The theme that stands out to me the most in the book so far is family. Without having a family to make this long journey to california it wouldn't possible, they all depend on each other to get through these rough times. Being forced off your land and losing family members is not an easy thing to overcome, so they have to rely on each other for support. They all had a certain task to make things easier on everyone, if everyone had an even amount of work so they all wouldn't depend on one single person. One section in chapter 17 stood out to me the most "Each member of the family grew into his proper place, grew into his duties; so that each member, old and young, had his place in the car' so that in the weary, hot evenings, when the cars pulled into the camping places, each member had his duty and went to it without instruction: children to gather the wood, to carry water; men to pitch tents and bring down the beds; women to cook the supper and to watch while the family fed. And this was done without command." We see this theme in society today, everyday. Family is a huge part in our culture. I personally value my family a lot because I think it's very important to understand where your family is from and what they had been through. No matter the time family will always have an impact on everyones lives.
|Migrant 1920's family|