Was the journey to California worth it?

The Joads have decided that there are jobs in California and they leave everything they know and love behind for the chance of survival and their future in this country. Chance is the keyword in that last sentence and that is exactly what it is. Some people are fortunate in California to have a steady job that pays them enough to feed their family, but on the way to California the Joads experience some of the consequences of their decision. People stop and tell them that there is no work there and that they should turn back to where they came from. The Joads do not want to believe this because of the promise and hope that they have for this far off land. On their way to California though they use quite a bit of gasoline and of the money they had. They get to the point of begging for gasoline so that they can continue their journey, and at this point their dog is hit by a roadster and their misfortune continues from there(Steinbeck, Chapter 13). On this journey, the Joads lose both Granma and Granpa. They are sadden by the elders' death, but the rest of the family knows that they must have them buried and continue on unless they want to end up like their recently deceased. After troubles of food, money, and gas on the trip they finally arrive in California. They have to wait many days after looking for jobs until they finally land a job that is paying them barely enough to keep on living and they end up making just enough to make dinner each day and this is even after everyone is working the entire day. I am not sure if the trip was worth it or not. They lose their dog, grandparents, and quite a bit of money. In the end they do get jobs and a barn for a home, but was their original home and state in this bad of shape? They are working for food. They cannot buy new clothes for a while after saving their money for a very long time and I think that this is very sad. I hope that in the end they think that they made the right decision and I guess that this is all that matters.

Steinbeck, John, and Robert J. DeMott. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1992. Print.