The Grapes of Wrath Highway 66

Highway 66 can be seen literally and figuratively as the road to California. The literal sense being it is an actual road leading to California, while figuratively it is a path filled with many dangers and obstacles that all who want passage into the land known as California are required to trek to gain access. It is a test of the will of the migrants, for if they are able to pass through this road and its many treacheries, they might have a chance of surviving in California. More literally, it is a road filled with death, famine, and thousands looking for work in California. All who pass the many perils of this highway, do not do so unscathed. For instance look at the Joad family, they made it through this treacherous road, but lost Grandpa, Grandma, the dog, Noah, Connie, and nearly lost their humanity. Although they made it through the harsh landscapes of highway 66, they soon found out that California was a much worse place. While the highway is filled with many obstructions, it also has a few saving graces. Simply look towards the diner run by Al and Mae, they aren't afraid to budge their prices down and break a few rules to feed the hungry. Some men came in and asked if they could purchase ten cents worth of bread, Mae gave them a whole fifteen cent loaf. "You can have this for ten cents." (Steinbeck 160) While there weren't many others like Mae on the highway, it is easy to tell that without people like her, not nearly as many people would have managed to make it through this great migration west. The underline reasoning here is that if the families were unable to trek through the highway, they would have a minimal to extremely low chance of being able to survive and thrive in the great lands known as California, or anywhere in the general area of the west.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.