Chapters 16-18

The Joads are keeping up the pace on their journey to the west coast. They consider they highway as their medium of expression, since they have become so accustom to traveling by now. Connie wants to study at night and live in a town where he can do so. Ma doesn't really like that idea. Then, the car starts to rattle. They find that a con-rod is snapped and needs to be fixed before they can continue. The rest of the family waits as Al and Tom go and get the part. They meet a character, who is missing an eye, has what you could say is a "self pity problem," and he hates his boss so much, he wouldn't care if Tom would burn the place! Tom and him get into an argument on how he likes to feel sorry for himself and that he needs to pull himself together. They get the part and get it fixed and are able to move on and stop at a camp. They already made them pay 50 cents for everyone else but them, and they want another 50 for the extra car! I guess that shows just how desperate they are to get a couple of extra dollars. The man who owns it explains to Pa that there is nothing for them in California. He tells them how they need 800 workers, but they print 5000 handbills and 20000 people see them! It seems unfair for him to tell them that there is nothing in California for them, but it is only fair to give them fair warning. Pa is getting nervous about the trip. Casy tells him to push forward because anything is possible and they could have a different experience then he did.
Chapter 17 just shows how tightly knit that the families traveling need to be in order to survive the trip. I think this is significant in the way that they can all help each other in California if they need it and they wont hesitate to do it.
After traveling a great distance, they come to Arizona. the state officials ask is they have any foreign plants on board and decline. The desert is obviously going to be a great obstacle to the Joads. The desert is the only thing in the way of them to get to the beautiful orchards where they are heading to. They stop to camp and all the men went to the river and bathe. Noah decides to stay behind and live off the fish. A cop comes by and tells them they can't stay there and if they are there in the morning, they will be run out, which is very unfair. I understand that they don't want the "oakies" staying there, but wouldn't they want them there rather than staying in their cities or the nicer part of California? They are stopped for inspection again and are nearly forced to be searched, but they convince them that grandma is very sick and needs a doctor right away. They let them pass without the inspection. The family makes it across the desert, but not without another fatality. Grandma Joad has died in the long trip, and ma notifies them that she was not alive before the inspection. She lied there all night with the dead corpse.