[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE GRAPES OF WRATH

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                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 16, 2002

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleague Congressma 
Sam Farr and voice my support for the California Stories Project, The 
Grapes of Wrath.
  The project is encouraging Californians to read The Grapes of Wrath 
and celebrate the 100th anniversary of John Steinbeck's birth.
  I share the goal of the California Stories project having 
Californians read this book will help to cultivate discussion and 
enable Californians of diverging backgrounds to connect with each 
other.
  I believe that The Grapes of Wrath illustrates how times of hardship 
and struggle can bring people together and forge a common bond.
  It is my hope that Californians will realize although they may be of 
different ethnicities, many share similar pasts and have more in common 
than at first glance.
  In being able to relate to each other's stories, a connection may be 
made, and they will be able to bond as neighbors and as Californians.
  In one of my favorite passages, we can see that despite the trials 
and tribulations the migrant workers in this story experienced during 
the day, there was a closeness formed during the night hours.
  The many families shared more than their material goods, they shared 
their joys and their heartaches.
  They became a true community, a perfect example of living for each 
other, instead of for one's self.
  Here is a quote from that passage.

       In the evening a strange thing happened: the twenty 
     families became one family, the children were the children of 
     all. The loss of home became one loss, and the golden time in 
     the West was one dream. And it might be that a sick child 
     threw despair into the hearts of twenty families, of a 
     hundred people; that a birth there in a tent kept a hundred 
     people quiet and awestruck through the night and filled a 
     hundred people with the birth-joy in the morning. A family 
     which the night before had been lost and fearful might search 
     its goods to find a present for a new baby. In the evening, 
     sitting about the fires, the twenty were one. They grew to be 
     units of the camps, units of the evenings and the nights.

  1 think this illustrates the camaraderie and good will of the migrant 
community, something all Californian's can be proud of.




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