Prompt 10: Write about connections that you made while reading the chapter/book. How does something remind you of your experiences or people you know or have known?
Grapes of Wrath: (Chapters 4-5)
Tom Joad sort of reminds me of Chris McCandless from Into the Wild. Both of these main characters are introduced as hitchhikers and get a ride to the middle of nowhere from truck drivers. In each book, the truck driver offers the character a lift and attempts to learn more about them by asking prying questions. Joad and McCandless deflect most of their questions and reveal very little about themselves until the end of their trip. In chapter 4, Joad tells Jim Casy, his old preacher, that he killed a man in a drunken brawl. This reminded me of the main character from the movie, Conair, who was sentenced to prison for several years after accidentally killing someone while he was drunk. However, the difference is that the character in Conair was fighting in self-defense of his wife instead of intending to attack. Joad comments that some of his cellmates on parole felt insecure after spending so many years in prison and became adjusted to prison life, where the conveniences of lighting and regular meals were provided. "He says it makes him feel lonesome out there in the open havin' to think wha to do next. So he stole a car an' come back" (Steinbeck 36). Some of the convicts in Conair expressed similar sentiments. In Chapter 5, Steinbeck describes the general pattern of landowners and banks evicting tenant families off of their farmland because profits aren't high enough. The whole tenant system reminded me of Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. In both stories, the tenant family is being threatened of eviction. A single tractor replacing the work of families described in chapter 5 also reminded me of a discussion in New Ideas From Dead Economics by Todd G. Buchholz about the repercussions of technological advances (such as a photocopier replacing 1000 scribes) --the cost of efficiency is putting many people out of work.
Eternal Knight: (Chapters 3-5)
In Chapter 3, a beautiful stag leads Hadde to a magical golden chain in the middle of the Great Forest. Unlike the other animals who were weak from The Wasting, the stag seemed to have a magical essence. "It wasn't just any stag, but a magnificent beast. Tall, well muscled with a lustrous coat. She couldn't believe it was real...The stag knew her--" (Heppe 15). This description really reminded me of the silver doe Patronus Harry follows in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (In the Harry Potter world, a patronus is a magical form of an animal that a wizard can conjure.) Like Hadde, Harry followed a magical creature to a clearing the forest where a locket was placed -- in Harry's case, Slytherin's locket, a Horcrux; in Hadde's case, a "wavy-rayed Orb" (Heppe 19). Hadde discovers that it is the sun-symbol (depicted on the cover) of Helna and that the chain is made out of gold, which is incredibly rare and valuable. Since Saladorians were believed to place a very high value on precious metals, Hadde decides to go to Sal-Oras in hopes of selling the chain there for supplies. There is a lot of debate over whether the orb should be sold at all since the sun-symbol is considered to be a relic. However, Hadde makes the argument that it is necessary to save her people from starvation. This reminds me Fantine from Les Miserables, who was desperately willing to sell everything she had in order to help her daughter.
Grapes of Wrath: (Chapters 4-5)
Tom Joad sort of reminds me of Chris McCandless from Into the Wild. Both of these main characters are introduced as hitchhikers and get a ride to the middle of nowhere from truck drivers. In each book, the truck driver offers the character a lift and attempts to learn more about them by asking prying questions. Joad and McCandless deflect most of their questions and reveal very little about themselves until the end of their trip. In chapter 4, Joad tells Jim Casy, his old preacher, that he killed a man in a drunken brawl. This reminded me of the main character from the movie, Conair, who was sentenced to prison for several years after accidentally killing someone while he was drunk. However, the difference is that the character in Conair was fighting in self-defense of his wife instead of intending to attack. Joad comments that some of his cellmates on parole felt insecure after spending so many years in prison and became adjusted to prison life, where the conveniences of lighting and regular meals were provided. "He says it makes him feel lonesome out there in the open havin' to think wha to do next. So he stole a car an' come back" (Steinbeck 36). Some of the convicts in Conair expressed similar sentiments. In Chapter 5, Steinbeck describes the general pattern of landowners and banks evicting tenant families off of their farmland because profits aren't high enough. The whole tenant system reminded me of Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. In both stories, the tenant family is being threatened of eviction. A single tractor replacing the work of families described in chapter 5 also reminded me of a discussion in New Ideas From Dead Economics by Todd G. Buchholz about the repercussions of technological advances (such as a photocopier replacing 1000 scribes) --the cost of efficiency is putting many people out of work.
Eternal Knight: (Chapters 3-5)
In Chapter 3, a beautiful stag leads Hadde to a magical golden chain in the middle of the Great Forest. Unlike the other animals who were weak from The Wasting, the stag seemed to have a magical essence. "It wasn't just any stag, but a magnificent beast. Tall, well muscled with a lustrous coat. She couldn't believe it was real...The stag knew her--" (Heppe 15). This description really reminded me of the silver doe Patronus Harry follows in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (In the Harry Potter world, a patronus is a magical form of an animal that a wizard can conjure.) Like Hadde, Harry followed a magical creature to a clearing the forest where a locket was placed -- in Harry's case, Slytherin's locket, a Horcrux; in Hadde's case, a "wavy-rayed Orb" (Heppe 19). Hadde discovers that it is the sun-symbol (depicted on the cover) of Helna and that the chain is made out of gold, which is incredibly rare and valuable. Since Saladorians were believed to place a very high value on precious metals, Hadde decides to go to Sal-Oras in hopes of selling the chain there for supplies. There is a lot of debate over whether the orb should be sold at all since the sun-symbol is considered to be a relic. However, Hadde makes the argument that it is necessary to save her people from starvation. This reminds me Fantine from Les Miserables, who was desperately willing to sell everything she had in order to help her daughter.
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