Chapters in "The Grapes of Wrath"

There are many chapters in The Grapes of Wrath, for it is a long book. The chapters are of all lengths, but every other chapter is much longer than the other half. All of the longer chapters, which are about half of the book, are about the Joads. The longer chapters chronicle first Tom's, and then the Joads' journeys. Tom's journey home starts the book, but it is quickly changed into the Joads' journey to California. The other chapters seem to have nothing to do with the Joads, but one eventually understands the chapters are all related. The shorter chapters, which make up the other half of the book, give some background information on what could be happening to the Joads, and is happening to the rest of the United States. One chapter that sticks out is one close to the beginning. The chapter was all about a turtle and its journey up a hill and across a road. This chapter ties in to the story because Tom eventually picks up the turtle to give to Ruthie, his sister. Another chapter discusses how hard it was to buy a car, because people knew that everyone was almost out of money, so they made sure that people paid a ridiculous amount of money for whichever car they bought. The cars were often not in good shape and needed many repairs. Yet another chapter talks about the cars driving and the main routes used. It explains all the different towns that were along the way, and the mileage used up in going from place to place. There were a ton of chapters in The Grapes of Wrath. While some made sense, quite a few of them did not. The Grapes of Wrath could not have become so popular without all of the chapters. John Steinbeck must have known what he was doing when he wrote his book, because it became very popular and is still read in schools today.