Personal Philosophy

Michael Brockman

American Literature Honors, Block 2

Mrs. Stephanie Fujii

10 April 2014

Just Do It

        Everything happens for a reason. Whether we believe we are guided by God, the universe, or fate, there is something, some sort of greater force that guides our lives, and every action that we partake in. Not to say we don't have free will--that's not the case at all. We all have the power to make choices at every instant in time that will alter the course of our lives, sometimes barely, sometimes drastically. However, we have to be willing to take the chance and put ourselves out there, to see what the world will spit back at us. We must place our trust in that higher power, but also in ourselves, knowing that whatever the outcome of our decisions, they happened for a reason.

        "Don't be sorry, just do it." At marching band practice one day, we were learning our drill sets for the closer to the Firebird Suite, which was pretty fast paced and involved a lot of movement. Of course, because of its challenging nature, it was inevitable that some people would make a mistake at some point. One of the other snares completely missed their dot and apologized, which prompted my friend Juan to somewhat-sarcastically respond, "Don't be sorry, just do it." At the time, the remark seemed funny, especially since we all laughed about it, and eventually developed into an inside joke for the rest of the season within the drumline. However, the saying does hold some considerable meaning to it. We have to be willing to put ourselves out there to make decisions that will force us out of our comfort zones. If the decision we make turns out to be a mistake, then learn from it and don't make the same wrong decision again. We made that choice, and the outcome happened for a reason, and if nothing else, it will serve as a learning experience that will help us or save us down the road.

        Part of creating this trust with ourselves is stepping out of our comfort zone and disregarding the competition that our actions may create. Most of the time, we are reluctant to make decisions because we don't want to fail or mess up, and other times it's because we are worried that we will have to compete with other people. We need to still put ourselves out there, even though there is competition present. Let's say this guy wants to ask a special girl to prom. Another guy he knows wants to ask the same girl. This competition should not discourage the first guy from asking her. After all, that one choice could affect the rest of his life. What if that girl turned out to be perfectly compatible with him, but he was too scared to ask? He could potentially be casting off his future wife. This all leads back to "Don't be sorry, just do it." The first guy needs to not worry about the effect that his choice will have on the other guy, since he is just as entitled to her. Even if she ends up saying no, at least the "What if..." factor is eliminated. After all, everything happens for a reason. She could have turned out to be a psycho axe-murderer anyways.

        Whether it's putting yourself out there when doing an activity or risking it all by asking a girl to prom, it's necessary to take these risks in order to see what results they produce. Everything happens for a reason, so there's no harm in putting yourself out there, with the potential to hit a home run and greatly improve your life. Worst case, your decision creates a learning experience that will make you a better person. We will only get as much out of our lives as we put into them, so take the risk, don't be sorry, and just do it. Either way, the forces of the universe, God, or whatever they may be are there, watching out for us.

Entry D (Ch 16-19): Family/Unity

Changing Perspectives on Family and Unity

        In Chapter 19, the Joad family's idea of family & unity has changed drastically from their prior moral values, both at the beginning of their journey and as they began to travel. In the beginning, the Joads invited people to join their family unit, like Jim Casy, for example. They openly invited people to unite with them. Over the course of their journey, though, the Joad family becomes more exclusive in terms of its membership. Previously, the Joads did everything they could to keep their family together. When their truck broke down while still traveling out to California, all of the family members stuck together, despite the suggestion to break up. (This effort to stick together was spearheaded by Ma.) The Joads felt more secure together, having all of the members of their family around, and did everything in their power to keep their family unity.

        However, in Chapter 19, the Joads leave Connie behind, who is Rose of Sharon's husband and the father of her soon-to-be-born baby:

        "Well, he ain't no good," Pa insisted. "All the time a-sayin' what he's a-gonna do. Never doin' nothin'. I didn' want to say nothin' while he's here. But now that he's run out--"...Tom broke in, "Hey, what is this? We ain't sure Connie's gone for good. We got no time for talkin'. We got to eat an' get on our way." (Pg. 272-273)

        The Joads make no effort to track down Connie, who has once again wandered off. In addition, they essentially turn on him, attacking his personality and work ethic. Instead of attempting to preserve their family unity, the Joads are content to watch their family unit break apart into even smaller pieces. The Joads are moving towards work, and go so far as to tell the shopkeeper to give Connie the wrong directions to where they're going, should he want to track them down.

        The previously compassionate, unified Joad family has shrunk in size and ultimately evolved into an exclusive group in which only the most fit members are allowed. Grandma and Grandpa have died, as they were physically weak. Jim Casy left because he took the fall for Tom Joad, and now Connie has been purposefully left behind because the rest of the family does not find him worthy to be in their company and to continue with them, using their resources up.

        As expressed in Transcendentalism, because the Joads are treating members of their family/clan in a bad manner, it is likely that karma will catch up to them and the Joads will suffer. Also, since the book is tied heavily to the Bible through Biblical Allusions, the Golden Rule is constantly in play: "Do unto others as you wish others to do unto you." By abandoning Connie, the Joads are effectively asking to be abandoned themselves in some way, shape, or form.

Entry C (Ch 16-19): Poetry

Poetry on Hatred

        The Californians hate the Okies and other migrants that are moving west from the region affected by the Dust Bowl and that are being driven out by industrial farming. The influx of migrants increases job competition and crowding of towns/cities. Resources are also used up more quickly. This poem is from the point-of-view of a Californian who is addressing an "Okie," expressing his discontent and hatred. This poem explains the motives for the hatred, as well as the sense of superiority that Californians feel over Okies.

Damn Okies

You come out west

from Oklahoma,

leavin' your lives behind

to start all over.

We don't care why you left, 

we just don't want you here,

taking our jobs and making our lives hard, 

you'd better steer clear.

California isn't big enough for all of us,

the depression is hitting us too,

we can barely survive where we are,

so you'd better keep on moving through.

You'll work for next-to-nothing

for a stale, old biscuit,

while we're looking for work too,

but instead we just get...

Laid off, since you'll work for less,

and now we're unemployed & stuck too,

in the same damn mess.

You see, you coming here,

isn't solving the problem.

Go back to Kansas,

and tell the other ones too.

California's for Californians,

Oklahoma's for Okies,

Don't come to my state,

Okie dokie?

**Entry E (Ch 11-15): Conflict**

The Clash Between Okies and Technology

        In the first portion of the book, the prominent struggle was between man and machine. Tenant farmers were fighting tractors and large farm corporation, which were taking over their land and kicking them out. All the tenants knew was farming, and most of them grew up on the land they lived on. To be kicked off the land they felt was rightfully theirs by some tractor that just decided to come along and do so was a huge shock, and proved to be life changing. At first, the tenants resisted the encroaching tractors, but eventually fell to the persistent force of the oncoming technology. The tractors and corporations ultimately pushed the farmers off of their land and out west. At this point in time, the type of conflict that the characters must deal with changes.

        In this section, starting on the last page of Chapter 10 and into Chapter 11, the Joad clan leaves their home and their land behind after being pushed out by the tractors and the failing economy. The conflict still remains between man and machine, but in a different way. Now, instead of being pushed out by technology, the Joads are fighting their jalopy, which constantly breaks down. Instead of fighting technology's presence, they are now fighting its effectiveness, or the lack thereof. In Chapter 12, the struggle to make it from one service station to the next is expressed.  In Chapter 13, Al is constantly monitoring the truck's engine as it drives down the road, almost in a paranoid manner--it is all that he can focus on. Throughout the section, cars and trucks break down in multiple instances, causing frustration and setbacks in the schedule of the trip.

        Another new struggle is presented in this section, which is the struggle to survive. On the road, any given family only has a small amount of money and just the possessions they were able to take with them. This leaves them vulnerable to hunger and to being taken advantage of by merchants and salesmen. Because of their desperate nature, people are eager to exploit the Okies to make a quick buck. This issue is displayed through the encounter with the car salesman in Chapter 12, where he tries to cheat the migrants. Additionally, when purchasing food, the Okies are often only able to pay a little bit of money, which limits their options and the quantity of food they are able to buy.

        Briefly, the struggle between dreams and reality is presented, starting in Chapter 12. The Joads begin to hear that California isn't big enough for everyone that's moving there. This is the first time that the Joads' utopian expectations of California are met with any sort of challenge. As the story progresses, situations and encounters add to this idea that California isn't everything that the Okies believe and hope it is.

Entry B (Ch 11-15): Route 66

Route 66 During the 1930's

        Route 66 stretches across the United States, originating in Chicago and working its way west towards Los Angeles. In 1916, legislation was passed that created a public highway system in the United States. Route 66 was designated for construction during the summer of 1926. It's main purpose was to connect small towns in the Midwest to the nation's highway system and the rest of society, as they had previously been more or less isolated.
        Traffic on the highway increased initially because of its flat nature and the cities and towns which it passed through. These traits appealed to shipping companies, making Highway 66 a popular truck route. Also, during the 1930's, the Dust Bowl caused many families from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Texas to move west to California, hoping to obtain agricultural occupations. For these "Okies," Route 66 was the main thoroughfare for their westward journey. The increase in traffic helped to stimulate the economy of the small towns through which the highway passed. Small, mom-and-pop businesses began to grow, including restaurants, service stations, etc. Some of these businesses are still around today along the former route that the highway took, and are either open for business or open to tourists.
        Route 66 was similar to most other highways in the respect that it consisted of gravel and graded dirt. However, in 1938, it became the first highway in the United States to become fully paved. Although safe in most places, some dangerous sections contained hairpin turns and were nicknamed "Bloody 66." Many gruesome accidents occurred on these stretches, and eventually most areas of risk were improved to be less dangerous.
        Route 66 provided migrants, such as the Joads, with an easy way to move west. Once on the highway, one did not need to do anything else besides continue driving on the highway--no further directions were needed to reach their destination on the West Coast. Without the highway, relocation westward would have been much more confusing and surely less appealing. By sharing a common path of travel, migrants were able to help each other if their cars broke down, or if they needed general assistance. The bottom line is, Route 66 was crucial to the Okies who were escaping the Dust Bowl during the 1930's.

**Entry I (Ch 1-10): Biblical Allusions**

Biblical Allusions

        Biblical allusions are quite common throughout The Grapes of Wrath. There have already been many of them through chapter 10:

• When Tom Joad takes off his shoes and walk from the highway towards the tree and connects himself to the land, this represents the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, contemplating his life and becoming closer to God, his father.
• Tom's encounter with Rev. Jim Casy at the tree after taking a long journey to get there parallels Moses' trip up Mt. Sinai, where he encounters God in the form of the burning bush. Casy shares his new religious principles after having been fed up with traditional religion. Similarly, God delivers the 10 Commandments to Moses, after the Jews had been straying from God, spelling out the new rules he has for them.
• Jim Casy's initials are JC, which also stands for Jesus Christ.
• The Dust Bowl and Great Depression represent the Great Flood.
• Throughout the novel, a snake keeps showing up. In the book of Creation, Adam and Eve are tempted by a snake/serpent, who represents Satan, the devil.
• The Joad family's trip west in a truck parallels Noah and his ark.
• The 12 people, plus Rev. Jim Casy, who travel west and leave everything behind alludes to Jesus and his 12 disciples, whom Jesus chose to spread his word, and leave all of their lives and possessions behind.

        These connections are significant, because they help to tie a sense of purpose to certain events that take place in the plot. They also help to convey the type of story this is, one that is guided by the Bible, where most of the events are similar to those which take place in it. With a similar plot taking place in the Bible, one can predict the outcome of things that are happening, future events, and undisclosed information about certain characters if they are able to pick up on the allusions that are being presented. For example, the Dust Bowl is represented by the Great Flood. The flood eventually ends, and those who God wanted to save ultimately stayed alive. Thus, one can predict that the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl will eventually end, and those who attempted to restore their lives will be successful. Also, since Tom encountered Casy at the tree, acting in the role of Moses, one can conclude that Tom will eventually help to spread Casy's new philosophy, as Moses did with the word of God.

No additional sources, knowledge taken from my study of the Bible as a Catholic.

Entry H (Ch 1-10): Repetition of "New" and "Cheap"

Repetition of "New" and "Cheap"

        "The man's clothes were new--all of them, cheap and new. His gray cap was so new that the visor was still stiff and the button still on, not shapeless and bulged as it would be when it had served for a while all the various purposes of a cap--carrying sack, towel, handkerchief. His suit was of cheap gray hardcloth so new that there were creases in the trousers...He wore a pair of new tan shoes of the kind called "army last," hobnailed and with half-circles like horseshoes to protect the edges of the heels from wear." (6)

        In writing this passage, and in many other passages in The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck repeats a particular word or phrase many times. In this case, the repetition helps to emphasize the degree to which the clothes are new and cheap. Because of the repetition, it becomes obvious that Tom Joad's clothes are brand new, almost as new as they can possibly be. When visualizing this passage, the description becomes so much more vivid, knowing that the suit was still creased from being so new. One can now envision the crispness of the suit, and possibly even stimulate some olfactory sensations, smelling the smell that a fresh-off-the-rack suit has.

        The repetition of such vocabulary also suggests its prevalence, perhaps not just in one's clothes, but in the culture of the time. In a period such as the Great Depression, one is forced to live with less available money. Therefore, cheap is usually the only way to go about purchasing new items. Also, having new items is a novelty--it doesn't happen very often. The repetition of the word in the description of Tom Joad's clothes suggests his excitement for possessing new items despite the time of such hardship. Having new items is often the little spark that is needed to push one to keep on going through tough times, providing a sense of hope for the future.