How is Steinbeck able to convey the idea that--despite all the hardships they have already endured--the Joad Family is clinging to a sense of hope to keep them going forward as they leave the Weedpatch camp to move to a new farm is search of work and...

As the Joads travel across the country, they are unsure of what to expect when they arrive in California. Each of the Joads deal with the uncertainty in a different way, but regardless of how they discuss the future or remain silent about it, there is an element of hope within all of them. They believe that they are starting out on a journey towards a new and better life. The men have hope that they will find work, Ma has hope that she will have a white house, and Rose of Sharon has hope that she will live in a town with an ice box and easy access to the movie theater. They maintain this sense of hope despite the fact that they inhabit a world with little hope. Even as they face immense difficulties in their everyday life - work is not easy to find, food is expensive, and they are frequently moving from one place to another, they maintain this sense of hope. When the men pull into the peach farm and begin to realize how difficult the work will be, Ma still believes that soon they will save enough to leave and buy a house with some land. Their attitudes contrast with their environment, and it creates a tension between hope and hopelessness that plays out throughout the novel.