ENGLISH III
The Grapes of Wrath, chapter 16
Reading questions
(Page numbers are from the Penguin Classics edition)
***Please, do not write on this sheet. Write all answers on your own notebook paper. ***
1. What are Connie and Rose of Sharon planning to do when they get to California?
2. How does Ma react to this plan and why?
3. When the car breaks down, what is Tom’s plan to keep the Joads and the Wilsons together?
4. Specifically explain how Ma’s reaction to this plan shows her strength and determination to keep
the family together.
5. What point is Casy trying to make in his speech when he talks to Tom about the people who are
moving west with a sense of restlessness? (pp. 173-174)
6. Explain Tom’s description of prison and why he thinks the whole idea of prison is “screwy.”
7. Why does the man at the junk yard hate his boss?
8. Why does Tom get angry with this man and what advice does Tom give him?
9. How does the boss at the junk yard calculate prices for the parts that he sells to his customers?
10. Explain the conversation between Tom and the camp proprietor and how Tom’s anger shows that
he thinks men like the proprietor are taking advantage of the travelers.
11. Explain the story the ragged man tells the campers about the reality of the jobs in California: how
many jobs are available, how many handbills there are per job, how the owners select the
workers, and why the workers should get the agreement in writing.
12. What has happened to the ragged man’s family, causing him to return from California to “starve
all over at oncet”?
13. How does the woman preparing breakfast at the end of the chapter also show the sense of
community among the travelers?
14. How does Tom show his displeasure with the proprietor at the very end of the chapter?