Essay On Tom Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

Through the roughest times in life, we come across crises that reveal the true character in those around us. Those who are strong are divided from the weak and the followers divide from the leaders. In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, author John Steinbeck presents the character Ma Joad who serves an important role as the rock that keeps the family together. The Joad family, apart from many families in Oklahoma, is forced to leave their homes in search of work and better opportunities; California not only leaves them in poverty but despair. But through it all Ma Joad is the leader of the family that exhibits selflessness in order to protect and secure her family.

At the onset of the book, Young Tom has just been released from prison and is interested in making up for lost time and enjoying himself. He is a strong family support during the journey but is among the first to begin reaching out to a larger family. At the end he has focused on the plight and abuse of all the homeless farmers and recognizes that they must

(146) In order to emphasize his humility and goodness, Tom has been cast as a ?one-arm jackleg? (as he so eloquently puts it). He is a carpenter, ably fixing up the Crater property. He performs the miracles of reviving Mrs. Crater?s long-dead Ford (the religious connection reinforced by O?Connor?s characterization of his expression ?as if he had just raised the dead? [151]) and teaching deaf and mute daughter Lucynell to say the word ?bird?. He eschews modern man?s obsession with money and claims that he has a ?moral intelligence? despite his physical shortcomings. By emphasizing his focus on the spiritual nature of life, Tom succeeds in marrying the daughter and receiving money from Mrs. Crater.

Tom never does anything without doing it to the fullest, good or bad. Tom has an overall extremely short temper, assertive,confident and aggressive nature. Tom’s wild, emotional, and uncaring attitude end up getting three people killed. Tom in the end is ultimately concerned with himself and his lavished ,intense, and high paced

The dust bowl was a tragic time in America for so many families and John Steinbeck does a great job at getting up-close and personal with one family to show these tragedies. In the novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, John Steinbeck employed a variety of rhetorical devices, such as asyndeton, personification and simile, in order to persuade his readers to enact positive change from the turmoil of the Great Depression. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck tells the fictional narrative of Tom Joad and his family, while exploring social issues and the hardships of families who had to endure the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Steinbeck’s purpose was to challenge readers to look at

Tom Joad lives his life with the “one foot before the other” type of attitude. The future does not concern him in the beginning of the novel. He does not think about the next day until the next day is there. He does this because he does not want to worry himself. He is afraid that if he becomes worried about his future, then he will become obsessed with it and will eventually be driven to insanity. As the novel went on, Tom realized that it was he that held his family together and provided the determination and support to keep going on. He possesses the skills and knowledge to make money on his own, but he decides to stay with his family and help them move along. The Joad family encounters many dilemmas where Tom has to make crucial decisions. Tom starts to realize what is best for his family’s future.

ordeals of the trip, that she is in fact gaining a much wider community of people. She states this at the end of the novel quite clearly when she says: “Use’ ta be the fambly was fust. It ain’t so now. It’s anybody. Worse off we get, the more we got to do.” (569) Ma Joad’s selfless actions throughout the novel are the direct portrayal of Jim Casy’s ideals. Her every action is in

The cold, soaked earth, which was a source of life not too long ago, abducts a young child while the mother can only watch hopelessly as the husband shovels mounds of dirt. This event is not too different than most that citizens living during the Dust Bowl had to deal with. The self-destructive nature caused the American people to keep expanding and shaping the land as they saw fit. Because of this they overworked the land which, combined with drought, caused the Dust Bowl. The big corporations soon bought out most of the land in the Mid-West and many families were soon forced to make their living by other means. The shift of these families out west to a limited number of jobs

However, as time develops and the migration continues her exterior begins to slightly crack as she realizes she cannot fully keep her sorrows to herself. As she is not a full advocate of solitude, the unity of her family is important and keeps her moving forward. The father of the family, Pa Joad, is a character that is naturally god and thoughtful. The hardship of the trip as a whole and attempting to remain the head of the family affects him, and causes him to become emotionally drained. However, he began as the strong leader collaborating the big move for the entire family, upon leaving several shelters Mama Joad informed him that he is beginning to loose his responsibility to support the family. For the reason that Pa Joad gradually breaksdown continues to remind the family that hardships are not the only way to build character. Tom Joad, becomes friends with a very important person throughout the uprooting process and learns that a human being can have a little effect on the world if they do not bond together as a whole. The hardships faced with, cause Tom to follow this teaching and come to the realization that he cannot continue to be a silent witness to the injustices in the world. This experience, and from meeting friends who share the same beliefs ultimately caused him to become an advocate and join union organizers. The strength that is portrayed from the individuals who choose to remain together showed Tom another side of life, and that he will

Tom, though, is a very complicated individual who turns out to be a tremendous asset and burden to the family. His parole causes the family an unneeded worry, but does get work that helps the family. He is the main protagonist for his family and the main follower of Jim Casy's philosophy on human nature. Jim is much more of a talker and idealist, and he actually puts what he preached into action. Jim Casy is frequently compared with Jesus Christ and his lifestyle of preaching and leading people. As well as sacrificing himself for Tom and the Joad family which upholds his common held belief. Tom carries Jim’s message after his death and aids others with it. The Joad family, along with Jim Casy, shows the benefit of people uniting in order to accomplish goals and this is a lesson that the reader can take away from this novel.

The family has to deal with the native Californians who fear that these newcomers will take their jobs and their lands. These Californians try to keep the migrants out, and some even use violence to do so. In addition, the "[f]amily's fallin' apart" (294). Granma and Grampa died, and Noah and Connie leave the family. Although Ma tries to keep the family together, some of them leave unexpectedly through death and some leave willingly. The departure of family members stresses the Joads even more. Despite these difficulties, the journey is necessary because it is a quest that will allow the family to develop. In How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, the author explains that every trip is a quest. Following his structure for "quest," the Joads are the quester who has a stated reason to go to California, which is to find jobs. During the trip, the Joads face multiple obstacles: finance, deaths, transportation issues, and brutal policemen. These difficulties, however, bond the family. They work together to overcome these obstacles: "When the cars pulled into the camping places, each member had his duty and went to it without instruction" (267). Ma realizes the importance of family and tries to keep the family together. Tom also later realizes the power of people, and he expresses his anger toward the companies, "Well, s'pose them people got together an' says, 'Let em rot.' Wouldn' be long 'fore the price went up, by God" (336). If the people work together and not just one family but every family work together, people will have the power to fight against the companies and banks. So, learning the power of people and working together is the real reason for the

     The book, Grapes of Wrath, follows the life of the Joad family, who live in Oklahoma during the Depression. The story begins with the return of Tom Joad from prison, where he has spent the last few years. He killed a boy in a bar fight and is now on parole. He is taken by surprise when he returns to Oklahoma only to find that his house is in ruins and his family is not there. He doesn’t know that, while he was gone, the banks forced his family and thousands of others off their land. Tom is accompanied by a former priest, Casey, who searches with Tom for his family. Tom and Casey find the Joad family at Tom’s uncle’s house. The family is preparing to move west to California in hopes that they

In Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he describes the struggle of the small farmer and farmworker. The principal characters define quiet dignity and courage in their struggle to survive and in the caring for their loved ones. Through this novel, Steinbeck displays his respect for all the poor and oppressed of our world.

Through the book tom has a lot of changes and the changes are for the better. Tom used to be lazy and not responsible and over all bad. But he changed and became a better person.

Here the joads are looking back at their home “And still the family stood about like dreamwalkers, their eyes focused panoramically, seeing no detail, but the whole dawn, the whole land, the whole texture of the country at once. (Steinbeck PDF 76)’ At the start of their journey the reader sees Tom guiding his family. Tom joad can be seen as a parallel to moses, both of them killed a man and returned to lead their people to the a better life. Other interesting parallels include that both Moses and Tom both had brothers, both wanted to reach the promised land, and both left their home where they faced hardship and struggle. The significance of this is that leadership is valuable and that leaders are there to guide people to a better future. Another character the reader sees is Noah Joad which is also a reference to the biblical Noah. This is clearly seen when Noah says “An' I ain't a-gonna leave her. I'm a-gonna go now, Tom- down by the river. I'll catch fish an' stuff, but I can't leave her. I can’t.” (Steinbeck PDF 141). Both Noah Joad and Biblical Noah had a affiliation with water. One parallel between the novel and the bible is the flood in the novel and Noah’s Ark, a biblical story where the earth was flooded by God. At the end of the flood in the novel and as well in the Bible there was rebirth and life. The religious value of this is even through adversity and hardship there will be good