40 pages • 1 hour read
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Steinbeck stops in Chicago to meet up with his wife but doesn’t detail his time there, noting that it would damage the story’s continuity. Just before leaving the city, he picks Charley up from the kennel, and although he’s clean and well-groomed, the dog seems upset at having been abandoned for so long. They continue the journey on small highways across the farmland of Illinois and into Wisconsin. He’s surprised by Wisconsin’s diverse landscape; the state’s huge dairy industry led him to imagine that it might be 100% fields of cows. He particularly likes the Wisconsin Dells, an alien landscape carved by glaciers during the Ice Age.
Upon entering Minnesota, Steinbeck gets lost again: Although he mapped out a scenic route with three crossings of the Mississippi River, he gets trapped on a gigantic highway outside the Twin Cities and misses the river entirely. He stops at a German restaurant, which he finds disgusting. There, he asks the staff for directions to Sauk City, Sinclair Lewis’s hometown. They make fun of him for getting lost, saying that it’s impossible to get lost in Minneapolis.
After a quick visit to Sauk City and some reminiscing about meeting Lewis as an old man, Steinbeck continues on to Fargo, North Dakota.
Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
By John Steinbeck
Action & Adventure
View Collection
Aging
View Collection
American Literature
View Collection
Animals in Literature
View Collection
Beauty
View Collection
Books on Justice & Injustice
View Collection
Books that Feature the Theme of...
View Collection
Civil Rights & Jim Crow
View Collection
Community
View Collection
Fear
View Collection
Inspiring Biographies
View Collection
Memoir
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Nobel Laureates in Literature
View Collection
The Future
View Collection
The Past
View Collection