Do you think Red and Woody's lives are as different as they seem on the surface? Could they have built a relationship and a life together under different circumstances?

Red and Woody are close in age; but Red is married to a much older man and Woody is just beginning his life. Do you think their lives are as different as they seem on the surface? Could they have built a relationship and a life together under different circumstances?

I don’t think they are very different, but I don’t think they would have worked once the trip was over. Red had more drive and ambition because she had a clear goal, whereas Woody just wanted to survive. I think they were both pretty immature despite the harsh lives they had already lived.
Perhaps if they reconnected when Woody came back from the war it could have worked, but Woody was a very different person then, more jaded and still he had no real goals for himself.

I think love can always prevail...and Woody had a love for Red that lasted throughout time, so I do believe they could have had a good relationship if they had met under different circumstances.

It is possible that Red and Woody could have built a life together - stranger things have happened - but it is unlikely. It is not so much their age difference as their maturity levels. Woody is still wet behind the ears and Red is already married. They are both liars and have both stolen to survive - so in that aspect they are alike. But Woody is still very immature - just sliding by. Whereas Red has a job and a husband and seems to be more in control of her life, knowing where she is and where she wants to go.

Red was an early feminist, choosing to seek a life of independence and accomplishment over traditional roles of marriage and childbirth. Yes, she was married but at least partially because of her economic circumstances and her health issues. Woody still needed to grow up and become an adult, and while their attraction to each other (his feelings were clearly much stronger than hers) was obvious, I feel it likely would have only become a great friendship had the circumstances been different.

I think they could have had a life together but they had had goals in the4ir lives they wanted to achieve first. This is especially true for Red who wanted to prove herself in her professional occupation as reporter. and venture into her passion of photography besides being married. Also Woody still needes to find his true passion.

I think both of their lives were similar as a result of their social positions-Woody, being a poor “Okie” orphan, and Red a female. I think what made their relationship special was the intimacy created by nights under the stars. Under the cover of darkness, they felt freer to express their feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears. Red recognized that Woody was a safe, sensitive, caring person. She trusted him. And he seemed to respect her, treating her as his equal- not brushing off her dreams or rushing her along.

We know by her “to do” list that Red was thinking about Woody before the trip even started. Her pregnancy and the loss of her film and camera seemed to cause her to think more practically than with her heart. Her options would have been much more limited as a pregnant, unemployed, divorcee in California. Given her health and a baby on the way, Red put the baby’s future well being before her feelings for Woody.

Had Red been able to complete the journey, I don’t think she would have stayed put for long. She had a whole lifetime to live in a much shorter time than most.

I agree with gloriam--Red was an early feminist, and no matter how much Woody loved her, I don't think he would have been able to accept her passion and goals as a life partner, especially at that time in history. I'm afraid that I don't believe that love conquers all, and they were too far apart to make this work in the long run.

I think the two of them were too different to build a long-term relationship. Red had goals and dreams of a career and seeing the world. Woody was just trying to survive. At the end of the book, it showed that he never developed a drive for a career. Red was also influenced by her heart condition and that she might not have a long life.

It's hard to say if their relationship would have survived if they remained together. Both were so young and people often change over time. But I also have friends who married at very young ages and 50 years later are still together. Many have commented that Woody didn't seem to have much ambition. I think Woody's life might have been different if would have had a mentor such as the Old Man or Belle Benchley after he got to California.