English 10H Final

Grapes of Wrath   Chapter 10:      Use this passage to answer the 5 questions following it.  

As the Joads are preparing to go to California, Ma and Tom are having a conversation:

1)         She said, “Tom, I hope things is alright in California.”

2)         He turned and looked at her. “What makes you think they ain’t?” he asked.

3)         “Well—nothing. Seems too nice, kinda. I seen the han’bills fellas pass out, an’ how much work they is, an’ high wages an’ all; an’ I seen in the paper how they want folks to come an’ pick grapes an’ oranges an’ peaches. That’d be nice work, Tom, pickin’ peaches. Even if they wouldn’t let you eat none, you could maybe snitch a little ratty one sometimes. An’ it’d be nice under the trees, workin’ in the shade. I’m scared of stuff so nice. I ain’t got faith. I’m scared somepin ain’t so nice about it.”

4)         Tom said, “Don’t roust your faith bird-high an’ you won’t do no crawlin’ with the worms.”

5)         “I know that’s right. That’s Scripture, ain’t it?”

6)         “I guess so,” said Tom. “I never could keep Scripture straight sence I read a book name’ The Winning of Barbara Worth.”

7)         Ma chucked lightly and scrounged the clothes in and out of the bucket. And she wrung out overalls and shirts, and the muscles of her forearms corded out. “Your Pa’s pa, he quoted Scripture all the time. He got it all roiled up, too. It was the Dr. Miles’Almanac he got mixed up. Used to read ever’ word in that almanac out loud—letters from folks that couldn’t sleep or had lame backs. An’ later he’d give them people for a lesson, an’ he’d say, ‘that’s a par’ble from Scripture.’ Your Pa and Uncle John troubled ‘im some about it when they’d laugh. They say it’s two thousan’ miles where we’re goin’. How far ya think that is, Tom? I seen it on a map, big mountains like on a post card, an’ we’re goin’ right through ‘em. How long ya s’pose it’ll take to go that far, Tommy?”

8)         “I dunno,” he said. “Two weeks, maybe ten days if we got luck. Look, Ma, stop your worryin’. I’m a-gonna tell you somepin about bein’ in the pen. You can’t go thinkin’ when you’re gonna be out. You’d go nuts. You got to think about that day, an’ then the nex’ day, about the ball game Sat’dy. That’s what you got to do. Ol’ timers does that. A new young fella gets buttin’ his head on the cell door. He’s thinkin’ how long it’s gonna be. Whyn’t you do that? Jus’ take ever’ day.”