Thursday, January 11, 2007
Chapter 26
This long chapter takes us from the paradise of Weedpatch to the hell of Pixley camp. Ma is still desperately trying to keep the family together. Discuss the theme, "We can pull together or we will pull apart" as it relates to this novel as well as to a specific incident in your own life.
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While working in the field picking peaches they need help from everyone in the family so that they can make enough money to eat at night. If they didn't all work together then they would fail and be hungry. Al keeps talking about leaving and Ma keeps telling him that they have to stick together. They rely on one another for their survival.
A couple years ago my grandpa became very sick and we didn't think he would ever get better. It brought the family together in a way that I had never seen before. Everyone came together to support each other. Our family wouldn't have made it if we wouldn't have came together. We chose to come together instead of pulling apart.
After Tom kills a man the whole family has to make the decision of whether to have Tom leave the family or to stay together and lookout for each other and keep their knowledge quiet. Ma chooses to stay together and helps the family to decide to do the same thing. In swimming on any relay every person must put out their best to acheive a good time. Last year in the medley relay we had barely qualified to compete scrapeing in on a consideration time. At state we all gave our best and pulled off a state qualifying time, even though we already were there. Without everyones full effort we would have raced slower than everyone else, but because we all worked together we went farther than before.
When the family is picking peaches they need everyone to cooperate and pick as a team. Whenever Al talks about leaving Ma starts talking about sticking together and surviving as a family.
Not to sound like i am copying Kendra, but my grandfather had a heart attack when I was younger. The family all got together and helped him get better. We did little chores here and there, and we even played quiet little games.
Everyone did something. And i remember always being over there before he had his heart attack, so i decided that untill he was better, i wouldnt stay over. I would visit, but i wouldnt stay the night. I thought i was contributing to the family and helping out. And i am sure that it did help out some, not having to make my grandparents worry about me as well as themselves, but at the time i really felt like i was making a sincere contribution. I still do.
In relation to the novel, this quote describes the unrest. The hopeless situations are putting all of the family members on their last nerve and their actions are making them all pull. Literally, Ma's quote can be thought of in the analofy of many points forming a circle with a rubber band around them: aggitation makes all of the points move, and because they have to move, they have a choice, they can move apart and break the rubberband or push together. The pain is causing everyone to break under the stress: Rosasharn is almost crazy fearing she will have a bad baby, Pa is no longer in control, Uncle John is caught up in his own unspoken sins, Al wants to cut free, and Tom can't control his temper. All of these aggitations are pushing around the points so Ma reminds them of the reality of their situation.
This same truth applies to all groups of people in hard times. For example, when my extended family gathers together, the stress of the occasion frequently makes people do things that they would not normally do. Unless the family makes a conscious committment to work to push the family together, the tension pulls everyone apart.
In a previous chapter the people all had to work together to keep the camp from being disbanned by police. When our family moved out to the country we had to all work together to get things done, or else we all got mad at each other.
The entire family has to pull together and cooperate when picking peaches in order to survive. If they fall apart, then there is a good chance that they will all die. When my family was at the lake of the Ozarks a few years back, one of the people we were theer with had flipped his jet-ski over and was just sitting in the water. We all had to work together and cooperate or we would have never gotten the jet-ski out of the water and it would have sank
The family in the novel needed to work together both physically and mentally to survive. They all had to work in the fields to earn enough money to stay alive. I don't think they would've made it if they weren't all there for one another emotionally as well. When my mother was in the hospital with cancer, my family had to stick together more than ever. We all helped take care of her and we were all there for one another emotionally.
In the novel, it was an "all or nothing" effort the family had to put forth in order to survive. For example, they all had to pick peaches in order to make enough money to survive. This reminds me of a incident where everyone had to do their part in my own life in order to accomplish a task. I was out at the lake with some family friends and it was early in the morning and there were not many other boats out yet. Ours ran out of gas about half a mile from any sort of shore. We tied ropes and all had to swim/pull the boat back to shore. Everyone, including the youngest, who was 5 helped pull. If not, we may not have had enough strentgh to get it back.
In such challenging times, the Joads need to work together for physiological as well as emotional strength. If one person had to survive these situations alone, they would probably not be successful. If families aren't there to share in the duties of providing food and safety for one another, each member will perish. In addition, families provide emotional strength and valuable bonds. If each family member separates and tries to make it on their own, the love of the family will dissappear.
A year ago, my mom tore her rotator's cuff and had surgury in June. She was in a sling for most of the summer, and she couldn't do simple things like laudry, dishes, or even typing on a keyboard. We all ended up picking up the slack on household chores and helping out with dinner and errands. If we had not, our household stability would have literally vanished.
In Grapes of Wrath, it is important for the Joads to stay together, because, as Kendra mentions, they rely on each other for their economic and emotional wellbeing. Each member of the family must work to support themselves and others and the family can only afford to eat if they have contributions from everyone. In a less tangible, emotional way, the family slowly begins to fall apart as Noah and Connie leave. A specific instance of this in my life relates to the broad geographic distribution of my family. Because we all live so far apart, we have to make a larger effort to communicate and stay in touch. However, if we don't it becomes more difficult to try and relate again.
The Joad family struggles to stay alive throughout The Grapes of Wrath and several family members are not so lucky. The family, however, seems to slowly disintegrate. Granpa dies after a stroke, Granma dies, Noah leaves the family to live near the river and everyone gets continually weak. Through it all, Ma tries to keep the family together. “We can pull together or we will pull apart” is a prevalent theme and the entire family chips in. When the Joad truck runs over a nail, piercing the tire, Al and Tom work together to fix the problem. This easily could have been another reason to breakdown emotionally. The Joad’s also stick together while at Pixley. Not only does the entire family try to contribute to the peach picking process, but everyone tries to be there for each other through this hardship. Therefore, the Joad’s “pull together”continually throughout the novel as opposed to crumbling, several instances being in Chapter 26.
In my own family, we have had to “pull together” in order to prevent “pulling apart”. On March 31, 2004, my grandparents house caught on fire due to an electrical short-circuit and the entire house burned to the ground. Both of my grandparents got out of the house in time and were not hurt at all. The fire was not exactly a surprise to anyone in my family however because of the fact my grandma is a total packrat. The situation was difficult in several ways and it seemed that some family members came together while some pulled apart. My mom, dad, and two of my Dad’s brothers and one sister and myself were the ones who really came together to take charge of the solution. We were the ones who helped re-do my grandparents old house which they still owned so they could live in it. We spent countless hours painting, putting down carpet, recreating a proper plumbing system etc. However, the rest of my family, my Dad’s two other brothers and two other sisters did not help nearly as much. In the end, this situation was extremely difficult for everyone and part of the family pulled together while the rest pulled apart. In this sense, this scenario dealt with both sides of the issue.
In the novel Ma is constantly trying to keep the family from falling apart. At this time in history a family would have an easier time making a living than one person, because a family can do more work than just one person. Therefore they get paid more, so if a family did fall apart it was often difficult to continue on. This can be seen in my life through the remodeling process of our house. If it weren't for the fact that I am able to help my parents with the renovations, it would be an extremely slow process.
At this time, families put in everything they had to find the best they could get. Not only in the novel, but throughout history. Sturggles have to happen to find hope, and a better life. Like most mothers, Ma was expected to hold the family together, even if by a small, frail thread. "We can pull together or we will fall apart," leaves the family members with two options. Pulling together may not always find success, but it is an effort. Letting go and losing that drive will lead to failure much more rapidly.
The theme of pulling together or falling apart is prominent throughout Steinbeck’s novel. Throughout the course of the novel numerous families and family members are separated. For example Muley Graves’ family leaves him to travel to California in search of a better life, the Wilson family is separated from the Joad family when the Joads leave the work camp, and Connie and Noah desert the Joad family also. In the novel Ma proves to be the glue of the family, constantly trying to keep the family united. She does this because she firmly believes in the theme Steinbeck illustrates in the novel, which is that families should stay together or they will fall apart. In my own life I can relate this theme to a soccer game. Eleven girls are on the field, we have to work as a whole and stay together. When one girl tries to do too much on her own the whole team will fall apart.
The comment applies to the basic struggle of the novel. When Granma and Granpa died, and Noah left, the family had to fight to stay united. When my dad and sister travel wih me, we all have to coperate and be flexible to enjoy our trip.
This is a theme that runs throughout the entire novel and becomes a highlight of Chapter 26. In the novel, the family is slowly tearing apart, yet still striving to stay together as one. The only problem is that this family can only have togetherness and harmony or complete disintigration of their family bonds.
This theme is prevalent in the lives we lead today. I come from a rather larger then average family and we like to get together for everything: weddings, babies, deaths, barb-b-ques, the list goes on and on. Anyways, without our family pulled together as one, we would not be able to fully count on one another to help each other out in a time of need.
Ma has tried very hard to keep the remains of the Joad family together. Her burden of keeping the family together became a primary goal after Connie left. Even though he was not a core member of the family, it seems that his absence along with Grandma and Grandpa has shaken the family greatly. Rose of Sharon fell to pieces with Connie’s absence and Ma knows the effects of a missing member. Every member was needed to be in fit condition mentally and physically for gathering food to sustain the family. Recently my mother gave me the option of staying in Salina or moving to Illinois with the rest of my family. I considered it for a while; however I saw that my mother was crying as she told me. I realized what a strain the move would be on my family, and I knew I would have to help adapt. It would take the whole family adapting together to make the move work, or my family would slowly crumble.
Whether the family pulls together or pulls apart really just depends on which way they pull. Sounds simple but if the family doesn't try to stay together or "pull together" than they will inevitably be pulled apart by the situation facing them. In basketball when a team is down they can either pull together or pull apart. A selfish player trying to make the comeback on his own is pulling away from his teammates but a player who accepts the challenge as part of the team will help pull his team together and this unity is what will help them come back.
In relation to the novel, the family must pull together in order to be emotionally well. This applies directly to debaters. Although there are only two debaters on one team, it is of utmost importance for them to pull together. For example, my debate colleague and I had a disagreement one tournament over a meaningless problem and it affected the outcome of the tournament for us in a very negative way. When we stopped concentrating on pulling together and working as a team, we pulled apart and fell apart.
In this book, Ma's main concern was that the family was going to break apart. She wanted nothing more for the family to stay together and be safe and well on the way to California. But unfortunately, the family falls apart until their is only a few left. I think that it was going to happen eventually due to the tough times. But in the end, everyone will end of together in heaven and thats all any family has to worry about.
Throughout the novel the Joad family constantly feeds on the strength in unity to survive. Ma, being the center of the family, continuously holds them together because she knows that apart they stand little chance of survival. Had the family not pulled together at the Pixley camp Tom would have surely been caught and hanged.
Once, while fishing on a boat with two other people, our motor ran out of gas because a certain someone forgot to refill it or bring extra. If we had been upset and angry at that person we would probably not made it back to shore. Instead we forgot about it, worked together on rigging some ghetto paddles and rowed back while the sun was still up.
When the Joads get to California, they are all going to work so hard to make it. Every person will have to work on their farm, or find jobs in town, in order to survive and compete with the other immigrants.
When I was seven or eight, my family lived in Wichita. My dad had a nice job that unfortunately forced him travel. A lot. At one point, my dad had requested that he be on the road a little less, as we only saw him once or twice a month, and his boss left him with an ultimatum of "your family, or your job". He chose our family, and we moved back to Salina.
The theme "We can pull together or we will pull apart" relates to the novel in many ways. Since the book began, the family has had to stick together, just like any other family. This chapter has probably been the toughest chapter for the Joad family because they are at the point of having little or no food, they have found a job but it pays little, and Tom has killed another man and cannot help the family much.
This incident relates to my life because in school, when we do group projects, we also have to pull together or we could pull apart. In order to do an activity with others, we all have to stay together and all put our part in the activity to do well in it.
The various trials the Joad family is put through support the theme, "We can pull together or we will pull apart". Due to the closeness of the family and the strength of Ma to keep them together when times become difficult, they are able to overcome even the worst of obstacles that life can throw at them. Had Ma allowed the family to dissipate, they would have undoubtedly fallen into ruin, and would have not been able to deal with the trials put in front of them.
My family and I are experiencing the importance of this theme in our lives today. Due to the distances between us all, it is extremely important that we keep up communication or we too will likely fall to ruin.
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