*Chapters 16-19, A

Rules of Migrant Society 

1. You have:
          I.            The right to keep your past unknown to others.
       II.            The right to be fed if hungry or feed others if they are hungry.
    III.            The right to remain quiet when the camp is asleep.
   IV.            The right to privacy in a tent.
      V.            The right to talk and to listen.
   VI.            The right to refuse help or accept it.
   VII.            The right to offer help or decline it.
   VIII.            The right to court if you are a son, and the right to be courted if you are a daughter.
   IX.            No right to commit the act of seduction or rape.
      X.            No right to commit adultery, theft or murder.    
2. 
   
3. In the Grapes of Wrath, the rules and laws of the migrant society were never officially stated or written. They were known through learning how to survive in the camps during the journey to California. Two of the unspoken rules of the camping societies were that the migrants had the right to refuse or accept help, and the right to offer or decline help. Self reliance is such a huge & continuous theme throughout the novel. Although you may want to retain your dignity & refrain from asking for help or any type of assistance, when your living conditions are similar to those of the Joads & the other families in the story, it is a bit difficult to not ask for any help. Even if you do not physically ask anyone or help, the migrants in these camping societies still offered it. They do not expect anything back, but they know that if faced with a similar dilemma, they would want as much help as well. This is what occurred when the many farmers & their families driven out of their land were forced to come together. Once unified, they were family. Although not blood relatives, they were still family because of the similar situations, emotions, & many other similarities that they shared. They struggled together, and as a result they cared & loved for eachother. The two rules did not have to be spoken to be known that they were to be followed. They were basic qualities of a living organism. Most of these people had those qualities & knew because of human instinct. The unspoken rules guided the camping societies in helping eachother out & to not be selfish. (Ignore the extra numbers!)