"A guy got to get ahead. Why, I’m thinkin’ of takin’ one of them correspondence school courses. Mechanical engineering. It’s easy. Just study a few easy lessons at home. I’m thinkin’ of it. Then I won’t drive no truck. Then I’ll tell other guys to drive trucks."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 2. The truck driver’s words to Tom Joad about his lofty ambitions speak to the theme of hope and hopelessness, a common theme running through the novel.