environmentalism and attitude towards land Flashcards
‘ t - - l - - - r - - - - c - - - g - - - - - a - - t - - - d - - n - - c - - t - - s - - - - - - e - - - - ‘
‘the last rains came gently and they did not cut the scarred earth’
‘cut’ sounds violent paired with ‘scarred suggests the land is wounded after the farmers have used farming methods which deprive the earth of its nutrients, causing the earth to ‘crack’ and go ‘pale’ . the infertility of the land is emphasised here - ‘scarred’ reiterating that the damage is permanent
‘ i - - o - - l - - - . we m - - - - - - it a - - b - - - - it up.
‘its our land. we measured it up and broke it up.’
connection to the land
‘ t - - - i - - - - - - h - - - - a - - g - - - - - -, w - - - - c - - - - - - , f - - - - - , h - - - - - ‘
‘ they ignored hills and gulches, water courses, fences, houses’
clear disregard for the identity of the land. stopping for no one. the tractors emphasise the lack of connection to the land, they have no courtesy or discretion for the lands integrity. taken farming which has been previously entrenched in agrarianism values and converts it to modern. cold, unfeeling: ‘ great crawlers moving like insects’
‘ he d - - n - - k - - - or o - - or t - - - or b - - - - - - t - - l - - - ‘
‘ he did not know or own or trust or beseech the land’
the connection to the land has been taken away and people don’t work hard for someone else
‘ t - - m - - - - - - t - - - s - - - t - - t - - - - - - o - - h - - s - - - - - - g - - i - - - t - - d - - - - - - h - - - ‘
‘the monster that sent the tractor out, had somehow got into the driver’s hands’
sense of distance is created. there is a clear physical barrier between the driver and the land. this prevents him from having any connection to the land and therefore extricates him from the guilt of working against his ‘own people’
‘i p - - my h - -‘ on t - - - g - - - - w - - - - my o - - pa’s b - - - - is p - - - of it ‘
‘i put my han’ on that groun where my own pa’s blood is part of it’
the land is their identity. he symbolises the connection of which the farmers had to the land. this contrasts to that of the banks and organisations/tractors who are coldly described in comparison. illustrates the profound connection to the land that oklahoma tenant farmers experience. his loneliness and waning sanity also illustrates the importance of the farming community to each of its individual members. as that community disappears, muley loses himself.
‘ w - - -‘ - t - - - t - - - w - - - t - - - t - - - - - - - - t - - f - - - - o - - t - - l - - ? // t - - - g - - pa d - - - on t - - g - - - - - ‘
‘what’d they take when they tractored the folks off the lan? // they got pa dyin on the ground’
muley recounts his experiences of the land suggesting the banks and organisations haven’t just taken the land but a part of their identity. in order to retain a profit, they’ve stolen memories and life experiences. it is this concept of which muley finds hard to leave. his reluctance can be explained by his belief that the land is his identity. steinbeck is critical of this, the land isn’t the identity, the people are. muley’s isolation has exacerbated his loss of identity - a concept that steinbeck uses to illustrate the importance of community.
‘ t - - - l - - - , t - - - r - - l - - - , is us / ‘we c - - - s - - - - a - - - - ‘
‘this land, this red land, is us / we cant start again’
despite selling all their items, they can never truly start again. the land encapsulates their identity, the troubles of which they have faced have caused them to forge a connection to the land. the past is what makes up a person, a concept of which renders the idea of ‘starting again’ impossible. the bitterness and wrath of which accompanies the past is what will spur the farmers on which later foreshadows the revolt.
