Joad makes a very good point in chapter thirteen of Grapes of Wrath when he meets the old, wrinkly man who runs the service station that the family stops at for gas.
First the old man starts moaning and complaining about how nobody with any money or anything stops at his service station to get gas. He tells them how everybody either wants to beg for some gas for charity or they want to trade some of the only items they have for gas. He goes on and on for a very long tiem and seems so full of complaining that he cannot possibly be happy. He asks again adn again what the world is coming to. that is all he wants to know is what the world is coming to. The following passage is his discussion with Casy and Joad:
"Casy said, 'I been walking aroun in the country. Ever'body's askin' that. What we comin' to? Seems to me we don't never come to nothin'. Always on the way. Always goin' and goin'. Why don't folks thinka bout that? They's movement now. People moving. We know why, an' we know how. Movin' 'cause they want sompin better'n what they got. An' thats the on'y way they'll ever get it. It's bein' hurt thatm akes folks mad to fightin'. I been walkin aroun' the country, an' hearin' foks talk like you.'
The fat man pumped gasoline and the neeedle turned in the pump dial, recording the amount. 'Yeah, but what's it comin' to? That's what I want ta know.'
Tom broke in irritably, 'Well you ain't never gonna know. Casy tries to tell ya an' you jest ast the same thing over. I seen fellas like you before. You ain't askin' no thin'; you're jus' singin' a kinda song - "what we comin to?"'
And that is a very true statement. Everybody always wants to fill the void by saying something like "what we comin' to?" but hardly anybody ever really wants to know the answer. They simply want to act as though they care and shake their heads and not doing anything about it.
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