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The turtle represents resilience and a will to survive. The turtle has a home wherever it goes as it carries its home on its back. This is a direct representation of the migrants and their behaviors. The turtle’s treacherous journey across the road directly parallels the migrants’ journey on the road to California. The turtle faces challenges and obstacles that he must overcome just as the migrants do. Eventually, he reaches the other side of the road for the better or for the worse, just as the migrants eventually reach California.
Most people see bugs as dirty and disgusting pests. This is also how the Californians saw the migrants. It is as if California has an infestation of migrants because there are so many and they cluster together. Their strength in community is threatening to the other inhabitants in the state. Steinbeck implies that the migrants could be a powerful group because of their numbers, but also like insects, their status in the world is too low to seriously make an impact.
The migrants head southward to California like the ducks. The ducks are seen as “dinky,” to Pa, an outsider. Likewise, the migrants are seen as weak to the Californians. In actuality, the migrants are very strong and resilient; they seem only seem weak to those outside the flock.
The ducks specifically represent migrants from Oklahoma because ma remembers seeing the ducks in Oklahoma. The blackbirds and doves represent migrants from other states.
There are many migrants in California and they are crowded and “settin’ so close together.”
The giant V of ducks points the direction Pa and the other migrants follow and travel.
Most people see bugs as dirty and disgusting pests. This is also how the Californians saw the migrants. It is as if California has an infestation of migrants because there are so many and they cluster together. Their strength in community is threatening to the other inhabitants in the state. Steinbeck implies that the migrants could be a powerful group because of their numbers, but also like insects, their status in the world is too low to seriously make an impact.