"But I like to think how nice it’s gonna be, maybe, in California. Never cold. An’ fruit ever’place, an’ people just bein’ in the nicest places, little white houses in among the orange trees. I wonder – that is, if we all get jobs an’ all work – maybe we can get one of them little white houses. An’ the little fellas go out an’ pick oranges right off the tree. They ain’t gonna be able to stand it, they’ll get to yellin’ so."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 10. The theme of hope rings through Ma Joad’s words of positivity when she dreams of what it will be like in California when they get there. As the family loads up their jalopy, Ma fantasizes about the American Dream of owning a little white house and living a bountiful life in the Golden State. It almost sounds too good to be true!