In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, representatives of the Bank force the Joad family out of their home during the age of the Great Depression. The representatives force most all sharecroppers in Oklahoma out, telling them that sharecropping is no longer profitable. Droughts in Oklahoma occurred too often, destroying the crops. Tom Joad, who had just been released on probation from the local jail, went to help his family on their farm. He meets Jim Casy, his church reverend from when he was a boy, and tells Jim to join him. The family accepts Jim as one of their own family members. The Joads and Casy move to California in search for work, Ma Joad, trying to keep the family together as one unit. But the family unit begins to fall apart, first when Rosasharn's husband leaves her, then when Noah Joad stays at the riverside.
English: John Steinbeck
Ma Joad and Tom Joad discuss Tom's future.
To reach California the Joads travel U.S. Highway ...The journey to California not only for the Joads but also for all the "Okies" is very hard. The food is scarce, the work even scarcer. All the former farmers help each other out when they can, and form camps along side the road, (called squatter camps) protecting one and another. Throughout this novel the idea of Steinbeck's philosophy: all people are part of one great soul, is foreshadowed often. Jim Casy is represented as a Christ-like figure throughout the novel and other people representing other ideas in Christianity. The people in the squatter camps are one of many scenes in the novel that shows Steinbeck's philosophy. The Joads meet many people on their journey to California, including the Wilson's and Wainwright's. Upon reaching California, the Okies are made to work on farms for long hours with very low pay. Californian's would take advantage...