Ethnography of Al Joad
The Grapes of Wrath
Transportation
"Al, bending over the wheel, kept shifting his eyes from the road to the instrument panel, watching the ammeter needle, which jerked suspiciously, watching the oil gauge and the heat indicator. And his mind was cataloguing weak points and suspicious things about the car" (Steinbeck 96).
Work
"'Christ Awmighty,' Al said. 'I ruther work in a garage.'
Pa had followed docilely into the field. He turned suddenly on Al. 'Now you jus' quit it,' he said. 'You been a-hankerin' an' a-complainin' an' a-bullblowin'. You get to work" (Steinbeck 371).
Recreation
In Al's free time he is usually off with a girl somewhere or working on the truck. He is always chasing girls throughout the whole book and promises to marry two girls in the book one of which he lives during the book. He constantly off with a girl even when the family needs him. During the rare occasions when he is not off with a girl he is usually working on the truck, trying to keep it running.
"'Well, we're gonna git married, ain't we?'
'Sure, sometime'... 'You promised.' He walked his fingers around farther. 'Git away', she cried. 'You said we was.'" (Steinbeck 355).
Clothing
Al is in the same clothing for the majority of the book and does not buy new clothes until they work at the peach farm and begin to finally make decent money. He does not care about his clothes and is satisfied with his one pair of overalls. He seems to be worried about many other things.
"On a Saturday they drove into Tulare, and they bought a tin stove and new overalls for Al and Pa and Winfield and Uncle John, and they bought a dress for Ma" (Steinbeck 409)