The Grapes of Wrath

***Spoilers***
The Grapes of Wrath was the movie about poverty that got to me the most. I was crying throughout a lot of the movie. Tom has been in the penitentiary for four years and when he gets out and goes to see his family he finds out that they have lost their farm and have gone to his uncle’s. The uncle is about to lose his farm too, so the whole family has decided to go to California because they believe that there is a lot of work there. It was so sad to see the families lose their homes when they cannot even feed their children. The owners of the land kicked off about 100 people and left them to the streets. Before they leave Tom’s mom goes through all of her things and has to get rid of the things she doesn’t absolutely need. That morning Grandpa decides that he is not going, this is his land and he is not leaving. They have to force him into the truck, but on the way there he has a stroke and dies. They bury him with a note that says that he was buried by his family because they have no money to pay for funerals. They write this note to make sure that no one thinks that he was murdered so that the police do not have to open an investigation. “The government is more interested in the dead then the living.” This statement is true through most of the movie. They stay at a camp for 50 cents and a man there says that he is coming back from California because there are no jobs left there and says that he is going home to die. They continue on anyway just to see if it is true. There is a scene where they have to buy some food because Grandmother is hungry; they have to buy bread because she cannot chew. The lady brings out a loaf and says that it is 15 cents, but they only have 10. So, they offer the ten cents and say to just cut them off ten cents worth, but the owner of the store says to give it all to them. The two kids have come into the store and see the candy. When they are checking out they ask if the candies are a penny candies and the lady tells them that they are 2 for a penny and the kids are happy. However, after they leave we find out that the candies are 5 cents each from truckers who have stopped there and who witness the kindness. When they leave they give extra money to pay for what was owed by the Joad family. This was probably my favorite scene because there is so much kindness here. One person sees someone else showing kindness and so they show kindness. On the way Grandma starts getting really sick and the family is stopped for a check to make sure that they do not have agricultural items. As they leave the man who is checking cars says, “They can’t be human because a human couldn’t stand to be s miserable.” When they get stopped again later the checkers let them go on without being checked because Grandma looks so sick. We find out that Grandma was actually dead. When they get to California there is no work for them and they have to go to a camp. There are so many people in the camp and the kids in the camp have not eaten all day, at least. So they cook what is left of their food and the kids get what is left over. Everyone leaves the camp because there is word that a bunch of people are going to set fire to it and they can still find to work. They get a flat tire and a man stops by and tells them that there is work picking peaches up the road and they are very happy. When they get there there is trouble and cops are everywhere. People are lined up on the roads. Their first day they only make a dollar and this is barely enough for food, but it is better than nothing. Tom walks outside of the camp to find out what is wrong and it is a strike because they used to work there and they start workers at 5 cents per barrel and then drop them to two and a half cents per barrel. The owners exploit the poor people’s situation to make it better for themselves. Police come upon them and attack the head, who is Connie, who came with the Joad family to California and kill him. Tom gets mad and hits a police man who he accidentally kills, but another police man hits Tom across the face and leaves a bad mark. The family has to leave the work at night and when they do another family comes in and instead of 5 cents they are offered two and a half. Tom wants to leave by himself, but the mom is trying so hard to keep the family together. When they drive down the road they find a camp down the road that is run by the Department of Agriculture and it is a good place to stay. They stay at the camp ground until they can find work during cotton season. Police end up finding Tom and he has to run away and leave his family behind. He decides that he is going to fight for protestors and help out people whenever he can. They stay in the camp a little longer, without Tom, and then go on to pick cotton. The family says that they took a beating, but that’s what made them strong.