Grapes of Wrath Halfway Point

I just finished reading chapter sixteen, so I thought it was a good time for a summary blog of what's happened up until this point.

The beginning of the book sees Tom Joad released from prison on parole. We learn later that he was in prison for killing a man during a bar fight. He hitches a ride home with a nosy truck driver. The truck driver drops him pretty close, and Joad starts to walk the rest of the way to his home. Off the side of the road, he runs into a man named Casy that he used to know. Casy was the local preacher, but he says he isn't anymore on account of he realised he didn't know what he was doing. Casy decides to tag along, but when they get to the Joad family home, no one is home. Cotton has been planted in the yard, and the house is falling apart. An old neighbor walks by and explains that they live at Uncle John's now. In the morning, they get to Uncle John's and everyone is really happy to see Tom again.

A few days later they set off for California in a crappy used car they bought recently. Grampa dies a few day into the journey, and without him Granma's looking like shes fixing to do the same. The Joads meet Wilson and Sairy who are also traveling to California. They decide to travel together, on account of the bond forged between them when Granpa died in their tent.

Wilson's car breaks down, so Tom, Al, and Casy stay behind to fix it while the rest of the family stays at a campground a little down the road. They managed to get it fixed in much less time than they expected, and they meet up with the rest of the family.

There are some side chapters included every other chapter or so that are relevant to the time period, but not necessarily the Joads' story. Other than that, that's pretty much all that's happened in this novel so far.