Part 3: Chapter 10 - 13 Summary and Analysis

After spending the night among the giant sequoias and drinking in all the majesty, ancient mystery and quiet solitude that he can contain, Steinbeck heads down the coast to his hometown. The place has changed tremendously. The population has boomed and areas that had at one time been wild are now suburbs. Out of obligation and a hope for a simple, quiet visit with family, he goes to his sister's house. Steinbeck's hope evaporates away in the heat of political arguments. His sister is Republican and he is Democratic. Barbs shoot from the right and left of the political opinion spectrum until both combatants are too exhausted to continue.

Steinbeck explains that he had grown up in a Republican household, and his conversion to the Democratic Party is seen as some kind of insult, no matter what...