I'm Back

Sorry about the amount of time that has elapsed csince my last post, I couldn't log on, and then I had to wait for Andrew to invite me again. But now I'm back.

Now I have plenty to say to, I read Ryan's last post and it seems to me to that our topic (T.O.) is mostly concerned with the "inter"chapters. The chapters that seem not to have anything to do with the actual story, but therein lies the rub. They have everything to do with the story, they have to do with the atmosphere and the mood of the people living along the path westward, Ryan mentioned the car salesman, and Mae the waitress, but I'd like to mention chapter 17 whichi to me is the most T.O.'d chapter in the whole book.

Chapter 17 is all about the life of the travelers, and their tent towns all along the highway, It has to do with their unwritten codes and laws. To me this is exactly the meaning of T.O., because T.O. is the interconnectiveness (I think thats a word) of everybody and these unwritten codes symbolizes that everybody is connected and that everybody must respect these laws, even though nobody has come right out and said they have to. They all just sort of felt that it was the right set of rules to abide by, and this idea that they all silently agreed on what the rules should be is T.O., a connection between them all.

Okay since I haven't posted in a while, I'll start a new thread of discussion right before monday. What do you guys think of Tom Joad, or any of the other characters in terms of T.O.?

I think that the most significant character, in terms of T.O. is Noah. Because his whole life he's lived as a loner, he knows he's bizarre. He feels that he's not apart of the T.O. , he doesn't feel connected to the rest of his family, or even to anyone else. In terms of T.O. Noah is almost excluded. If Noah is excluded from T.O., then Tom is the symbolic voice to T.O.. Tom always seems to say just what everybody is thinking, and he seems to be the person that is always doing what is neccessary. If T.O. had a voice it would be Tom Joads voice, because T.O. would want to say all the things that everybody thinks, but never says. A good example of this quality in Tom is when he and Al go to the one-eyed junker man for a con-rod. Tom comes right out and says just what every other person who's met the one-eyed was thinking, but was too afraid to say it.

So there the have it, there's my insight for the day.