What is the general mood and feeling of chapter 12

Building off earlier segments of The Grapes of Wrath, this chapter begins to affirm the unpleasant fact that California may not be a panacea for the Joads' problems. The mood is tense and desperate. Even if the Joads reach the California border, they may be turned back. So many others are making the same journey that there is bound to be an overcrowded job market among the migrant workers in California. Arrival in California does not necessarily mean that the Joads' problems will be solved or that they will be in even a marginally better situation than faced them in Oklahoma.