The second discussion question asking "What are the causes, gains, and losses of the conflict?" is a bit difficult to answer for the novel Grapes of Wrath because there are so many conflicts and problems in the book that is just hard to pick one to address. However, I am going to address what I believe is the main conflict of the book. The main conflict starts when the drought of the 1930's forces all the farming families to move to the west in California. By doing so this makes a conflict between the people living in California prior and the migrant farmers. This causes a person to focus on how you have to respond to the cards you have been dealt. Tom's story reveals that you need to respond to one's own needs and the danger of risking your own safety for a greater good.
The climax of the book is when the Casey is murdered by the police officer and then in turn Tom murders the Police officer(Steinbeck 297. This is the mini conflict that i believe has the most causes gains and losses. The cause of the conlfict of Tom killing the police officer is obviously because the police officer killed Casey. Tom loved and cared for Casey so this made him murder the police officer for revenge. The loss of this conflict is that for one Casey is dead and all the people that loved her no longer have her. The other loss is that Tom could potentially lose his freedom because he now has two murders on his hand. The only real gain from this conflict is that the reader learns what lengths some people are willing to go to seek revenge or prove a point for a person that they loved. Tom definitley went to an extreme to seek revenge on someone who took the life of a loved one. He does not even think twice about killing this police officer.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
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