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Motifs
Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar Wilde's famous declaration that "Life is... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel of truth or reason. Oscar... read full definition
A paradox is a figure of speech that seems to contradict itself, but which, upon further examination, contains some kernel... read full definition
Chapter 8
Explanation and Analysis—Instinct and Knowledge:
After learning from Muley that his family has moved to Uncle John’s house in preparation for their journey to California, Tom paradoxically suggests to Casy that he can easily navigate there as long as he doesn’t “think” about it:
“I hope you’re dead sure of the way,’’ Jim Casy said. “I’d hate to have the dawn come and us be way to hell an’ gone somewhere.’’ The cotton field scurried with waking life, the quick flutter of morning birds feeding on the ground [...] Tom said, “I could shut my eyes an’ walk right there. On’y way I can go wrong is think about her. Jus’ forget about her, an’ I’ll go right there. Hell, man, I was born right aroun’ in here. I run aroun’ here when I was a kid. They’s a tree over there—look, you can jus’ make it out."
Lacking a car, Tom and Casy decide to walk to Uncle John’s house in the dark of night. Casy expresses his doubts that Tom knows the way, noting that he would hate to discover, once the sun rises, that they have gone in the wrong direction. Tom, however, is confident: “I could shut my eyes an’ walk right there,” he notes. However, he does concede that he might go in the wrong direction if he thinks about it too much. To avoid this, he decides to “forget” about the direction and instead “go right there” on instinct. Here, Tom paradoxically suggests that thinking and planning will only increase their chances of getting lost. Central to his paradox is the relationship between instinct and knowledge. His understanding of the area, Steinbeck suggests, is instinctive rather than a matter of conscious thought, emphasizing his close connection to the land upon which he was raised.
