Question

1. \and then the dispossessed were drawn west - from kansas, oklahoma, texas, new mexico; from nevada and arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred thousand. they streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless - restless as ants, scurrying to find work to do - to lift, to push, to pull, to pick, to cut - anything, any burden to bear, for food. the kids are hungry. we got no place to live. like ants scurrying for work, for food, and most of all for land.\

• john steinbeck, from the grapes of wrath

what point is steinbeck making about migrants during the great depression?

migrants wanted new cars more than they wanted anything else.
migrants were so desperate for work that they traveled vast distances to find it
migrants, called okies, came mostly from oklahoma.
migrants drove tractors instead of cars to make their way west.

Explanation:

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<reasoning>

Analyze the historical context

The passage is from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, which depicts the struggles of migrant agricultural workers during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era.

Examine the text evidence

The text describes how "the dispossessed were drawn west" from states like Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It emphasizes their desperation: they are "homeless and hungry," "scurrying to find work to do," and willing to do "anything, any burden to bear, for food."

Evaluate the answer choices

• Option 1: "Migrants wanted new cars..." is incorrect. The text mentions "car-loads" as a means of travel, not a desire for new cars.
• Option 2: "Migrants were so desperate for work..." matches the text perfectly. They traveled vast distances ("drawn west") and were desperate for any work ("to lift, to push, to pull...").
• Option 3: "Migrants, called Okies, came mostly from Oklahoma." While historically true that many were called Okies, the passage lists many states (Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arkansas) and focuses on their shared plight rather than Oklahoma specifically.
• Option 4: "Migrants drove tractors..." is incorrect. The text says they were "tractored out," meaning tractors replaced them on their tenant farms, forcing them to leave.

Formulate the final conclusion

The main point Steinbeck makes is the extreme desperation of the migrants, who traveled thousands of miles across the country just to find any manual labor to survive.
</reasoning>

<answer>
<mcq-option>(A) Migrants wanted new cars more than they wanted anything else.</mcq-option>
<mcq-correct>(B) Migrants were so desperate for work that they traveled vast distances to find it</mcq-correct>
<mcq-option>(C) Migrants, called Okies, came mostly from Oklahoma.</mcq-option>
<mcq-option>(D) Migrants drove tractors instead of cars to make their way west.</mcq-option>
</answer>

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Answer:

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Analyze the historical context

The passage is from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, which depicts the struggles of migrant agricultural workers during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl era.

Examine the text evidence

The text describes how "the dispossessed were drawn west" from states like Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It emphasizes their desperation: they are "homeless and hungry," "scurrying to find work to do," and willing to do "anything, any burden to bear, for food."

Evaluate the answer choices

• Option 1: "Migrants wanted new cars..." is incorrect. The text mentions "car-loads" as a means of travel, not a desire for new cars.
• Option 2: "Migrants were so desperate for work..." matches the text perfectly. They traveled vast distances ("drawn west") and were desperate for any work ("to lift, to push, to pull...").
• Option 3: "Migrants, called Okies, came mostly from Oklahoma." While historically true that many were called Okies, the passage lists many states (Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Arkansas) and focuses on their shared plight rather than Oklahoma specifically.
• Option 4: "Migrants drove tractors..." is incorrect. The text says they were "tractored out," meaning tractors replaced them on their tenant farms, forcing them to leave.

Formulate the final conclusion

The main point Steinbeck makes is the extreme desperation of the migrants, who traveled thousands of miles across the country just to find any manual labor to survive.
</reasoning>

<answer>
<mcq-option>(A) Migrants wanted new cars more than they wanted anything else.</mcq-option>
<mcq-correct>(B) Migrants were so desperate for work that they traveled vast distances to find it</mcq-correct>
<mcq-option>(C) Migrants, called Okies, came mostly from Oklahoma.</mcq-option>
<mcq-option>(D) Migrants drove tractors instead of cars to make their way west.</mcq-option>
</answer>

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