Film Segments and Focus Questions
1. What laws might Muley be referring to when he says, "The law that done it"?
2. How does Muley determine ownership of the land?
3. What is particularly discouraging about the failure of the tenant system?
4. What is the effect on you (the viewer) of the (a) dramatic lighting used in this segment? (b) the image of Muley's family's shadow cast upon the land? and (c) his touching the land?
5. What do you notice about the conditions of the land?
Ma Reminisces on the Eve of Departure (1 minute, 40 seconds)
6. What is the effect of conducting the entire scene without dialogue?
7. What items does Ma keep, and what does she discard?
8. If you were reading this scene instead of watching the film, how might you construct Ma's "inner dialogue"? (In other words, what would be Ma's thoughts and feelings?)
Departure (7 minutes)
9. Why do you think Granpa suddenly resists leaving for California when originally he couldn't wait to leave?
10. How do the Joads' eventually get Granpa to go on the trip? Give examples in this scene of the Joads' resourcefulness, tenderness, generosity, intelligence and forbearance.
11. What is the significance of Route 66 being called "the Mother Road?"
12. How does the camera work suggest movement and the passage of time?
Granpa's Death and Burial (3 minutes, 30 seconds)
13. What is the significance of Granpa's clutching the soil before he dies?
14. How do the Joads' try to give Granpa dignity in death?
15. How does the lighting in the film symbolize Granpa's death?
16. What is the significance of Casey's statement, "I'd pray for folks who's alive"?
Transient Camp Scene (4 minutes, 5 seconds)
17. Why would Woody Guthrie's song "Ain't Gonna Be Treated This Way" be chosen for the film?
18. Where are other migrants from?
19. What irony do the Joads encounter at this camp?
20. What lessons of supply and demand are evidenced in the lament of the man returning from California?
Rest Stop and Restaurant Scene (3 minutes, 45 seconds)
21. How are the Joads treated by the gas station employee?
22. How do the Joads try to maintain dignity despite their poverty?
23. How does the waitress's attitude soften towards the Joads? Why do you think it did? Why does she tell Pa that the candy is "two for a penny"?
24. What illustrations of compassion are evidenced in this scene? How is Burt's kindness "repaid"?
At the Arizona Gas Station, Crossing the Desert, Granma's Death (7 minutes)
25. What comparisons to the Okies does the gas station employee make?
26. How does this disdain for the Okies' way of life encourage others towards them?
27. What is ironic about the description of the Okies in contrast to Ma's care for Granma as she dies?
28. How do the California inspectors treat the Joads after Ma insists that Granma is ill? Why does Ma lie to them?
Hooverville Transient Camp (5 minutes)
29. What is the effect of allowing the jalopy's anguished motor to provide the only sound of the Joads' arrival?
30. What is the effect of the roving camera's eye while specters of human beings pass by the car in almost slow motion?
31. What theme is illustrated by Ma's willingness to share the family's leftovers with the starving children in the camp?
32. What is the effect on the viewer of having the camera linger over these faces? Is the camera a neutral narrator in this scene? Explain.
33. How are the authorities depicted in this scene? Why would the contractor accuse a worker of being an "agitator" for asking to see the contractor's license?
34. How does this scene illustrate the continuing theme of generosity and resourcefulness—as well as the irony of "wealth" among the indigent?
35. What is significant about the "supply and demand" lesson delivered by the "agitator"?
36. How does the policeman's statement, "Boy what a mess them .45s make" reflect the film's view of law enforcement?
Keene Peach Ranch (20 minutes)
37. How is the camera's eye used to convey the Joads' apprehensions and confusion as they enter the ranch during a strike?
38. What seems ominous about this scene and Tom's statement, "These are our own people"?
39. Why are the Joads called "scabs" by the strikers?
40. What do the background sounds of sirens and dogs barking suggest in this scene?
41. What are the economics lessons being taught in this scene?
42. Why would it appear that Casey continues to take risks and make sacrifices?
Arrival at Wheatpatch * and Tom's Departure (23 minutes)
43. What seems to be the reason why the Wheatpatch Camp differs from the other camps?
44. Whom does the camp director resemble? (Note to all: You may recognize the FDR likeness in the camp's director, dressed in white pants and sweater.) Why might he be given the title "caretaker" in the film credits?
45. Why would Tom shut off the running faucet?
46. By the end of the film, what lessons relate to the American political climate of the 1930s?
47. What was occurring in 1940 that might have made this film more of a political statement than John Ford intended.
48. What is the tone or the feeling of the final scene?
49. What do you think was the director's intention by having Ma say, "We're the people that live" followed by a wide shot of a procession of migrants' jalopies?
50. What message does the film convey about the role of government in helping the needy migrants? * In the novel the camp is Weedpatch, the movie refers to the camp as Wheatpatch.
No comments:
Post a Comment