The Grapes of Wrath Pages 1-121

The first twelve chapters talks basically about the impact that the dust bowl had on the farmers who lived there and their families. The Joad family was one of the families the dust bowl had a huge impact on. Tom Joad Jr. came back home from prison at a wrong time with a lot of expectations and plenty of hope. He expected to be with his family when he got back but instead he found his home and village deserted. The preacher seems to be lost in his own world that is filled with guilt. Tom Jr.'s uncle is like the preacher because he is also caught up in a web of guilt. Since his wife's death he holds himself responsible which I agree with because if it wasn't for him, his wife would still be alive. One thing I don't understand though is that the uncle feels guilty but yet he goes and commit more sins. Everyone is trying to escape from this place once known to them as home because they want to survive which the dust bowl isn't allowing them to. How do they know that in California, there is going to be all these luxurious things they saw from a flier? The author, John Steinbeck has his own different style of writing. Most of the authors that I had read in school so far, aren't really as descriptive or as detailed as he is in his writings. I like how he explains somethings in the previous chapter and then it is mentioned in the next chapter. It gives you more of an understanding to what he is trying to say and also an understanding to the events that are taking place. I have never read a book that dealt with an event that actually happened in the United States or was part of its history, so it is something new. I find it very interesting and not as boring as I thought it would be.