from chapter 3 of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

If anyone has a copy of this book at hand, I'd appreciate any input you might have on this chapter.

It seems to have been included to paint a picture of life in general--the struggle and challenge for all living things. The main body of the work is, of course, the story of the displaced farmers struggling to survive and to find a place in the world where they may, in relative peace and prosperity, establish the next generation. The turtle's struggle to progress to whatever haven it is seeking, and the oat seed's unconscious determination to find a new and promising spot to ensure the survival of its species seems to be telling the story of all living things.

I see in the two drivers, symbols of the good and evil which all living things experience.

This chapter, at first, appears to be a strange detour from the story, but on further thought, sums it up in allegory.

What are your thoughts on this chapter? Do you feel it was a necessary inclusion or would the book have been as well-off without it?