Comparing Journeys

Chapter thirteen in The Grapes of Wrath was extremely long. I am currently in the car driving to Tennessee, on a really long car trip. The trip my family and I are on reminds me of the Joad family and how they are trying to get to California.

I was comparing the Joad family's situation to mine while reading. The Joads were traveling to get to a better lifestyle, and for survival. But for me, I am traveling for relaxation and to have fun. In addition, people back in the 30's were a lot more friendly and open then poeple today. For instance, the Joads pull off to the side of the road to rest for the night and there is already another family stopped to rest, the Wilsons. The Wilsons were very welcoming and accepted the company. But in today's society, people act differently. For one, people do not typically pull over to the side of the road to rest and sleep unless they are semi drivers; they find a hotel. Secondly, people now a days just want to get to where they are going and will just rest as soon as they arrive at their destination. Unlike in the 30's, when the families moved slower, and took their time. Therefore, times are different and have changed since the Joad family traveled along Route 66.

Another difference in travel back then that I noticed was that travel was a lot more slow moving. Now given, the cars back then could not travel as fast, so their overall distance covered in a day was much shorter. For example, the Joads hope to make it to California in ten days. When my family and I took a vacation out west, we made it to Colorado in two days. If we had continued west, we probably would have gotten to California in about three days with overnight stops. Although, Oklahoma is farther than Illinois to California. From Oklahoma City to Los Angeles, the distance is about 1,657 miles. So, divide the distance by 35 miles an hour, and if the the Joads traveled nonstop, it would take them about 47 hours to get to California. However, the Joads are only traveling about ten hours a day and have to make stops for repairs, so they should get to California in about five or six days.

Therefore, I can tell a difference in the technology of cars as well as in the road system. Because in addition to having slower cars, there was not an interstate system. The only main road to travel from one side of America to the other on was Route 66, and it did not cut directly through mountains and hills; the road went around them, making the actual trip longer than if they had an interstate. So, the journey I am on is a bit different than the one the Joads took to get to California.