David Tran 

American Literature H, Block 2

Mrs. Fujii

9 April 2014

                                                                Personal Philosophy 

It was not until last summer I had not realized how rude I always was. Last summer I went to a wrestling camp that surprisingly very strict on manners. You were pretty much allowed to goof around and mess with people but as long as you said "please" and "thank you". My parents were never too strict about manners at home so I did not really use manners a lot. So when I arrived at this camp I learned manners were something big there and there would be punishment if you did not have manners. That was when I realized I was kind of rude all the time. I could not remember when the last time I told someone “thank you” was. This was an eye opener because I had always thought “please” and “thank you” was a given at all times and I always had that rule in my head but I never did say them. Now I realize how many things I have taken for granted. Do not take things for granted because some may not be as fortunate as you.

           I learned to not take things for granted because it could make a big difference.  No one really has to do anything for you yet they choose too. Do not take that for granted because things might change. The waiter who brought you food didn’t have to be nice; they could have just dropped it off and left. The Wells Fargo employees don’t have to be that friendly, but it makes people happier. Nobody really has to do anything, but they do it still. I learned to not take things for granted.

           I am also thankful for everything I have. Not everyone has a lap top or TV. Some countries do not even have clean water. Not everyone is getting an education. Some kids in school do not even care. They taking education for granted. It is annoying to me to see that happen. Sure I am not the best student but I still care about education and I am thankful for it. Everything I have I am thankful for because I am lucky enough to have what I have and those things affect me every day as a person which is why this is important to me and why I am thankful for it.

           Even though saying “please” and “thank you” is easy to remember sometimes we neglect to say it sometimes. My wrestling coach at the summer camp would always say “How much does it cost to use your manners?” The answer was nothing. It is free. So why not use them all the time and be polite to everyone? It will not take that much effort to use your manners. That could be a big difference in one person’s day. If we are thankful for everything everyone would theoretically be nicer and happier. So why not be thankful? 

This poem helps picture the beginning of chapter 17 when it was talking about everyone coming together and sharing about themselves. The all were unsure of what the future holds for them. I wanted to show the fear of the unknown they had.

The people here were all traveling
Headed towards a place with little information
Hoping for the best outcome

We all huddled up together
We all shared our stories and plans
We were all the same

No one knew the future
Everyone was unsure of what would happen
Everyone here feared the unknown.

An event  that hit me hard emotionally was the unfortunate death of the dog. "The dog dodge helplessly, and with a shriek, cut off in the middle, went under the wheels." (130). I thought this quote was sad because I can relate to it. My dog had a terrible habit of sprinting out of the house and running around the neighborhood. He would wait for us to catch up and whenever we got closer he would run until we were far enough and then proceed to wait again. This would go on until someone caught him. We would try to discipline him but this was the one thing he continued to do no matter what. One day about a year ago my dog ran into the streets and got ran over. It was a pretty mournful day but I was thankful it wasn't bloody and gruesome as described in Grapes of Wrath.

Route 66 was major route back in the 1930's. Highway 66 runs from Chicago to Los Angeles. This was a popular truck route as well since the road was mainly flat throughout its length. It was also popular to hundreds of thousands of depression era farmers mirating to California hoping for a better life and good jobs. Due to the highway's increased traffic small towns built up on the sides of it. These became popular rest stops for the migrating farmers.

Like the Joads and all the other farmers in "Grapes of Wrath", Route 66 was the most popular way to California. The book accurately describes Route 66 as being crowded with migrating farmers and lots of cars driving through Route 66. This road was important to them because it was a straight way to California.

  Dixie Truckers Home McClean, Illinois


 Sitgreaves Pass, Arizona

"...the monster that sent the tractor out, had somehow got into the driver's hands, into his brain and muscle, had goggled him and muzzled him, goggled his mind, muzzled his speech, goggled his perception, muzzled his protest." pg35

The repetition of the words "goggled" and "muzzled" help highlight what they feel towards the banks. These words are described as actions done the bank to make their lives worse. This makes them seem evil as if they are playing with there minds like they are toys or something. The use the words repetitively as if they were punches. Each punch making them more and more confused. The repetition help shows how the banks are metaphorically beating them up.

"The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster." pg33

"Well, there's a president of the bank. There's a board of directors. I'll fill up the magazine of the rifle and go to the bank." pg 38

The bank takes land away from them and they begin to despise the bank. These quotes show there is some conflict with the farmers and the bank. They believe that everything the bank does is intended to make their lives worse. They have this image of banks being extremely greedy monsters with the main intent it to soak them dry. The view the banks as monsters that need to be stopped. They believe that what the bank is doing wrong.

  

At the time the main companies in the automobile industry were General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. These companies were known as the "Big Three". The car industry began to plummet in the late 1920's early 1930's.  In 1929 the automobile industry set a record of over 5 million cars sold. Due to the market crash sales began to drop. In 1930 sales dropped by 2 million and in 1932 sales dropped by 4 million. At the time the main companies in the automobile industry was General Motors, Ford, Chrysler.These companies were known as the "Big Three". After 1932 car sales began to slowly revert itself.

 Information found here
 Picture found here

During the Great Depression dust bowl farmers had to move to the city because it was hard to be an independent farmer and make a steady income.  The Dust Bowl Era was a time of extreme weather conditions.  Droughts and dust storms became very common which prevented the farming industry from striving. The Dust Bowl Era was also know as the "Dirty Thirties". The income of an average family reduced 40% between 1929-1932. Many farmers migrated to California hoping for a better life. The most common route for farmers to take for their journey to California was Route 66. Since the economy was going down the drain the government set up acts that such as the Social Security Act and the Wagner Act. These were created by the presidents during the time, President Hoover and President Franklin D Roosevelt .


Info found here
Picture found here