Tom Joad's Conflict Resolution

As the novel The Grapes of Wrath drew to a close, Tom Joad's initial conflict of having to face prejudice after being let out of prison comes to a weird close. He kills a police officer. The quote is "The first time he knew he had missed and struck a shoulder, but the second time his crushing blow found the head, and as the heavy man sank down, three more blows found his head." Like what? Why would someone do that after just being released from prison for manslaughter? That's kind of ridiculous. But it goes to show the desperation and the anger that Joad experienced throughout the novel because of the prejudices that others had against him. What he felt inside of him led him to kill a police officer brutally with a pick-handle. I guess that just goes to show what hunger and the strife of living in such poverty will do to a person. I feel for the guy.

Tone Toward Tom Joad (Second Half)

   As the storyline of the novel progressed, I noticed that the author's tone progressed from showing Tom Joad as a criminal, and a less reputable character to being a man of more upstanding character. This is shown through the quote, "Then I'll be all around in the dark - I'll be ever'where—wherever you look. Wherever they's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever they's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there... I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad an'—I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready. An' when our folk eat the stuff they raise an' live in the houses they build—why, I'll be there," which is said by Tom Joad near the end of the story (Steinbeck 486). This quote really epitomizes the hardship that Joad faces and shows just how awful the Depression was for people in America. Like the violence and the stark despair portrayed by the words that come out of Joad's mouth generate a profound feeling of sympathy for him at least inside of myself. That is the tone that Steinbeck is hoping to create toward Joad. Sympathy. A feeling that most people in the modern world can't really relate to, but is conjured up by the words of a Depression-era writer.

Conflict of Tom Joad in Grapes of Wrath

While I read the second section of "The Grapes of Wrath" I was marveled by the amount of adversity that Tom Joad faced. For on thing, early on in the novel Tom was released from prison. This was a major conflict in that it severely limited his freedom so I believe that he tried to overcome this adversity by embracing his freedom when he was released from parole which is exemplified when he gets on the truck and heads out to see his family. Another conflict that Tom must face on his journey is the prejudice of the Californian locals who did everything in their power to prevent the "Okies" from securing jobs. I can relate to this as being a teenager in today's economy makes it very hard for me to find a job as well. In all, the struggles of Tom Joad can be related to modern American struggles in the changing economy.

Grapes of Wrath Character Analysis: Tom Joad

The character Tom Joad in the novel, "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck is first presented to readers in the opening pages of the novel. Recently out of prison, Joad is presented as a working-man, with "The space between thumb and forefinger and the hams of his hands... shiny with callus" (Steinbeck 6). Through his dialogue with the truck driver whom he hitches a ride with in Chapter 2, readers can also see that Joad is not a huge fan of "the man" or the established order of things in the U.S. as is shown when he asks the truck driver for a ride, and then says, "but sometimes a guy'll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker," in response to the trucker asking him if he saw the "no riders" sticker on the windshield (Steinbeck 6). Finally, readers catch an air of a "rebel-without-a-cause" attitude in Joad when he asks the preacher in Chapter 4 if he's "too damn holy to take a drink" (Steinbeck 14). In all, readers are supposed to take a liking to Tom Joad throughout the course of the first few chapters of the book because of his "bad-boy charm" and his honest principles that guide him through life.