I found myself somewhat inspired by the film version of Grapes, perhaps due to the music? Use this blog to comment on your thoughts about the movie overall, or comment on any of these prompts:
a) Was life in the government camp true to Steinbeck's story?
b) What do you think about these camps? Should the government have made more? Pros/cons to camp life?
c) What do you think happens to Muley?
d) How might you change the ending of the film? Would you want a closer match to the novel?
e) If you could write the closing chapters of the Joad story, how might things be portrayed?
f) Overall, would Steinbeck like the film? Why/why not?
PROMPT B)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I’m not sure yet whether or not the government should have made more camps. They might have been good in some ways, yet they were also bad in a lot of other ways. My question is, were there enough pros to outweigh the cons of the camps?
In the cams, there were plenty of good, motivating things going on to keep you busy. For example, you had to get water, cook, work (if you had a job), dances, listening to people play music around the fire and keeping the kids occupied.
On the other hand, it wasn’t just a party every night. There were some big problems in the camps. For example, all food was shared communal style, so you couldn’t keep anything for yourself. So if you have just enough food for your family, and have to spread it out between people, you end up getting very small portions. This could be a big problem for people like me who like to eat.
In closing, I think that the good outweighed the bad just enough to say that the government should have made more of these camps.
PROMPT F)
ReplyDeleteThis was a great film; there is no doubt about it. However, it seems to be missing something that really “made” the book for me. The inter chapters. Do I think john Steinbeck would have liked this movie? No, I don’t. I think they left out too much of the bulk of the book for Steinbeck to have any respect for the movie.
The inter chapters consisted of a more broad look at the great depression, and the migration westward. They were the more Philosophical parts of the book that really define it from “OK” to “GREAT”. Without these chapters, it doesn’t “do it” for me. I would have liked to see some, if not all of the inter chapters put into the book. I would have enjoyed watching the movie a lot more, and would have had a better understanding on the out come. Again, the lack of inter chapters, are why Steinbeck and I don’t respect the film as much as we could.
Andrew, I think you are thinking analytically about the government camps. Surely an expense was incurred as well as the other challenges you mention. Though, we agree how wonderful it was for the Joads to get some respite from their harrowing travels.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably on the money in your opinions about Steinbeck. And, these "inter" chapter do add a richness and meaning throughout the book. (Much like that turtle added symbolism:) Thanks for sharing indepth commentary...well done.