Cost of Gas
“At Needles [Tom] drove into a service station, checked the worn tires for air, checked the spares tied to the back. He had the gas tank filled, and he bought two five-gallon cans of gasoline and a two-gallon can of oil,” (196).
First, It is important to consider that the Joads were buying gas by the gallon, not by the dollar. Many Americans today incessantly complain about today’s high gas prices, compared to the good ol’ days (such as 17 cents per gallon in the 1930s). According to Mark J. Perry, this is an example of “money illusion.” By a measure of inflation-adjusted dollars, gas prices today are about the same or perhaps, even lower.
If we were to calculate the price of gas according to Mark J. Perry’s article, two gallons of gas would have cost the Joads about $0.34. $0.34 in 1935 would cost $5.79 in 2014.
Source: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-31-gas-prices-edit_x.htm
"Keep it Under 40"
Grapes of Wrath is set in the 1930s – thus it is worth speculating whether or not these historical events impacted the Joad family.
Due to a short supply of goods during World War II, the United States government put a limit on the basic items for each household – such as gas, bread, milk, etc. Tokens or tickets, which specified the amount of items people could buy were issued to each household.
The first non-food commodity being rationed was surprisingly not gasoline, but rubber. The Japanese had taken over the plantations in the Dutch East Indies. Americans relied on these plantations because they produced 90% of their raw rubber.
Interestingly, reminders were even featured in popular shows such as "Looney Tunes."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANOl4ud07cU
Thank you, Daffy Duck, for reminding us to conserve both fuel and rubber.