**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.