Exploration Six

 

          The character that I’m most invested in at this point is Tom because he seems to be the heart and soul of the family. I don’t think he is the glue through but he is the engine that keeps the family moving and working towards their goals. I am most invested in Tom because he reminds me somewhat of my own dad, even though my dad has never been to jail. He reminds me of my dad because sometimes my dad can be a little loose with his lips and he’ll tell you what he really thinks even though it’ll get him in trouble from time to time. My dad is the heart of the family as well, sometimes his decision making isn’t the best but what he decides to do he does it at one hundred and ten percent.

            “It was me, all right” Casy said. “You got smart with the wrong fella.”

            Mike shock his head slowly “You don’t look like the right feela to me. By God, I’m gona be sick!”

            This conflict to me is the most important because instead of Tom being jailed Casy takes the blame and goes to jail. Casy does this because he knows if Tom gets in trouble he’ll violate his parole and he’ll end right back in Oklahoma and the entire family would be helpless without Tom. This is a very respectful thing Casy did he stood up for Tom and took the blame for something he didn’t do because he knows if Tom goes to jail the entire Joad family will fade away and most likely not make it out of the depression. They lose Casy but Tom gets to stay, its not really a good thing to lose Casy but they get to keep the heart of the family so they are still alive in some respect.

            In The Grapes of Wrath we see the theme of perception of reality and the American Dream appear in the chapters nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one. At the end of chapter eighteen the Joad family arrives to California to see this beautiful green valley and it was the prettiest thing any of them had ever seen. Then they venture into the valley only to find the same thing they have had all along which is heartbreak and disgusted. They find a small shantytown with a bunch of people and people are starving to death including children and nobody can find any job. When a man comes and offers a job to the people one man questions him and then a police officer tells them that if you don’t go we’ll burn this town that you are in down so you’ll still have to go. It’s a lose-lose situation from the start. To make matters even worse they beat up the cop that threatened them and gets Casy thrown in jail. The American Dream is something all Americans have but every dream is different and that is okay, it is supposed to be that way. All’s the Joad wants is a way to survive the depression, that is their American Dream. It isn’t much of a dream but a dream none the less and when they see the valley they are sparked with hope. The hope fades though because they come to realize that even though it looks great, the same thing is happening in the valley is what is happening outside the valley. They say the grass isn’t always greener on the other side and in this case its true because they went to the other side only to find the same thing they have had all along.