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Just Keep Trucking
Although he makes a brief and seemingly insignificant appearance, the truck driver is an intriguing minor character in Grapes of Wrath. He represents a different kind of American traveler, one who spends endless days on the road, not to see the country or even to reach a desirable destination, but simply to make a decent living. It takes a certain type of person to be able to spend that much time behind the wheel alone, driving on long roads that lead to a destination of little importance, only to stop, unload some cargo, and continue the journey, day after day. Even though the truck driver makes premature judgements about Joad, and is in that way, unsympathetic, he is, in a lot of ways, a tragic character. He represents thousands of Americans who spend a good portion of their lives driving trucks across the country. And his observations reflect on how solitary a life it is: “Sure they stop, but it ain't to eat. They ain't hardly ever hungry. They're just so goddamn sick of goin'– get sick of it. Joints is the only place you can pull up, an' when you stop to buy somepin so you can sling the bull with the broad behind the counter.” He goes on further to explain just how lonely life on the road can be, “the road gets into a guy. He's got to do somepin.” It's sad to think how long truckers must go without real human contact. They recognize other truckers and waitresses along the way, but the connections are only ones of convenience, made in passing. It is especially lonely for those who don't have families to come home to, or a real home at all, for that matter. With so many truck stops, diners, and gas stations lining our highways, it's interesting also how much trucking has shaped the American landscape on the road. It really does seem like a sub culture in and of itself. So despite the stereotypes of the “white trash” guy behind the wheel, chewing on some tobacco before pulling into a diner for slice of pie, I do feel a certain sense of sympathy for those who do a job so necessary to our economy, yet so solitary. The good news though, is that even if the trucking lifestyle remains the same as it was in the 30's, the trucker hat fad will forever remain in 1999. Sorry, Ashton Kutcher.
The Psychology of Travel
I have often wondered about the lonely life of truck drivers. Steinbeck describes it so well in the novel, both in the very beginning and the later passage with the truck drivers. In each instance, the driver tries vainly to connect with the uninterested or distracted waitress, but in a very timid, almost shy way. They seem always to be putting up a front of confidence and swagger, a tough façade of “cool loner,” though, with the aid of the narrator, it becomes clear to the reader how deeply hungry they are—how they yearn for any kind of meaningful human contact.
I was originally planning on writing our post for tomorrow’s class about the psychology of travel, because I began wondering about that after reading the chapter on the truck drivers. Road trips can make you feel crazy even when you’re not driving alone, so what can they do to you when you are facing empty mile after empty mile with only the radio to keep you company? I’m not sure, but I did find this fascinating website about the self-proclaimed “Travel Psychologist.” Maybe he has some insights into truckers’ minds…and the style of Ashton Kutcher.