Grapes of Wrath

             Pick one or more scenes from Grapes of Wrath to illustrate the four norms: be attentive, be intelligent, be reasonable, and be responsible. The illustrations can be positive or negative.
             There are many scenes throughout Grapes of Wrath that contain illustrations of the form norms: be attentive, be intelligent, be reasonable, and be responsible. I feel that the scene between the truck driver and Tom Joad in Chapter Two was able to express these norms in both positive and a negative ways.
             The first of the four norms is to be attentive; this means that the character is being open to new experience. I believe the truck driver fulfills this quality in a positive nature. He realizes that he isn't allowed to take in Riders, but becomes open to the experience when Tom explains to him that other drivers do it and it doesn't matter what the rich guys say. The driver not realizing he may be putting himself in a bad situation; opens himself up to experience and was therefore attentive. On the other hand, Tom Joad isn't allowing himself to be open to new experience at all. Towards the beginning of the ride, the driver tries to make time pass by asking Tom questions. Tom makes if very clear that he wants nothing to do with the driver at all. Tom's unwillingness to communicate with the driver shows how he isn't open to new experiences and therefore he does a negative job of being attentive.
             Secondly, I felt that the norm of intelligence was a difficult one to identify in this scene. To be intelligent means to ask questions and admit to them all. While the driver asked many questions he didn't really admit too much other than loneliness. While Tom didn't exactly ask many questions he did admit how frustrated all of the questions were making him and he also admitted to the driver that he spent time in prison for manslaughter. I think that each of the characters in this scene showed both a posit...

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Grapes of Wrath . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 14:38, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/64495.html