This is the one time that I have no idea how to respond. It is a shame that this is the last blog post. There must be a key analysis that I’m missing because a lot of amazing things happened in the last chapters. The blog question could have been about anything but it just happens to be this dialogue that made no sense to me. It’s obvious that Tom admired Casy a lot. He believes in the same beliefs and he wants to organize workers for the greater good of the people. What I am not sure is what he means by his talks of the afterlife. My theory behind it is that he is simply strengthening Casy’s ideas behind mankind being holy as a whole. Tom knows what is right and his character is always reassuring the idea behind strength in community. This is why he admired Casy so much. Perhaps Tom is also saying that he would not regret dying if he died trying. Perhaps he is implying that his death would still be a stepping stone to retribution regardless of whether or not he succeeded in his goals. He could mean a lot of things. I even checked the analysis notes on Sparknotes. It didn’t seem to help a whole lot. I also think Tom does not view life in a poor versus rich attitude. My reason for this thinking brings me all the way back to Chapter 2 when Tom was picked up by that trucker. The conversation they had clearly shows that Tom has an understanding of ethics. He sees life more in a misfortunes versus the corrupt rich attitude.
Colin, I like the way that you shared your thinking on this topic. Consider that Tom has felt injustice throughout most of the novel and he has always tried to help those who were facing it. He isn't sure what will happen to him, but he knows he won't see his family again. But, whatever happens he reassures Ma that his spirit will live on wherever you can see people standing up for their rights.
ReplyDeleteAs is, this post scores a 3.