chapter 22 by Ritu and Andi

Summary: The Joads find a camp called Weedpatch and they decide to stay there. Tom finds a job through the help of nice people there at the camp. Ma meets the manager of the camp who is very gently with her and she says she feels like people again by the way people are treating them at the camp. Other men also try to find a job but end up having no luck in that. Ma also gets invovled with the ladies committee where there are rules and regulations to be follow in order to be pure and not sinful.

Themes: Hope, togetherness, and unemployment.

Questions: Why does the camp manager makes ma feel " like people again"?
                   why are the camp people so nice? why do they have rules and things like committee? what does this show about the people there?

Contrast: How the cop treats Ma in chapter 18 vs. how the manager of the camp treates Ma. The cop was so mean to her and treated her like an animal where as the manager makes her feel like a person again, someone who needs to be respected.

Compare: Ma is keeping the family together in this chapter and so far we have read about her being strong and gets people moving and wants everyone to be together.

Comparison with the world: There is class system where rich people look down upon the middle class/poor and even today rich people live their lives away from poor or middle class, they only socialize with the rich and have no connection with the poor.

Important passages: " We're Joads. We don't look up to nobody...We was farm people till the debt. And then - them people. They done sompin' to us. Ever' time they come seemed like they was a-whippin' me - all of us...Made me feel ashamed. An' now I ain't ashamed. These folks is our folks ...................why I feel like people again."

" I think the manager took her away to drop the baby. He don' believe in sin. Tol' me hisself. says the sin is being hungry. says the sin is bein cold. says I tell ya, he tol' ,e hisself-can't see God in them things,"