Personal Philosophy

“Don’t frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.” Smile. There are so many things to be sad about, the economy, world hunger, and animal abuse. There are also many more things to be happy about, to be blessed to have. Family, best friends, a sunny, warm day, and mangonadas. Easily, there are reasons to complain, whine, and hate everything that’s happened. It can be hard to take a breath, take a step back and look at all the things you DO have. Being caught up in the situation can make your life hard. One bad thing can ruin your whole day because you’re so focused on that negative thing and have a pouty face the rest of the day. If it doesn't work out then it will get better eventually and things will work out. I could worry about everything all day but that would just be another day wasted where I don’t enjoy being alive. There are so many things that I could hate about my life and compare to someone who has it better. The fact is, there will always be someone who has something better than someone else and it causes you to look at everything in a negative way and never be fully happy with yourself, what you have, and who you are. I believe it’s important to smile and stop comparing yourself to others, and not to worry too much and to keep reminding yourself that things will get better because it will.

I’ve always compared myself to people and see what others have that I don’t have. I look at what all my friends have, what wealthier people have, boyfriends, clothes etc. There are so many things that I don’t have physically and emotionally. I could spend a million hours telling someone how much it sucks to not have these certain clothes, or this amount of money but it wouldn't help me in any way. It would just make me feel worse about myself. I’m so caught in what I don’t have and complain about it, but not out loud, in my head. Whenever I’m thinking about it so much I end up with a sad face and wonder why I’m not that lucky or why the world hates me. It’s taken a huge toll on me to the point where I don’t even bother doing certain things because I think my life sucks and what’s the point if I don’t have (a certain thing or characteristic). One day, I read a couple of inspirational blogs and started to reflect on my own life. I wonder how come I don’t feel good about myself and why I’m not happy. I begin to realize, after reading the blogs, that I’m not satisfied with my life because I’m always comparing myself. There was this spark that made me change my mindset about myself and my life. Comparing myself to others doesn't help me at all and will most definitely not boost my self confidence level. I always need to remember that I’m special and there’s only one of me. Also, comparing will never be a win because there is always going to be someone who is less fortunate than me. I know I could have had so much less so now, I make it my goal to remember what I DO have and why I’m super blessed to have certain people and things like a home and food because many people don’t have these things. I am going on my own path and what I do to reach success and trying to make myself a better person than I was yesterday or 2 years ago because that is an accurate way of measuring my self worth.

I always worry and believe the worst will happen for almost every situation I don’t feel comfortable in or that’s different. I worry about so many things and worry I will disappoint everyone in my life and it scares me. I’ve always had the worst of luck and I feel like I never receive anything but I put so much effort into giving. It’s made me think that Jesus has forgotten about me sometimes and I just get all sad. I deserve happiness and it’s been a while since I’ve been genuinely happy because of all the misfortune in my life. I worry so much about if I’m going to college or if I get a prom date in time or something that causes me to stress out. It adds all this unnecessary stress to my life and I never smile because I’m on the verge of crying all the time. It’s not healthy and the worst way to live because each day passes where I’m worried and stressed out. Then, it leads me to hate myself and who I am because I’m not good enough. I feel so alone when I worry because I just think I’ll annoy my friends by talking about my problems all the time. If something is meant to be, it will happen and if it’s not, something better will come along. Smile, that’s all I have to do and have a positive mindset because that’s what gets me through each day. Now that I’m starting to accept what happens and what doesn’t, it has made me a happier girl and I feel so much better about myself.

There are so many reasons to put a frown on your face but you shouldn’t let that take over. I am blessed. I will keep repeating that because my family loves me unconditionally and my best friends are amazing to me, all five of them. I am extremely blessed to have the greatest friends ever who love me and actually be happy that I have friends that are not fake or on and off friends but real friends. Those types of people are hard to find. Finding ways to know remind myself how special I am and to stop comparing myself is my goal everyday from the moment I wake up. There’s always room to become better, to be more giving and to reach for success. Don’t spend so much time worrying because you don’t want to be unhappy all the time. I have the power to create my own happiness and that’s what I’m going to do. Smiling and accepting yourself will make you feel so much better, I promise you that.  "It is not the level of prosperity that makes for happiness but the kinship of heart to heart and the way we look at the world. Both attitudes are within our power so that a man is happy so long as he chooses to be happy, and no one can stop him." - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

* Chapters 16-19 (A) The Ten Commandments.

These are the rules you shall follow to benefit everyone here. Failure to follow these rules will result in immediate dismissal and ban from our community, no exceptions.

       Out of this list of the ten rules that every migrant should follow, rules 4 and 10 are the most important to the success of the society. The fourth law states that it is necessary to help others out and give them a helping hand. By making this a rule, it allows everyone in the communities to survive and have someone looking out for them. Although many people are reluctant to share and help others because they want to survive themselves, it benefits everyone. It allows everyone to give food and water, shelter, supplies, and whatever else is needed for everyone to survive. It gives all the migrants a better chance at survival and making it to California. This is very important because you would want others to help you out and make sure you are not left behind. This also keeps everyone together and alive. Being helpful in anyway will benefit everyone in the end. There are people who are in the same situation you're in and you would have understand what they're going through because the same has happened to you. Having everyone alive will reduce deaths and risk of breaking the law of a proper burial, which would cost more money. All of these factors will increase the rate of survival and allow everyone an equal chance at a better life.

       The second most important rule to follow is the last rule, the tenth commandment. To put everyone else's needs before yours is the more important than the fourth law. This is a combination of all the rules and combines the basis of each rule and put into one rule. All the rules derive from the rule of helping others and putting them before yourself. This allows everyone to be helpful and not become greedy. Becoming greedy will hurt the community. Also, it seems selfish of a rule but it makes the order of things go round so someone is bound to help you back and give back. Putting someone else's needs before yours is helping others out. Feeling a sense of family and togetherness will let them begin to trust people and are more open to helping. It makes them stronger as a whole and give them hope that everything will turn out alright.

* Chapters 16-19 (D) Family/unity.

"the twenty families became one family, the children were the children of all. The loss of home became one lose, and the golden time in the West was one dream...the twenty were one" (193).

          
       Much of their moral values and beliefs have changed as they go along Highway 66 into California. Before their journey, the family kept to themselves and worried about each other and no one else. They seemed to not have noticed anyone around them and were in this personal family bubble. The Joad family was focused on selling what they could and getting money so they could go westward. It was, as the familiar phrase goes, "every man for himself". They had no money and struggled to live everyday so they needed to focus all their efforts on surviving and helping out their own family. All the other families that were going through a rough time did not matter to them. The change does not happen instantly but as they go along the highway things begin to change.

       As they embark on their journey they start to realize that coming together and being united with benefit them more whereas being separate and alone will not do them as much good. They were reluctant to bring Jim Casey onto the trip before but thought he could be useful, so they brought him along. Everyone has the common goal of getting to California and achieving the "American Dream". Everyone cares for each other and whatever emotions one feels the rest feel the same. Being together and having a common goal unites people and gets them to work together. Also, in order to survive they need to stick together. Together means safer and more likely to survive. This concept of helping others out in any condition reveals that humans have empathy or are seeking to receive a reward. In the end, it benefits all parties involved and provides satisfaction to ones conscience or socially, to others. 

       Before the trip, the Joad family wanted to stick together and wanted to be in California together but as their journey become harder because of the conditions the family begins to fall apart. First of all, grandpa dies and then grandma dies. When they reach the desert in California, Noah sees all the water and wants to live their and fish for the rest of his life and the family decide to let him stay because he does not seem to change his mind and they have to leave the Wilson's behind. The changes are not sudden anymore because people have to leave/want to leave and their ideals of family sticking together slowly begins to crumble. Ma is the one who stays strong, who believes in family togetherness, but it begins to take a toll on her but refuses to show it.   

Chapters 11-15 (D) Quote that hits home.

In Chapter 14 of The Grapes of Wrath, those who live in the west, mainly California, become worried about the migrants all coming at once. They are not used to change so they become anxious. There are families everywhere, on the side of the road, in ditches and the westerners are afraid that they might unite and revolt. They are also afraid that the migrants will take their jobs. One quote that stood out to me is in Chapter 14:
"The last clear definite function of man—muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need—this is man. To build a wall, to build a house, a dam, and in the wall and house and dam to put something of Manself, and to Manself take back something of the wall, the house the dam; to take hard muscles from the lifting, to take the clear lines and form from conceiving. For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments" (150).
This quote has an effect on me because of what I believe it means. When read, it sounds almost biblical and similar to a man who toils, the labor builds him as a human, as man. Humans always want to work, to build and make something that will benefit them and make life easier. Man strive to be excellent and loves what he does and having that passion and desire to show the world what he can do, to leave his legacy behind for everyone to remember him by is fascinating. I want to be able to find something that I'm passionate about and do it and hopefully help others. I want to do something so amazing that people will remember my name and what I've accomplished. To accomplish something that will change people's lives in a positive will be the most self satisfactory thing I could do in this world. There's this purpose everyone feels to create something, is what everyone wants besides the basic necessities. He is saying that humans can go far and achieve many things and to achieve greatness. I really believe that humans can go "beyond his work" and are not defined by what they DO or what they HAVE done. People have the capability of doing things that will change the world and things that can change people's lives and it's in our nature to want to create something, to do something.  

Chapters 11-15 (B) Highway 66.

In this point in the novel, The Joad family are on Highway 66 en route to California. Steinbeck follows their journey westward as well as other migrants they meet along the way.

Highway 66

Highway 66 is 2400 miles long, stretching from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles and through eight states. The drought from the Dust Bowl ruined many crops and homes and the wealthy forced them to leave so many headed to California on that route. The creation of this long highway was because many unemployed males worked on road gangs and paved by 1938.

click here for more info.

Highway 66 was significant to the Joad family and all large number of migrants because it was a mass exodus towards California. All the migrants took this path and it is significant because of the length of it. This was THE road to the promised land, a better future and many were eager to reach the light (California) at the end of the tunnel (road). Many cafe's, gas stations, hotels, and little stores of business were placed along the highway to attract migrant customers and as a places to freshen up and get supplies they needed. In the picture shown above, it is an old jalopy with a person's belongings piled high because they tried to bring as much as they could/needed. source

travel map of highway 66

some shops along highway 66

* Chapters 1-10 (I) Biblical references in the GoW.

Bible and The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath has many biblical allusions and many events and characters allude to pieces of the Bible. 

Joad describes the dust that attacks the Okies, "The wind grew stronger...and the sky darkened... and then each stalk settled wearily sideways toward the earth and pointed the direction of the wind" (2). 

This is similar to how plagues forced the Israelites into Exodus, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand toward the sky...Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields...it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree" (Exod. 10:22-26)

The excerpt from the Bible is represented by the dust storms that rage through the land and destroy their homes, health, and land. Also like the hail that ruined all the fields and left bare branches. Another connection to the Bible are some of the characters. Jim Casey used to be a preacher and coincidentally his initials J.C are the same as Jesus Christ. He brings hope to the family he travels with and spends some time alone to "find himself" just as Jesus did. Another character from the Bible in the novel is Rose of Sharon. She represents rosesharn which represents regrowth and protection of her unborn child.

(reference to the bible) 

The twelve members that travel to California could represent Jesus and the 12 apostles traveling to the promised land. California is a better place and would help them prosper. The life imagined in California will make them happier and able to survive. It's imagined as being a good place, one where they could relax and a place where they would be successful. It promises a better life for their families and well-being. 

Noah represents Noah and the ark as Noah Joad "stood on the ground, looking up at the great load of them sitting on top of the truck" (113). Noah looks up admiring his work just as Noah did when he looks up at the large ark and all the animals, which are the members of the family, that were on the ark. 

The struggles of the Joad family parallel those of the Hebrews. The biblical references show how people and events that happen today were similar to those that happened long ago. They are not alone when they are struggling and someone has gone through the same situation before. We can understand why he choose certain characters and their place in the story because they represent characters from the Bible and what they accomplished. It helps us understand the Bible more as we find connections we did not know before. Using biblical allusions also adds complexity and evokes emotion. The use of the Bible shows that their problems are more than just politics and gives it a religion aspect to the story.   

Chapters 1-10 (H) Repetition.

          In the Grapes of Wrath it is common to see many words repeated in the same sentence or passage. Repetition is key to describing the scene and items to give emphasis and for the reader to remember those specific words. It emphasizes the conditions which they are living in and what it felt like to live in the Dust Bowl Era. On the first page of Chapter One, "To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth." Also, the last sentence of the first paragraph, "The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country and white in the gray country." (1)
          The red country and gray country are repeated many times in the first paragraph alone. The "red" country is the western part of Oklahoma. The soil in the west is red due to the high content of iron in the soil. The "gray" country is the eastern part of Oklahoma. The gray hue in the soil is what distinguished each soil and so people could tell where it came from. The dust came from every place and all created dust storms. Repeating the color "red" and "gray" contribute to the story by reminding the reader that Oklahoma was full of dust storms and dust that traveled far from where it originated from.
red and gray country
          There is also the mention of earth and crust many times. The very descriptive description of the ground and what Oklahoma looked like is to emphasize the conditions they were living in. The ground was very dry and made it difficult to farm and grow food for themselves. The area was stricken by very high, scorching temperatures and drought that seemed to last forever. The ground was not moist and full of crops but dry, dusty, and hard. It was difficult for families to make a living with the conditions.