Connie's Appearance and Behavior

After we learn all about Connie and Rose of Sharon's relationship, the narrator works on expanding our image of him. The narrator explains, '' He was a sharp-faced, lean young man of a Texas strain, and his pale blue eyes were sometimes dangerous and sometimes kindly, and sometimes frightened.'' The narrator also explains that Connie worked hard and would be a good husband. He drank sometimes but not often enough to cause problems. He knew when to fight and did not brag. Overall, he seems like well-rounded fellow, but not one that seems to stand out.

Despite being described as reserved, Connie steps up when he knows he should. One way he does this is when he helps Rose of Sharon in and out of the truck. This is mentioned multiple times as the family makes its journey to California. Each time the family stops, Connie helps Rose of Sharon down and out of the truck. Each time the family leaves again, he helps her back in. He also helps her with other small tasks like filing a cup of water from a hose in order to drink.

The narrator brings our attention to this multiple times throughout the book, saying ''Connie Rivers lifted the high tail-gate out of the truck and got down and helped Rose of Sharon to the ground.' We also read ''Connie helped Rose of Sharon gently down. '' Aside from theses clear and concise examples of helping Rose of Sharon, the narrator also provides us with more subtle insights into Connie's behavior. When Rose of Sharon is upset about the family dog being hit by car the narrator states ''Connie put his arm around her. 'Come set down,' he said. 'It wasn't nothin.'' The fact that Connie puts so much effort into caring for Rose of Sharon shows that Connie is not a a bad guy (even though he makes a very bad decision later in the book). Connie seems to care deeply for Rose of Sharon and for their future child.

Connie's Choice

Even though Connie is helpful, the most telling part of the story comes when Connie abandons the family and Rose of Sharon. That's right. All the orbiting, helping, and touching ends up not being enough to keep him committed to Rose of Sharon and their kid. When the family arrives in California, life is a struggle and Connie complains. Connie says, If I'd of knowed it would be like this I wouldn' of came.'' This upsets Rose of Sharon, and she storms away to sulk in her tent. When she settles down, she realizes that Connie is gone. Al tells the family that he saw Connie heading south and presumably back to Oklahoma. Connie was never seen or heard from again. Pa comments that Connie was ''too big for his overalls.'' In other words, Connie had too much going on in his life and could not handle it like an adult, so he ran away.

Lesson Summary

In The Grapes of Wrath Connie Rivers is married to Rose of Sharon, and they are expecting a baby. Connie's entire identity is wrapped up in Rose of Sharon. He is quiet, but able to fight and speak up when he needs to. Initially, he seems like a good guy and tries to stay connected to his wife. He helps her in and out of the truck as they travel to California with the Joad family. When he arrives in California, he is sorely disappointed by how hard life is. After having a spat with Rose of Sharon, he abandons her and is not seen or heard from again.

 

A character that is underappreciated, perhaps resulting from his limited appearances, Noah Joad is a strong and independent character, qualities which belie the description given to him in John Steinbeck's ''The Grapes of Wrath''.

Physical Description

Meeting someone for the first time tends to leave an indelible impression. It all comes down to perception. Imperfections in appearance or missteps in behavior or speech are unlikely to be forgotten. These impressions also tend to develop into judgments, which lead to classification. This happens to the character of Noah Joad in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. The way that Noah is described leaves a deceptive impression on the reader.

The eldest child of Ma and Pa Joad, Noah is described as ''tall and strange.'' Noah appears to have an odd shape, even though everything is in proportion. There is also a suggestion that Noah might be slow, because he does not say much, and tends to keep to himself, but ''he was not stupid.'' He has the intellectual capacity to perform well on the farm, but something is missing.

This might be attributed to his family. Pa treats Noah differently because of the rough treatment Noah received when he was born. Since it was just Ma and Pa, during delivery Pa had to use ''his strong fingers for forceps.'' This created some disfigurement with Noah's body, but the midwife ''pushed the head back and molded the body.'' Physically, Noah is fine, but there is a ''listlessness in him.'' He does not have any passion or drive. Nothing excites him, perhaps because his life on the farm is perfunctory.

Farmer

Noah may appear odd, but he is proficient at farming. When the Joad family prepares to leave Oklahoma for California, they slaughter their pigs. Noah demonstrates that he is competent as a farmer and a butcher. He grabs ''the bow-bladed butchering knife and whetted it on a worn little carborundum stone.'' He joins his brother Tom, and they take care of the pigs. Since the family will soon leave, they need to prepare the meat as quickly as possible. Noah explains how to quickly preserve the pork.

In order to prepare the meat, Noah suggests that they ''git her right down in salt…she'd cool quicker.'' Noah's suggestion allows the family to quicken the process and accommodate their impending departure. Noah then cleans all the meat and ''cuts it into small salting blocks.'' He demonstrates a skill and aptitude for this type of work. He doesn't dally about and shows as much intensity as any of the other family members.

If there is a listlessness about Noah, it does not appear in his work on the farm. He knows how to tend to the animals and the land. He ably finds solutions to potential problems, which demonstrates his purpose on the farm. He works without complaint. For someone who appears to be strange, or perhaps even slow, his work on the farm eliminates any doubt that he is competent and passionate. Once he leaves the farm, this purpose seems to fade.

The River

Before they enter California, the Joad family stops near a river in the northern part of Arizona. The men take this opportunity to bathe and relax in the water. Here, Noah experiences an awakening. He tells his brother Tom that he will not accompany the family any further. He ''ain't a-gonna leave this here water.'' Tom attempts to talk Noah out of this idea, but Noah insists that he will ''catch fish an' stuff, but I can't leave.'' Noah has no desire to leave. He is free to wander and catch fish. He also suggests something else that influences his decision.

Noah has a sense that other people look at him differently, including his parents. He mentions this to Tom as part of his reason for not leaving the river. He mentions ''how the folks are nice to me. But they don't really care for me.'' Once again, Tom tries to persuade him otherwise, but Noah knows that they ''know how I am. I know they're sorry.'' This indicates a bit of self-awareness on the part of Noah. He understands that although there is nothing wrong with him, there is still a sense of guilt, and perhaps pity, on the part of his parents.

Interpretation

When the family leaves for California, Noah remains by the river where he will live and fish. Tom informs Ma of Noah's decision, which creates some anxiety. Tom attempts to alleviate her worry by indicating that Noah will ''be awright…He's a funny kind a fella.'' This lends support to Noah's comment that he knows how others perceive him, including his family. Ma's thoughts on Noah during a conversation with Pa during their stay at a government camp in California further support Noah's thoughts.

During a brief rest from their travels and troubles at a California government camp, Ma mentions to Pa that she ''wisht (she'd) forget it. An' Noah.'' Her words here seem a bit strange. Pa then mentions that he still feels guilty about Noah's birth. Ma, however, responds that ''Noah was strange. Maybe he'll have a nice time by the river.'' This indicates that Noah is a grown man, but also intimates that perhaps Ma is glad that Noah is gone. Maybe Noah is right and remaining alone at the river is what is best for everyone. A sad realization for this young man.

Lesson Summary

The descriptions and comments about Noah indicate that he is strange and different. Throughout his appearances in The Grapes of Wrath, Noah demonstrates competence and understanding both of the world around him and of himself. He doesn't act differently. It is just how he is perceived. This may be the guilt that his father feels for not handling his birth in the best manner possible. Or it could be Noah's awareness of being treated differently. Noah decides that it is best for him to leave the family and remain by the river in Arizona. This decision is the sign of a strong young man who wants to live without the pity of others. His departure from the family shows that there is more to him than what appears on the surface.

 

 

In this lesson we learn how Steinbeck weaves together physical descriptions of Uncle John with his actions so we can understand who he is, not just what he looks like. We also learn about the root of Uncle John's shame and why he behaves the way he does in 'The Grapes of Wrath.'

Visualizing Uncle John

We understand a novel's character by the way the author creates them, and it can be helpful to visualize a character's actions before having a description of them. For instance, in Chapter 4 of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck first presents Uncle John through Tom's memory of him excitedly jumping around after being baptized: ''Maybe you never seen Uncle John the time they baptized him over to Polk's place. Why, he got to plungin' an' jumpin'. Jumped over a feeny bush as big as a piana. Over he'd jump, an' back he'd jump, howlin' like a dog-wolf in moon time.''

This scene gives us a bit of insight into who Uncle John is as well as his physical capabilities. To jump over a feeny bush the size of a piano is pretty impressive. Being driven to do so out of excitement over baptism signals that Uncle John is moved to act based on his emotions.

Over the next few chapters Uncle John appears, mostly in the periphery, but in Chapter 10, Steinbeck gives us an actual physical description of Uncle John:

But Uncle John sat uneasily, his lonely haunted eyes were not at ease, and his thin strong body was not relaxed. Nearly all the time the barrier of loneliness cut Uncle John off from people and from appetites. He ate little, drank nothing, and was celibate. But underneath, his appetites swelled into pressures until the broke through. Then he would eat some food until he was sick; or he would drink jake whiskey until he was a shaken paralytic with red wet eyes; or he would raven lust for some whore Sallisaw… But when one of his appetites was sated, he was sad and ashamed and lonely again. He hid from people, and by gifts tried to make up to all people for himself.

There is a lot going on in this passage. Let's unpack it by starting with the physical description of Uncle John. We learn he is thin but strong, has a haunted and lonely look in his eyes, and is an anxious person. Because Steinbeck is a master of details, and because he places importance on interweaving a character's actions with their description, we have a solid understanding of who Uncle John is at this point in the novel.

As we learned earlier, Uncle John's emotions have a way of taking over, the same way his appetites take over in the passage above. We also know that when Uncle John has his mind set on something, like eating pork at the end of Chapter 4, he imbibes until his body literally can't take it. Then, as we see from the passage above, he is overwhelmed with shame.