What is the purpose of chapter 9 in Grapes of Wrath?

Answer 1

Do your own homework. If determined to receive an easy answer - go to wikipedia.org.

The author's thesis can normally be found in either the introduction or the conclusion. In this style of narrative, the main theme of the story would best be determined by the last and first comments of the introductory paragraph(s). If pressed for time, try reading the first and last chapters of the book.

To determine the Steinbeck's purpose in writing the book, try to decide your reaction to the story. For example, Tom Joad's comment in chapter 19:.

"How can you frighten a man whose hunger is not only in his own cramped stomach but in the wretched bellies of his children? You can't scare him - he has known a fear beyond every other."

Turn your one sentence summary of your response into a possible motivation for the author. Most teachers will honor any plausible theory if you can back it up with well reasoned arguments. For this book, you might cross reference the quote on those who forget history being doomed to repeat it, or even the plot of The Good Earth.

Answer 2

It shows how the desperate farmers are being taken advantage of. The salesman manipulates the people because he knows that they will accept anything in order to get to California. It also foreshadows how the people involved in business later in the novel will take advantage of the farmers. The business people don't understand that they are causing the problem and depleting the little amount of money the farmers have to travel and buy food and gas.

Answer 3

Chapter 9 in "The Grapes of Wrath" serves as a flashback that provides backstory on the Joad family, highlighting their lives before leaving Oklahoma. It deepens our understanding of the characters and their struggles, setting the stage for the challenges they will face on their journey to California.