Tom Joad is the novel’s protagonist. At the beginning of the novel, he has just been paroled after serving a four-year prison sentence for killing a man in self-defense. He is strong, stoic, principled, and observant; during the trip to California, the Joad family comes to rely on Tom for precisely these qualities. Tom is very principled, and injustice enrages him. This rage can get the better of him—the most notable example of this is when Tom retaliates for the murder of Jim Casyby killing the offending policeman. Over the course of the novel, Tom comes to realize the importance and strength of the migrant worker community, and at the novel's close, he has decided to dedicate himself to organizing the workers to improve their quality of life.
Tom Joad Quotes in The Grapes of Wrath
The The Grapes of Wrath quotes below are all either spoken by Tom Joad or refer to Tom Joad. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 2
Quotes
“…sometimes a guy'll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker.”
Related Characters:
Tom Joad (speaker)
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10
Quotes
And now they [the Joads] were weary and frightened because they had gone against a system they did not understand and it had beaten them.
Related Characters:
Tom Joad, Ma Joad, Pa Joad, Rose of Sharon, Grampa Joad, Granma Joad, Al Joad
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 28
Quotes
“But now I been thinkin' what he said, an' I can remember—all of it. Says one time he went out in the wilderness to find his own soul, an' he foun' he didn' have no soul that was his'n. Says he foun' he jus' got a little piece of a great big soul. Says a wilderness ain't no good, 'cause his little piece of a soul wasn't no good 'less it was with the rest, an' was whole. Funny how I remember. Didn' think I was even listenin'. But I know now a fella ain't no good alone.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Tom Joad Character Timeline in The Grapes of Wrath
The timeline below shows where the character Tom Joad appears in The Grapes of Wrath. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
Tom Joad, a protagonist of the novel, is introduced. He is young, tall, and weather-beaten. He...
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When the truck driver returns and seems wary of giving Tom a ride, Tom appeals to the trucker: “sometimes a guy’ll be a good guy even...
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Tom explains that he’s on his way back to his father’s forty acre farm. The driver...
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Throughout the ride, the truck driver pressures Tom for more information about himself—his questions “spread nets” and “set traps.” Tom senses this “secret...
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Finally, once the truck nears Tom’s destination, Tom acknowledges the driver’s nosiness: “You give me a goin’-over when I first got...
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Chapter 4
After watching the truck depart, Tom walks down the road barefoot, with his shoes wrapped in his coat. He comes across...
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Tom finds a man sitting in the shade of a tree, singing a hymn. The man...
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Casy goes on to explain why he has given up being a preacher. He tells Tom that he was plagued by guilt for having sex with girls from his congregations, but...
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Casy asks Tom about his father, Ol’ Tom Joad, and Tom confesses that he hasn’t heard anything from...
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The two men head off in the direction of Tom’s homestead. Tom reveals that he and his family are squatters, saying that he expects his...
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Chapter 6
Tom and Casy observe that the Joad homestead was quickly and recently abandoned. One side of...
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...neighbor, Muley Graves, is spotted as he walks through the cotton fields by Casy and Tom. They speak with him, and Muley talks at length about how he has chosen to...
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...animals he can catch on the prairies. He shows his kills of the day, and Tom gets excited to see fresh meat for the first time in four years. Muley somewhat...
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...are forced to hide from a police car’s searchlights to avoid being arrested for trespassing. Tom wants to put up a fight, but Muley tells him that he doesn’t understand how...
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Chapter 8
Tom and Casy continue towards Uncle John’s house. Tom has been awoken early by Muley, who...
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...up in Uncle John’s yard is a modified jalopy with a truck bed attached, and Tom notices right away that this means his family is getting ready to hit the road...
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Grampa Joad, disheveled and mischievous, appears to greet Tom; Grampa is followed by his wife, Granma Joad. Tom’s older brother, Noah, also comes to...
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Finally, Tom inquires about the other members of his family. Uncle John has gone into town with...
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Chapter 10
Ma Joad tells Tom about her hopes for California. She remembers seeing handbills advertising high wages and bountiful harvests....
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Casy asks Tom, Ma, and Grampa Joad if he can come along to California with them. Ma quickly...
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Chapter 13
...any money to pay for gas. Al assures him that the family isn’t begging, and Tom is indignant at the attendant’s assumption. The attendant explains that most of the people who...
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Tom snaps at the fat man for speaking unsympathetically of the migrants. Then Tom notices the...
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...down. The Joads and the Wilsons interact tersely at first, but become fast friends once Tom appeals to the Wilsons’ hospitality.
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Chapter 16
...takes the car’s failure as an indication of his incompetence, and he lashes out at Tom when Tom insinuates that Al may have been responsible for the breakdown.
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Tom, Al, and Casy volunteer to stay with the car while the group continues on. Pa...
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Tom and Al work on fixing the car. Al tries to bring up personal topics, but...
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To find the replacement part they need, Tom and Al go to a junkyard in town. They find the part, and hang around...
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...rest of the group at a campsite. The camp proprietor, a local, attempts to charge Tom for sleeping on his property. Tom refuses defiantly, and goes to sleep down the road.
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Chapter 18
At the river, Pa and Tom encounter a boy and his father, who are returning from California after being unable to...
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Noah tells Tom that he can no longer go on. He is entranced by the water of the...
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The Joads prepare to leave quickly, fearing the cops. Tom tells Pa that Noah has left on his own, and Pa blames himself for the...
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Chapter 20
Tom meets another young man, Floyd Knowles. Floyd tells Tom that the large farms operate by...
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Floyd tells Tom and Al that he’s heard of work up north in Santa Clara Valley. As the...
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Seeing Casy give himself up to protect Tom causes Uncle John anguish, and John needs to get drunk to cope with it. Ma...
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Tom returns to his family. He tells Pa that they need to leave, because the camp...
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Tom goes to look for Uncle John. Tom discovers his uncle singing hymns off the side...
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...them to turn around, saying that they don’t want to see Okies in their town. Tom smells alcohol on his breath. Tom turns the car around and tries to stop himself...
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Chapter 22
The Joads arrive at the Weedpatch government camp. A night watchman tells Tom that the government camp has no police presence, as the migrants elect their own police....
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Tom has breakfast with Timothy and Wilkie Wallace, who offer to try to get him a...
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...and Uncle John come home empty-handed: they couldn’t find work. Ma is hopeful, trusting that Tom has found work.
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Chapter 24
The dance begins. Tom and other young men keep watch for the riot-starters, and they notice three suspicious characters....
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Chapter 26
...in poor shape after a month in the government camp. Winfield is very ill, and Tom has been the only man able to find work. Ma Joad insists that they leave...
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Before the Joads leave, Tom sits with his friends from the Weedpatch camp. Tom concludes that the secret to the...
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...nearby. On the way to the worksite, Al deliberately runs over a gopher snake, and Tom reprimands him.
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After nightfall, Tom sneaks out to learn more about the strike outside the compound. He comes across a...
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Men with flashlights approach Casy and Tom. One of them swings a pick handle at Casy, striking him in the head and...
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Tom returns to the tent. The next morning, he explains to the entire family what happened...
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The family moves into a boxcar near a plantation. Tom sets up camp in a culvert nearby, and Ma plans to secretly bring him food.
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Chapter 28
Winfield tells Ma that Ruthie has told on Tom. Another girl bullied Ruthie and took her Cracker Jack. In response, Ruthie boasted that her...
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Ma advises Tom to travel far away, and offers him seven dollars to take with him. Tom reveals...
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On her way back from visiting Tom, a farm owner approaches Ma and offers her work on his cotton plantation. Ma agrees...
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