The opening scene suggests that the Dust Bowl would have a major impact on the lives of the farmers and their families. The first few paragraphs go into profound detail about the movements and formations of the weather which lead to the Dust Bowl, "The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale." (Steinbeck, 1) These weather changes eventually affect the lives of the characters whom the reader is introduced in the latter. The opening scene also illustrated the structure of families, where the "women… [stood] beside their men…and the children [played]" (Steinbeck, 6-7). The families were all similarly structured; Men made decisions, women watched the children and did as they were told.