort her mother’s ADD medication in an effort to get high. She was rushed to the hospital, and the doctors were astonished that she lived. After that she had to find a way to get money to pay for her own drugs, therefore she lowered herself all the way to prostitution.

Cutting, piercing, drugs, prostitution, …this went on for many months, and her mother didn’t do anything to get her help. She was in total denial that her own daughter could be doing such horrid things. Finally, her mother began sending her to a psychologist once a week. After a few sessions, the psychologist came to the conclusion that she would have to be put into an inpatient treatment center to overcome the drugs and addictions.

At the present time, she is in a lock down facility in Minnesota getting detox and rehab, and surprisingly she went without a fight because she realized that she needed help. She knew that defeating something like this by herself would be much too difficult.

Now, after seeing and hearing everything that she has gone through and is still going to face, I now know that drugs don’t just kill a person; they kill an entire family and their relationships. I know this from first-hand experience, and as much as it has hurt and tore us all apart to see everything that she has done and gone through, I understand that it was, in some instances, a good thing because it has definitely strengthened my bond with the rest of my family. This past year has been such an emotional time for the whole family, and now our relationships are so much better. Even though we have learned the hard way, we now know that we can’t hide anything from each other without someone getting hurt. My cousin saved her own life and part of mine because she knew that she couldn’t keep living like that. She realized what it was doing to her family and friends and that we truly care about her, but when she began doing drugs she didn’t believe that. Now she knows of all of the love that her family has for her and will soon be back to herself, the person that I loved before any of this happened because drugs changed her into “something” that none of her true friend wanted to be around. She has taught me the most important life lesson that I believe I will ever learn. She taught me that “love conquers all,” and it is completely true.

Chapters 16-17

This section only consists of two chapters because they were so long, yet nothing extraordinary happened. The Joads and Wilsons are now travelling together. During the drive, Al is driving the Wilsons' car, and Ma and Rose of Sharon are sitting next to him. Rose of Sharon begins to talk about what it will be like in California, and she says how she wants to live in town where Connie, her husband, can study nights, something like radio. They can have their baby in a hospital, have their own house, and everything will be picture perfect.
Then, as they are driving down the highway, the Wilsons' car breaks down for the second time. Tom has the idea that him and Al can stay behind and fix it while the rest of the family keeps heading west to California, and they will meet them there. Ma does not like this idea at all and refuses to do this. So instead, the family, except for Al, Tom, and Casy, travel to a small campsite that is 50 cents a day and has water. Tom and Al go to the nearest town to find a bearing and other needed supplies, while Casy stays back with the car. They reach a sort of shed building, and a man with only one eyes walks out. Tom tells the man about how they need to find parts for their car so they can keep going, and the man tells them that they can take anything that they want because his boss is a "son-of-a-bitch." He uses this phrase repetitively to describe his boss. Tom and Al get the parts that they need and drive back to the car where Casy is waiting patiently.
Back at the camp, Pa talks to a somewhat friendly man and tells him that he is heading to California with his family to look for work. The man laughs at him and tells him that he will never find work in California. Pa worries about what the man says, but Casy calms him and tells him that he shouldn't worry.

Chapters 11-15

Chapter 11 begins by telling us about how the relationship between farmers and their land is becoming less and less because the farmers don't actually live on the land. They no longer have a deep understanding of it. With everyone moving to California, there aren't many people left to take care of the land like it should be. Many of these farmers and there families struggle to make it from gas station to gas station and begin to worry that the land ahead of them is not really what it is said to be. Multiple people tell the travelling families that the country is not large enough to support everyone's need and to go back where they came from, yet the families move onward.
In Chapter 13, the Joads stop at a service station where a fat man harrasses them about not having money to pay for gas, and he says that everyone who stops there begs him to trade a gallon of gas for something that they have such as shoes, mattresses, dolls, etc. While they are getting water and resting at this service station, their dog is hit by a car and the only people that seem to show any emotion for it is Rose of Sharon and the kids. Rose worries that seeing a sight that is so horrifying will harm her baby, but Ma and Connie reassure her. The fat man agrees to bury the dog, and the family begins on there journey again.
As it gets dark, they stop on the side of the road next to the Wilsons. Grampa starts acting strange so the Wilsons let him rest in their tent. Before long, he passes away of a stroke. So they bury him there with a letter that says who he is and how he died, and Jim Casy says a few words in his honor.

Chapters 7-10

These chapters helped to put more of the pieces together. It made it easier to relate one thing to another, and we got to know a lot more of the characters, like all of Tom's family. My favorite character thus far is Grampa because he is stubborn and has an odd way of being funny, even though he doesn't mean to be. Ma said that he was swearing more, and she thought it was because he wanted to show off. I did not particularly like the way that the women seemed to be placed so much lower than men because from the way I saw it women did just as much work, if not more, than men did. Yet they always seemed to be the last to give their opinion about certain matters, or they wouldn't speak at all like during the family meeting the only woman to talk was Ma and that was not until the end of the meeting. Another thing that I noticed was that the automobile salesmen basically cheated other folks out of their money. I know that it is probably the only way that they get money, but I think it is rude that they try to get every penny out of someone even if it is for a piece of junk, and in most cases it was. Altogether, I am beginning to like this book a lot better, but some of the chapters that jump around tend to confuse me at times.

Chapters 1-6

In the beginning of the book, I thought that the description was wonderful, but at the same time it made it too long and rather boring. As the book went on, though, I got more interested and in some parts I actually wanted to keep reading. What confused me was the chapter about the turtle!! I didn't understand why that chapter was put in there, it didn't seem to fit. It kind of threw me off of the whole subject of Tom Joad and his "quest." My personal favorite part of these chapters was when Jim Casy, the ex-preacher, and Tom were talking. I thought it was interesting how so much had happened since Tom was put in McAlester, and how Tom spoke about how he liked it there because he ate at a certain time and always kept busy. But he also said that it was very hard because there were only men there, no women, which made thing much harder. All-in-all the book seems to be getting more interesting, and I don't think it is quite as bad as it was in the beginning.