Tuesday 9 October 2012

The Grapes of Wrath, Part One: "'You're bound to get idears if you go thinkin' about stuff.'"

Good lord. I haven't read The Grapes of Wrath for 3 years (basically exactly, the last time I read it in October too) and returning to it is always a teeny bit nerve-wracking- is it going to be like I remembered it? Will it toy with ALL my emotions? Will I still want to hug all the Joads and tell them it'll all be ok, even if I'm not sure it will be?

Well, in a word, yes. I'm so... I'm still BLOWN away by the writing, even on this, what, fourth or fifth reading, and I'm still in love with everything about it! And I'm only a quarter of the way through, with SEVEN pages of quotes under my belt. And it's not like I can just write down little sentences, it's like, massive chunks of text that I just find completely perfect. DAMN Steinbeck, just show everyone else up, why don't you?!

I really am. And now I have to say more things about it? Whuuuut?!

Ok. So, to take it from the beginning-esque, I really love how Tom is introduced, in that for that entire chapter, you don't know anyone's name and the story could equally be about either Tom OR the truck driver, and THEN you find out Tom's a murderer and it's like 
Oh SHIT, now I have to have sympathy for a murderer? But obviously it's all ok because, you know, self-defence and all. And he wasn't even carrying a weapon! The 1930s prosecution system is a JOKE!

And then we meet the Preacher. Or rather the former Preacher. And I have to tell you, I kind of love Jim Casy! In spite of his... not so good activities with what seem to be kind of young girls (I mean, not like the KIDS. But maybe still-in-their-teens girls, when he seems like he's more like Tom Snr's age) he's clearly the philosophical centre of the book, the character who wants to make things different, and who has stopped looking at the heavens so he can focus on things actually happening on earth. I, of course, love his new found kind-of-atheism, but also that, in spite of this, he's also the most deep thinking, and, in his own way, moral character. It's never really occurred to me before (or it has and I've forgotten) but Casy seems kind of like a substitute for Steinbeck for me at the moment- he wants to help do something for all the displaced people, which is exactly what Steinbeck was trying to do with this book.

And I'm sure the Cult-of-Wilkie ladies will agree, Casy is clearly a hottie:
"[His] was an abnormally high forehead, lined with delicate blue veins at the temples. Fully half of the face was above the eyes."
 Amazing.

Can we talk about some of Steinbeck's descriptions please? Because, honestly, I was swooning all over myself while I was reading Grapes, because I've apparently been starved of Steinbeck for a long time! And by, 'can we talk about it', what I really mean is, here are some quotes from this first part that I really really liked:

"It was a long head, bony, tight of skin, and set on a neck as stringy and muscular as a celery stalk."

"Her hazel eyes seemed to have experienced all possible tragedy and to have mounted pain and suffering like steps into a high calm and a superhuman understanding."

"And her joy was nearly like sorrow."
Jesse is excited by your awesome writing.

There are so so so many things that I haven't even brought up yet, so I sure hope everyone's focused on different things as we normally do so that everything gets said! For my part, I just want to talk about two more things: Ma, and those teeny chapters that aren't exactly about the Joads.

I love Ma. I think she's fantastic, and even though the men think they're in charge, and do get to make the decision, Ma is the one who turns their decisions into actions. About the only quote I didn't write down is something like 'women are always tired', which is not said so much as a criticism as a compliment to all that they do to keep their families working, and together. She seems like the paradigm of a mother figure, and I know that this:
"She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone."
Kiiind of makes me think of my own mother, so... She's pretty important! 

And now, the teeny chapters. I think it would be really easy to read them and go '... well, how is that relevant?' and it's true that these chapters aren't exactly about the Joads, except that they ARE about the Joads, as well as every other family and people displaced by the actions of evil capitalist overlords. Whilst the chapters about the Joads mean that you can be empathetic to one particular story, these in-between chapters mean that you can be FURIOUS about the entire situation. Especially the capitalist overlords.

I also think that they contain some of Steinbeck's BEST writing, but that's neither here nor there. Unless you're reading a book, which oh look, we are! 

"How can we live without our lives? How will we know it's us without our past? No. Leave it. Burn it.
They sat and looked at it and burned it into their memories. How'll it be not to know what land's outside the door? How if you wake up in the night and know- and know the willow tree's not there? Can you live without the willow tree? Well, no, you can't. The willow tree is you. The pain on that mattress there- that dreadful pain- that's you."
 There is SO much more to say, but if I don't stop here, I almost definitely never will. Link up your posts below, pretties, so I can say more in excruciatingly detailed comments, probably involving quotes. Don't say I don't do anything for you!

43 comments:

  1. Most of those little chapters, I'm like "Oh, that was weird, but I kinda see what he was doing there." The only one I really disliked was the car salesman one... I get the point behind it, but it was tedious.

    And I did like the ode to women and mother figures, that was nice. It's cool that even though everyone relied on the men to figure stuff out, everyone SUBCONCIOUSLY relied on Ma to be strong and hold everyone together.

    And LMAO about Casey = Wilkie. Casey is okay I suppose... I do like that he's kind of turned away from God and wants to focus on helping people, but he's also a bit hippie-ish for my tastes... so we'll see how that goes.

    I'm actually happy that it's Tuesday so that I can start reading the next section soon... well played, Laura. I think I'm liking it so far!

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    1. Agreed about the car salesman chapter - could have been fewer pages. But still good! And I love all the rest of it.

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    2. I see what Steinbeck was doing with the car salesman chapter. AND I see why NO ONE liked it. It is a bit overdone (you don't know how it HURTS to admit a flaw in Grapes! IT STINGS!)

      Casy is totally a hippy, and I LOVE that about him. Cause this is where we diverge it seems, Sarah!

      And Ma! MAAAAAAA! She is so amazing. And they don't even KNOW!

      I'm excited that you're excited to keep reading! I love that feeling :D

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  2. LAURA WHY MUST WE DISAGREE ALL THE TIME

    I hadn't even THOUGHT of the Wilkie comparison. Damn, it's like I'm not even IN the Cult of Wilkie. How very embarrassing.

    Ma is great, Tom I do not like, but oh shit, I forgot to mention Al in my post. I'm all over Al, mainly because of his boots.

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    1. Ohhhhh Al...billy-goatin' around the country. I like him too.

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    2. I DON'T KNOW ALICE, MAYBE BECAUSE YOU'RE WRONG ALL THE TIME. Or... something slightly less mean. Maybe. *pouts*

      Apparently I'm very sensitive to forehead mentions, I don't know! All I know is that I'm sad I just completely ignored the PIG EATING THE FREAKING BABY! It's like I don't even want to mention things that are RIDICULOUS!

      I like Tom a lot (not as much as Ma) but it's probably worth remembering that having read this before probably has had an effect on this. Because I can't think of anything specific that I like about Tom from this section. Although nothing I DISLIKE, either!

      I thought I didn't like Al, but then when he got all cute and serious and explainy I was like 'awwww, you're ok, kid!' He takes his responsibilities seriously, is what I think.

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  3. And now I'm going to picture Casey as Wilkie for the rest of the book. Excellent. I will also assume he's telling the kids stories about moonstones and ladies in white.

    "Ma is the one who turns their decisions into actions" - Yes, this. I love Ma. She is the best. I fear for her. I fear for all of them but I like her the best so, yeah.

    The teeny chapters are my favorite part so far. Besides Ma. Teeny chapters, then Ma. Yeah, yeah they aren't about the main plot BUT they give you the context. And as you said, the writing there is SO GOOD.

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    1. Casy is surely a Wilkie fan. Since he's not so much a fan of God anymore, it seems like WILKIE is the next logical step (I actually typed Wilkie in capitals there by accident.HA!)

      Oh dude, you should so fear for them. Don't stop doing that. Ma IS very worrisome though, because what if she falls and then the family BREAKS APART and OMG what will become of everyone?!

      The teeny chapters writing is the best. The BEST. And Steinbeck can go off on one in a completely eloquent way and it's great and SHUT UP ALICE AND JUST ENJOY THE FREAKING WRITING!

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    2. I DIDN'T LIKE THE WRITING THERE THAT IS THE POINT

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  4. YES to Casy = Wilkie! Too right. A sizable forehead is always a good sign. I wouldn't call Casy an atheist, though. I think he's still an agnostic-leaning Christian? Though that will probably change with all the horrible things that are bound to happen?

    The WRITING. I don't think I've stopped to say "Damn" so much, like, ever.

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    1. I guess.... Look, I just want to think that Casy is an atheist now because he's SEEN THE LIGHT and it contains only human love. But you're probably right about the agnosticism, because people that are THAT sure in their beliefs (like atheists. And theists) don't go on about it so much. (I say this with LOVE!)

      *claps at the awesome awesome writing* and YAY for having to STOP, it's so good!

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  5. Yeeees...Ma made me want to squeeze my mom, too. Moms are pretty great.

    I'm a little torn over the teeny chapters. I get their purpose, and they ARE beautifully written...but I kind of feel like Steinbeck is manipulating my emotions a little bit. Oh wait, is THIS how you feel about The Book Thief? Because I think I get it now.

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    1. THE BOOK THIEF IS A BEAUTIFUL WORK OF BEAUTIFULNESS

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    2. I don't get the teeny chapters (although they didn't feel so teeny when I was reading them). They all ended in WTF for me.

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    3. Mums are the best. For reals.

      Oh my GOD, this is so how I feel about The Book Thief, although frankly I don't think The Book Thief should even come up in the same breath as Steinbeck because IT IS NOT WORTHY. I guess... I might feel like the little chapters were manipulating my emotions if I didn't already wholly agree with everything they said in their entirely eloquent ways? Yeah, that.

      The Book Thief is just horrible and manipulative and repeated everything about 7 billion times and then STOLE MY TEARS in that way that it did. UGH

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    4. Hooooold on there, lady. So the Great Depression is inherently sad, but THE HOLOCAUST isn't?

      Although you're totally right about Steinbeck being a way better writer than Zusak. But it would be hard to write about EITHER event without appearing a little emotionally manipulative because you really can't write about either without highlighting the atrocities inherent therein. I can't even SEE a picture of Anne Frank without convulsively sobbing for 10 minutes. They alllll deserve our tears.

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    5. Woah woah woah! I don't think that the Great Depression is any more inherently sad than the Holocaust! I mean... turn that around and that's probably more what I think about that!

      It's that... I feel like Steinbeck is raising political things that I'm completely on board with and like being angry about capitalism and stuff which I am so on board with. Whereas Zusak was like 'This is going to happen and I'm telling you it's going to happen, are you listening, it's going to happen' and I'm like SO MAKE IT HAPPEN WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG!

      Also, TECHnically that book was only about 20% about the Holocaust. Just sayin

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    6. IT IS ABOUT THE JOURNEY

      Also I like how this somehow turned into a Holocaust discussion.

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    7. I know! I can't even cope with all the bad things! *weeps, curls up in a ball*

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    8. I see your reasoning for not liking the Zusak, Laura. I definitely see it.

      Leave it to us to make Grapes of Wrath MORE depressing by bringing in the Holocaust. I like it better when we're just making all the characters gay. Let's go back to that.

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    9. PHEW! *stops defending hatred of The Book Thief, relaxes*

      Let's never mention the Holocaust again! Except maybe if we need to if we read Maus or something (now THAT'S the best thing about the Holocaust I've ever read. And it makes me WEEP, in a non-resentful way). But not to do with *this*, anyway!

      *tries to make the characters gay* It's SO difficult because they're basically all related! Ok, so Casy gets all excited with his preaching and all and he and Tom sneak off to... just over from where the truck is parked... THIS IS SO HARD (that's what he said)

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    10. How did you guys go "You know what this conversation about a depressing story needs? Holocaust mentions"? Incredible.

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    11. Okay, jumping in late here but:

      "Zusak was like 'This is going to happen and I'm telling you it's going to happen, are you listening, it's going to happen' and I'm like SO MAKE IT HAPPEN WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG!"

      YES! This is EXACTLY why I couldn't deal with The Book Thief. He needed an editor to (wo)man up and tell him to get to the point already and chop out 200 pages in the process. Also, Death narrating a book is only cool for two chapters. Then it is officially a gimmick.

      /feels

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    12. Alley: I know right?! It's like we decided, hey, you know what would make this REALLY depressing?!
      No more holocaust now, guys, I'm serious! *serious face*

      Rayna: you are my Book Thief homie! So so much information that had nothing to do with the plot. So lame. And may I also add that NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED until the big thing happened. That we already knew about. *SIGH*

      Interestingly, I didnt mind death-as-the-narrator so much. Maybe because of the other GIANT FLAWS in that book.

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    13. Agghhh nooo we have to be able to gay up the book.

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    14. I'm trying to think of opportunities and I really can't! I'm just thinking... Maybe Rosasharn's husband could be Gay For Tom? That could happen. WE SHALL SEE

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    15. Oh I'm SURE we'll be able to gay up the book. We just need less of the characters to be related. So far the only non-Joad person we have is Casy and he seems to be all about (probably under-aged) ladies

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    16. AND ROSASHARN'S HUSBAND! Remember! He's much gayer than Casy. I think. I'm not sure he speaks much, actually...

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    17. Connie and his unspoken love for Tom Joad. We could work with that. Mayyybe.

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  6. Ahhh there was just too much to write about it! I need to take better notes for the next part. I completely missed the pig-eating-the-baby-part. Seriously. How did I miss this?!

    You're right, Ma is the best. Steinbeck was so wise for seeing, even back then, that women really did run the show, even if it was all discreetly.

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    1. I remember reading the pig bit, but my silly brain apparently thought it wasn't important enough to write down! Stupid, stupid brain!

      Steinbeck KNOWS how awesome women are. I reckons.

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    2. You know, Laura, you have convinced me. I am getting on the Steinbeck love train. I mean, he cares about social issues, he respects women, and he can write prose to melt a lady's cold heart.

      Literary Disney Prince, for reals.

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    3. TELL me about it! And his politics more or less match mine EXACTLY, and his face? It was niiiice!

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  7. Dude, I didn't even MENTION Ma in my post. And I underlined tons of descriptions of her, too. I really loved the moment when they were all having their Serious Talk and she went inside for a second and they all were silent until she came back.

    AND OMG WILKIE IS EVERYWHERE. CONSPIRACY!

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    1. DUDE, yes that totally happened, didn't it?! Oh Ma, you are INDISPENSIBLE! I really love her so so much!

      Wilkie IS everywhere... In my brain. Was Steinbeck actually thinking of him when he wrote Casy? ... Probably not.

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    2. YES, YES HE WAS.

      Steinbeck was all, "Oh, let me cast my fave 1800s large-foreheaded homie in my book as the randy preacher with communist tendencies."

      IT MAKES TOTAL SENSE.

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    3. 'Cept the preacher seems to be all lean and Wilkie looked like a bit of a porker. Not to bring in pig references so soon after that baby was eaten.

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    4. *bows head for the baby*

      Maybe Casy=young Wilkie. He really seems like a dude who would grow up to write mystery novels that are AWESOME (he actually doesn't. Never mind)

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  8. I didn't even mention Ma (or Grandpa! He is the humorous one with his unbuttoned pants all the time!) in my post, but I love her, too. 'Cept I'm worried she's going to be the most broken in the end, because she's the most stoic now. Too much worrying? Probably. I loved the first part of this book. Sorry that my post is a rambling mess this week - NyQuil got the better of me on that one.

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    1. Ahhh, I love Grandpa's struggles with his buttons! Neeed him to bring the funny.

      THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH WORRYING WITH THIS BOOK. I'm not being dramatic, I just want you to be prepared! And I love the Ma love.

      I liked your post! Rambling is good, it's how I get through LIFE (or, you know, just blogging)

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