Animals and objects often serve as stand-ins for mankind, especially in literature. The authors repeatedly use them to reference and explain different characteristics, emotions and situations of inhumanity. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck used the turtle to illiterate the journey of many people in the 1930s and 1940s. During that time the Dust Bowl, a series of relentless wind storms and drought, was caused by improper farming methods that would help prevent erosion. Families have been forced to leave their farms to look for work due to drought and sandstorms that have left many homeless. Many people have experienced the pain of their mortgages being foreclosed on by banks. Families loaded up their cars and drove across town. As the automobile transformed into a more accessible form of transportation, it became a saving grace for many farm workers looking for a new start. The turtle and the automobile crossed paths both literally and figuratively and had a small but quite significant impact on each other. In John Steinbeck's book "The Grapes of Wrath" he vividly illustrates through the life of an Oklahoma farming family, the Joads, some of the ramifications of depression, drought, dust storms and degradation of people. In the third chapter Steinbeck puts the spotlight on a turtle that was crossing a highway. The turtle represents the lazy odyssey of Joads and other migrants looking for work. The turtle embodies tenacity, strong will and tenacity. Steinbeck writes: "On the grass along the edge of the road crawled a land tortoise, turning sideways at all, dragging its tall domed grass shell." The turtle was focused on his goal: to get to the other side of the road, not... middle of paper... crossing the road during rush hour. The friendly drivers stopped and waited for the turtle to cross their path being personified as a pedestrian. The author chastised the old fable of the tortoise and the hare by saying that the tale's reputation "...was in danger..." on the evening the tortoise was crossing. The situation of the snapping turtles mirrored that of the migrant farmers who were in the process of relocating; both faced challenges from every side and had to keep moving forward to stay alive. At the end of the article the turtle made it to the other side, but his freedom didn't last long. The turtle was seized and then detained in the correctional unit of the Long Island Cat and Dog Hospital. When immigrant farmers arrived at their destination, if they were lucky enough to be hired, they ended up being exploited with terrible working conditions and wages by their employers..