Chapter Twelve: A Good Segue Into Chapter Thirteen

Chapter twelve in The Grapes of Wrath deals with people in general who are traveling on Highway 66, a.k.a. "Route 66" or the "Mother Road." The chapter goes into great detail about various problems the people encounter while on the road. For example, back then, the cars had to have water put on the radiators to keep them cool. Therefore, while people were traveling long distances, stops were made along the way to cool down the radiators. The cooling was done by having water poured onto the radiator. Another problem people had were finding good tires. Most of the cars the people bought had been used previously, and had been bought cheap. So, the car dealers would put bad tires onto the car, as it did not have any effect on them if the tires blew out halfway to California. Also, Route 66 got extremely crowded during these times, as it seemed the entire state of Oklahoma was moving to California. One thing I like so far about Steinbeck is how descriptive he is. Like I said in a previous blog post, I can really tell he lived and suffered through these times. Anyone can describe a miserable situation, but because Steinbeck lived through the 30's and the Dust Bowl migration, his experiences make the story that much more realistic.
I am beginning to notice what every other chapter is describing now. Every other chapter tells of people in general and how they are affected as a whole by the Dust Bowl. Most people, me included, do not have that much knowledge of the goings on during those times. Therefore, Steinbeck deems it necessary to share experiences through both the story of the Joads as well as people in general, and the sacrifices they had to make in order to survive. I find it quite interesting to read, however it does make the story confusing to read at times, as I'll have just finished reading about the Joad's and then I will get to the next chapter which deals with people in general. I often find that I have to re-read the chapter to fully understand it. I also noticed that the "in between chapters" lead into what the Joad family is going to be experiencing, so I can understand a little bit more as to what is going to be happening to them.