chapter literally, missing the underlying message that Steinbeck is trying to reveal. As the turtle attempts to cross the road, he is twice nearly crushed by passing motorists, and is flung off the road by a motorist who tried unsuccessfully to purposefully squash the turtle in it's tracks. The turtle, in actuality, completes a micro/macrocosm constructed by Steinbeck. The turtle struggles to cross the street while looking failure in the eyes from both the ignorant driver, and the driver who tried to squash him. So what is Steinbeck trying to tell us? The ignorant driver symbolizes those who, not knowingly, are killing the lives of the migrant workers, including those of the Joad's. These unsuspecting people include the plantation owners who jack up prices and cut wages ignorant of the havoc they cause to their workers, as well as the land owners who evict the families not aware of what they will have to go through to survive. Those who intentionally are out to hurt the migrant workers are represented by the police officers who try to shut down their tent cities keeping them on the move and out of their area. They are also represented by those who intentionally try to swindle the migrant workers by charging ridiculously high prices for goods and services. The officers are fully aware of what their actions will do, but do not care, as the downfall of the migrant workers is their only concern. Steinbeck wrote this book for one reason; to make the plight and difficulties of the migrant workers known to all of America. He accomplished this by telling the story from the viewpoint of a particular family, rather then the migrant workers as a whole. Steinbeck showed what these people went through from their eviction from their home, to their eventually self-destruction and failure as a family. Once the appropriate focus on the Joad's had been reached, it was then possible for Steinbeck to tie it all together by bringing the entire situation in...
