The Grapes of Wrath

By John Steinbeck

Characters

Tom Joad

Protagonist of the story.

The Joad family's second son

Plainspoken, forthright and direct man.

Good-natured and thoughtful

He served four years on a manslaughter

conviction.

He takes leadership of the family even

though he is young.

Ma Joad

The mother of the Joad family.

a woman who knowingly and gladly

fulfills her role as “the citadel of the

family.”

Practical and warm-spirited,

she tries to hold the family together.

Pa Joad

Ma Joad’s husband and Tom’s father.

An Oklahoma tenant farmer who has

been evicted from his farm.

A plainspoken, good-hearted man

Hardworking sharecropper and

family man

Al Joad

the third Joad son

younger than Noah and Tom

fond of cars and girls.

He assumes a greater position in the family

He helps drive the family to California.

He wants to leave the family and go on his

own

-A former preacher

-A staunch friend of Tom Joad,

-Casy goes to prison in Tom’s stead for

a fight

-He emerges a determined organizer of

the migrant workers.

-He is honest, compassionate, and

courageous.Jim Casy

Grampa Joad

Grampa Joad is rowdy and vigorous,

refuses to leave the family's farm in

Oklahoma

dies on the first night of the trip.

Grampa's stroke is caused in part by the

"medicine" that Ma and Tom give him.

Gramma Joad

deeply religious and energetic

unable to adapt to a new way of life

lose her husband.

dies as the family crosses the Mojave

Desert,

Muley Graves

the Joads’ Oklahoma neighbors.

lets his wife and children move to California

the stubborn man

refuses to leave Oklahoma.

He is homeless

Noah Joad

•Tom’s older brother.

•Slow and quiet

•Noah leaves his family

•suffers from mental disabilities

occurred during childbirth.

a prisoner of his guilt over his wife's death

years before.

become an alcoholic.

sense of guilt is transformed into anger

Uncle John Joad

Summary

A poor immigrant family called the Joads who are forced to give up their farm because of bad economic circumstances and drought. They decide to move to California where they hope to be able to make a brand new start. Unfortunately thousands of other families think the same and life out there turns out to be even harder than it was back in Oklahoma.

The narrative begins as Tom Joad go back to his parents' forty-acre farm. Tom has just been paroled after serving four years in prison for manslaughter. He has to move to California with his family. During the way to go there his grandpa and grandma are dead. Moreover, he and his family have to confront with many problems and find the good way to live for the better life.

Themes

Poverty Displaced people Importance of family and home

Poverty

Living conditions and overt

exploitation by famers.

Ex. The joads force to leave their

permanent home to become

migrant workers.

Displaced people

Moving around

Trying to find a sense of place

Searching for a place to put down

new roots.

EX. The joads have to move to

California because they believe that

they will find a better future and

have a better condition life there.

Importance of family and home

The Joads move to California together.

Ex. Tom Joad who just come back to his farm and he has to move with his family to find a better life. Even his grampa and gramma do not want to leave the farm because they born with this farm. However, they have to move together because they are family.