I have never read a novel that contains such few gains from the conflict for the main characters. Honestly, this poor family just could not get a break. It began in the very first chapter when the land owners forced the farming families to leave. As tenant farmers, they rent the land from the owners to work on it. Whatever they produce, they can save for their family and pay off the land owners. With The Dust Bowl making it impossible to grow crops, the families couldn't pay their rent. Therefore, the land owners had to take their land back. It's understandable why they did this, but what wasn't respectful was the unsympathetic way that they did it. Without warning the land owners brought in tractors ready to tear down the houses and fields. However, he families weren't going to just let them take the land. Granma Joad "blowed the headlights off that cat" with a rifle (Steinbeck 46). The conflict between the landowners and he farmers ended with the farmers losing their jobs, their homes, and their belongings. Through all these losses one gain was accomplished. The Joads were able to find strength in each other to make them a stronger family before their big journey.
California presented a number of conflicts for the family. Granma's death was the first. The family would be in trouble with the law if they didn't report the body, but all they wanted to do was bury her in the great, nourished fields of California. They had the same conflict when granpa passed away earlier in the novel. The family also had trouble when it came to jobs. They were able to find various jobs throughout the state, but none of them could provide enough money for the family to survive on. They had been lied to about the hand bills and were now suffering because of their decision to find a new life. Their hopefulness towards this new venture quickly turned into a painful regret.
[Bibliography]
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
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