The Grapes of Wrath #7

I think one of the main techniques the author used to engage the reader was suspense. The whole time I was reading about the Joads journey I wanted to know how the journey would end and what life would be like for them in California. Once they got to California and settled in a Hooverville I wondered if they would ever get out. Once the were out and living in the government camp I wondered if they ever found work. Then the suspense built when the crazy women went up to Rose of Sharon and told her about women's children dying. It made me wonder what would happen to her child. "I seen it. Girl a-carryin' a little one, jes' like you. An' she play-acted, an she hug-danced. And" -the voice grew bleak and ominous- "she thinned out and she skinnied out, an' -she dropped that baby, dead." (Steinbeck 310) Later on it turned out Rose of Sharon gave birth to a dead baby. It was mysterious why the baby never lived. There was also a little more mystery in the book. Like, when the family left the Wilsons on the road, we never heard what happened to them and Noah stayed behind. We never got to read what he ended up doing. Then there was Connie. We never found out why he left Rose of Sharon or where went and what lead him to leaving the family. Then we never heard what he was doing or if he started studying like he said he was going to. Al stayed behind with his fiance during the flooding and we never got to find out what happened to him and his relationship. Then there was Tom, who I thought I got to know the best. He had to hide away from the police. I never got to find out whether he stayed hiding safe and what he did once his face healed. Or maybe he did get caught and had to go right back to prison. The book was left with many unanswered questions.