Billboards of/in California

Billboards along the road to California and in support of migrating West are a huge component to the misperceptions of going West for a better life. These photographs that Dorthea Lange took from the 1930's demonstrate a couple of these said billboards. The first is an animation of a smiling, sleeping boy with the caption "travel while you sleep". The smiling boy creates the perception that life is easy and all is calm and well in the world. The caption indicates that traveling West is so easy and smooth that one could do it in their calm and pleasant sleep. The irony of this image is that there are children standing and playing under this billboard. They seem disheveled and not well rested. They may be partaking in family responsibilities like cooking, but we as viewers can only make guesses in that relation. This related back to Grapes of Wrath in the way that traveling on the road is no easy stroll. This can be exemplified in the way that Grandpa dies and they have to bury his body on the side of the road rather than giving him a proper ceremony.

The second billboard is an image of the whole family - mom, dad, the kids, and the dog - all packed into the car. Everyone is dressed nicely and smiling happily. The caption for this billboard is "There's no way like the American Way". The family packed into the car seems as though they are going on a nice, family vacation rather than moving West. This is exactly how the billboards wanted to make the travel West seem; like a nonchalant vacation. The caption indicates that this is what all American families do and should do. This is portrayed in Grapes of Wrath in the way that the Joads' family farm is taken over by the cotton businesses and that, because of this, all farmers need to move West because of the "plentiful opportunities for work".