GOW: 22

Why we read

Free write: The Joad family shows ignorance to many modern conveniences (toilets, showers, etc) and ideas (unions). Reflect on a time when you were ignorant to either a modern convenience or product or idea. What did this ignorance teach you about yourself? Those around you? Who enlightened you? How could ignorance lead to struggles later on in life?

Let's check out Weed Patch.

Discussion

1. What do the events in Chpt 22 say about religion, charity and hard word?

2. Who and what are the "reds"?

3. What role does order, dignity, and pleasure play in the lives of the migrants? Why are the locals trying to strip these things from the migrants' lives?

GOW: 20 & 21

Free write:

Jim Casy sacrifices himself for the betterment of the Joad family. Think about a time when you had to sacrifice your own personal well-being for the well-being of someone else. How did you feel about making this sacrifice? How did the sacrifice change you? How did other people respond to your choice?

Discussion Questions:

1. Modern day Joad dilemma

2. What does Casy's attack on the deputy reveal about his character?

3. Why is Uncle John so upset? What does his response to his emotions tell us about his character?

4. What does Ma mean when she says, "Why, Tom — us people will go on livin' when all them people is gone. Why, Tom, we're the people that live. They ain't gonna wipe us out. Why, we're the people — we go on" (280).

5. There's a lot of change talked about in Chapter 21. Taking an educated yet totally unsupported guess, in what way do you think the migrants and the Joads will be changed? (be as specific as possible)

Character Check-ins:

As time permits, let's add to the character lists.

The mighty travelers

Our LibGuide


B Block
Eli & Katie
Devan & Erika
Laine & Olivia
Emi & Kyle
Julia P & Eliza
John & Ju Ro
Chris & Claire
Brian & Bryce

F Block
Patrick & Hannah H
Trevor & Kate
Kevin & Albert
Caleb & Aislinn
Chloe & Katarina
Hannah B & Chely
Lindsay & Eric
Ally & Grace
Mitchell & Lotte

Blogger tips

Here's a quick informational sheet to help you with Blogger. If you have other questions, I'll help you out as best I can.

How to share blog authorship

To share authorship of the blog go to Settings --> Basic. Scroll down a bit to Permissions. You'll see a section called "Blog Authors". Click on "Add Authors", and send your partner an email to invite her/him to be an author. Once your partner has signed in, change his/her permission to ADMIN. Then you'll both have writing abilities.


Hope this helps.

GOW 16-19 plot fun

The Bible & The Grapes of Wrath


Discussion questions from lots and lots of reading

1. When the car breaks down, what is significant about Ma's reaction? How does this mechanical difficulty affect the relationship between Ma & Pa? Ma and the family? Tom & Al?

2. What advice does Tom offer the one-eyed man in the junkyard? What might the one-eyed man represent, metaphorically?

3. In the camping area, what information does the ragged man give to Pa about California? What effect does this information have on the Joads? (Pa, Tom, Al, & Ma)

4. What effect does the nightly camping have on the people heading for California? How does it give them strength and power? In what way does the night camp influence the identity of the migrant people?

5. What is the Joads' first view of California? What impressions of California do the father and son from the Panhandle provide?

6. p. 233: let's look at the use of the word Okie and how the narrator, a person we assume sides with the migrant worker, is able to turn the word around into something powerful instead of a slur of weakness.

GoW: Let's write a thesis!

Question: In what ways does the language of this passage exemplify the differences between Ma and Rose of Sharon?

"Ma, beside him, had folded her hands in her lap, had retired into a resistance against weariness. She sat loosely, letting the movement of the car sway her body and her head. She squinted her eyes ahead at the mountains. Rose of Sharon was braced against the movement of the car, her feet pushed tight against the floor, and her right elbow hooked over the door. And her plump face was tight against the movement, and her head jiggled sharply because her neck muscles were tight. She tried to arch her whole body as a rigid container to preserve her fetus from shock." (164)

Come up with a thesis statement for a paragraph on this subject. You are only writing a thesis statement.

Help with thesis:

• Identify a cause or an effect
• Answer how or why
• Evaluate / make a distinction between the two things being compared (think about words like more, most, greater)
• Take a stand on a controversial issue.

Reminder: close readings begin with an examination of language.

Step 1: Write a thesis statement

Step 2: Work through the check-list in groups
_____ answers the question asked.
_____ makes an argument rather than states an observation or fact.
_____ presents the argument of my essay in one complete sentence.
_____ expresses just one main idea – my argument is focused and can be answered thoroughly and well in a 1-2-paragraphs.
_____ is original – my argument aims to present a new idea or conclusion, and doesn’t just repeat what we’ve already talked a lot about in class.
_____ uses active, engaging, and specific words.

Step 3:
Pick the best/your favorite from the group to rewrite/revise into an awesome thesis.

Step 4:
Put thesis on the board.