“Charity of the poor contrasted with the greed of the rich” One of the ironies of the book was that, as Ma Joad said, "If your in trouble or hurt or need -- go to poor people. They're the only ones that'll help -- the only ones."(pg 335) The irony is that if you need something you have to go to the people who have nothing.There are many examples of this in the book. …showed first 75 words of 531 total…

…showed last 75 words of 531 total…enough to take any wage. Meanwhile they dumped or burned excess food to keep the prices high and put guards around them to keep the migrants from getting them. The company store also tries to rip the migrants off by charging extra for things because it costs gas to go to the nearest town. Through out the novel, the acts of kindness by poor people are contrasted to the greed and meanness of the rich.