Throughout the 1930's, the thousands of migrants traveling cross country on route 66 made the road a very long historic monument to America. As the best means of leaving the dust bowl and poverty behind, it symbolized a road to opportunity for all of the travelers. The map below shows the major cities that the road passes through, many of which were mentioned in The Grapes of Wrath. To the Okies looking to find work and start over, route 66 offered the only potential way to success. Because of this, Steinbeck called it "the Mother Road," a protective figure to the poor and hopeful.
Most of highway 66 traverses through very flat, dry land. There are long sections with almost no turns and no mountains, and very little vegetation. This can be seen in the picture below:
Many businesses along the route prospered from the influx of customers. Many gas stations sprang up to meet the demand of gas that the inefficient cars needed, like the one shown in the picture above. Mechanics also opened businesses along the road to take advantage of the junky cars. These mechanics sold highly overpriced, used parts to the travelers, and the poor families had no choice but to pay to keep the car working. This can be seen in chapter 12 in The Grapes of Wrath, when a family stops at a service station to buy another tire. The seller attempted to hide that the casing of a tire was in very bad condition, but when the buyer found out the price was decreased by very little. Scenarios like this reveal how immoral man is other men when people are in desperate conditions and vulnerable.
Towns grew surrounding the road during the thirties to sell goods to the traveling customers. Drugstores, like the one in the picture below, sold small basic necessities for travel. Other stores sold stale food that was the best the Okies could afford.
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