The Grapes of Wrath

When Tom hitchhikes back to his hometown of Sallisaw, Oklahoma, after a four-year stint in prison, he encounters former preacher Jim Casy, who asks him about his time in prison. In his response, Tom tells a brief story saturated with situational irony: 

“They was a guy paroled,’’ he said. “ ’Bout a month he’s back for breakin’ parole. A guy ast him why he bust his parole. ‘Well, hell,’ he says. ‘They got no conveniences at my old man’s place. Got no ’lectric lights, got no shower baths. There ain’t no books, an’ the food’s lousy.’ Says he come back where they got a few conveniences an’ he eats regular. He says it makes him feel lonesome out there in the open havin’ to think what to do next. So he stole a car an’ come back.’’

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While talking to Casy about his experiences in prison, Tom recounts an anecdote that ironically suggests that learning about the legal system only leads to greater confusion. Describing a man in McAlester prison who is very intelligent and spends most of his time reading, Tom states that: 

He’s sec’etary of the warden—writes the warden’s letters an’ stuff like that. Well, he’s one hell of a bright guy an’ reads law an’ all stuff like that. Well, I talked to him one time about her, ’cause he reads so much stuff. An’ he says it don’t do no good to read books. Says he’s read ever’thing about prisons now, an’ in the old times; an’ he says she makes less sense to him now than she did before he starts readin’ [...]  He says for God’s sake don’t read about her because he says for one thing you’ll jus’ get messed up worse [...]

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