Tom Joad's Life Is Better Than Prison

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

At the Hooverville camp, Tom meets Floyd, and Floyd explains how the whole system works. Tom doesn’t understand why the people do not just unionize, and he throws out some ideas about unionizing, “‘Well, s’pose them people got together an’ says, ‘Let ‘em rot.’, Woudn’ be long ‘fore the price went up, by God!’... ‘Well, first time this fella opens his mouth they grab ‘im an stick ‘im in jail…‘Well a fella eats in jail anyways....‘His kids don’t.” (pg246). Tom realized that if he did anything brash, he wouldn’t only be hurting himself, he would be hurting his family too. Although Floyd objected the idea of unity, he still made Tom realize that the game they were playing could not be played alone without consequence. During this time, Tom also realized that sacrifice was a part of joining the “we”, “‘Somebody got to take the blame. I got no kids. They’ll jus’ put me in jail, an’ I ain’t doin’ nothin’ but set aroun’’.” (pg266). Jim Casy’s sacrifice for Tom was an epiphanizing moment for him, because he realized that people will always help each other out in times of need, and that the migrants will always need to help each other out. In this middle part of the book, the migrants are still at a similar phase to Tom, they are helping each other out, but still have not completely unified.

He was packed onto prison trains like cattle. From being in prison for 5 years, he was dying to know what important events have happened. He describes how differently he is from the prisoners and how they have nothing in common. He soon came to understand that underneath their violent exterior and moral code that they were men driven by fear. Father Walter would be laboring in a vineyard and actually looked forward to it because he would be able to converse with people and do something.

As the novel progresses, Tom transforms from this selfish nature to become a caring person. Several examples of this transformation are seen throughout various chapters. When the Joads are traveling west to California with the Wilson’s, Tom offers to help them when their car breaks down. “Tom said nervously, ‘Look Al. I done my time, an’ now it’s done… Let’s jus’ try an’ get a con-rod an’ the hell with the res’ of it.’” Tom is showing a little more care for other people’s problems, however, he still has a selfish side because he still does not regret killing a man. He knew he had to pay for it by going to prison, but he still believes he did nothing wrong by taking a man’s life. By offering to help out with the Wilson’s’ car, he is on his way to becoming a less selfish person. As the book draws to a close, Tom stumbles upon Jim Casy again, who is murdered in front of his own eyes. As a result, he is thrown into a silent rage and kills another man which causes him to hide in the forest. He realizes that he is a danger to his family, so he sacrifices his safety in order for his family to be safe. ‘“Ya can’t do that, Ma. I tell you I’m jus’ a danger to ya,”’ (391). There is a clear transition from Tom acting selfish at the beginning of the book to him acting completely selfless at the end. This selflessness also contributed to him being a figure committed to bettering the

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.

When arriving at Florence State Prison Jimmy Santiago Baca’s life changed. Upon resaving a letter from a man named Harry he became interested on learning to read and write. Harry’s letter gave Jimmy some sense of belonging. He stated his feelings on the letter, “I was eager to communicate with someone to alleviate the boredom of the dungeon.” All it took was a paper with words to take someone away from that place they despised. Harry had sent Baca a dictionary so he could learn new words. To Jimmy this opened a new world to him. This gave him an opportunity on having control over something the prison couldn’t take from him.

The hatred felt by the Californians toward the Okies is exemplified by the law enforcement’s eagerness to “take in” anyone they feel shows the tiniest signs of trouble. For instance, a deputy makes up a reason to take in Floyd Knowles, from the Joad’s first Hooverville, because he questions a man offering work on how many men he needs and how much the pay is (Steinbeck 263). Shortly after the Joads leave the first Hooverville, they encounter a group of armed men along the road who insist that they “ain’t gonna have no goddamn Okies in this town [sic]” and make them turn their truck around (Steinbeck 279).

“I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look—wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there,” a quote said by Tom Joad from John Steinbeck’s novel Grapes of Wrath. Written during the great depression, John Steinbeck depicts a Oklahoma family traveling to California for work after losing their farm. The main character Tom Joad is first seen as caring only for himself and his family. By the ending the novel Tom has grown from caring about himself to caring and seeing the whole world as his family.

Junior describes his life of poverty on the Spokane Indian Reservation. He wants the readers to know how life truly is on the Reservation by incorporating informal, youthful, and conversational language and gloomy diction. These elements together in his writing develop a bitter and helpless

Tom Joad and his family always kept a sense of subtle hope throughout their journey from Oklahoma to California. Hope is what kept them from falling apart. Although Casy struggled with his inner faith, overall, the family did have faith that a new life in California would work out in the long run and would eventually be best for their family. They hoped that this new life would provide their family with more opportunities, and most importantly a job. When they arrived, they discovered that "all of California quickens with produce, and the fruit grows heavy”(Steinbeck). This was the beginning of a new start for the Joad family, but also the beginning of a new struggle. Throughout the novel the Joad family is challenged to survive both physically and spiritually. Their power and resilience is challenged at every turn in their unfolding journey. Casy begins to question his own beliefs along with the teachings of God preached in the Bible. Over the course of the novel, Casy drifts away from the teachings of the Bible and stops believing in the concept of right and wrong. "Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain 't

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck uses numerous literary techniques to advocate for change in the social and political attitudes of the Dust Bowl era. Simile, personification, and imagery are among the many devices that add to the novel’s ability to influence the audience’s views. Moreover, through his use of detail, Steinbeck is able to develop a strong bond between the reader and the Joad clan. This bond that is created evokes empathy from the audience towards the Joads as they face numerous challenges along their journey. The chapters go between the Joad’s story and a broad perspective of the Dust Bowl’s effect on the lives of Mid-western farmers in which Steinbeck illustrates dust storms devastating the land, banks evicting tenant

“At the heart of every immigrant’s experience is a dream- a vision of hope that is embodied in his or her destination” (Gladstein 685). In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath the migrants imagined the absolute aspects of living care free to the west. However, everything changed once they traveled to the west, realizing the simple concept turned into hazardous problems. John Steinback emphasized the American dream of economic stability and truculent situations towards the Joads family's point of view. Throughout the immigration, the Joads family goes through constant and unpredictable changes in employment, and their eventual failure to find success in California. The novel has been called by critics "a celebration of the human spirit", in several ways it is true due to the aspects of human nature. Despite the hazardous actions people can do, it is important to realize everything around us.

In John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Tom Joad is the protagonist. After serving four years in jail for murder, he is finally out on parole. When Tom is first introduced, he is portrayed as a negative character. Tom is stubborn and likes things to go his way. In the beginning of the novel Tom lives his life day by day, the future does concern him. Throughout the novel Tom develops from a man only interested in his own independent personal needs and desires to someone who is devoted to his family, and is willing to sacrifice his own personal comfort for their benefit. By the end of the novel Tom Joad transformed from a negative character into a positive character who cares about the future of his nation and the families that are

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

If Tom heard, he made no acknowledgment. His eyes remained dull, his expression vacant. Somewhere, in the midst of the chaos that was the harshness of reality, he had managed to build a protective wall, a refuge in his mind where he was no longer a victim, no longer a weak, pathetic excuse for a man. He was Tom Hanson the cop, the loving son, the loyal friend; he was a man free