The first chapter is a description of the land. This description of the great "dust bowl" gives us the background situation for the great migration to California. In the next chapter we are introduced to the main character of the novel, Tom Joad. He is hitchhiking home after being incarcerated for four years on the charge of manslaughter. After being dropped off near his house he meets his old preacher Jim Casy. Casy informs Joad that he no longer feels the need to be a preacher. Casy accompanies Tom back to the deserted farm that used to be his families. Muley Graves, a former neighbor of the Joad's informs Tom that his family, along with most tenant farmers of the area had been pushed off their land. He also tells him that his family is now living at his Uncle John's farm.

Tom and Casy arrive at Uncle John's farm to find the Joads preparing to move again, this time to California. This is where Tom's family is introduced to us. There is Ma, Pa, Grampa and Gr

In all of these cases the people involve must learn that the only way to survive is to work together. The Joads learn this lesson. At the beginning of the story, Tom seems to only be concerned for himself. However, by the end of the story, he is willing to risk his life to help the migrant workers. We can also see this change in Rose of Sharon, and especially in Ma Joad. At the beginning of the story she was only concerned with keeping the family together. However, as the story progresses, she realizes that to be family, you do not need to have the same blood, all you need to be is alive. Rose of Sharon's selfishness also disappears as the story goes on. This is evident when at the end of the book she nourishes the man back to health with the milk that would have been for her baby.

Soon the Joads would yet again be forced to leave, Tom was a wanted man and their wages had been cut in half. They find work picking cotton, but it is too dangerous for Tom to be out, so he goes into hiding. The Joads, being some of the first workers to arrive receive a boxcar which they must share with another family, the Wainwrights. Soon Al, becomes engaged to the Wainwright's daughter, Agnes. The Joads seem to finally be doing well. However, Tom's safety would soon be jeopardized when Ruthie tells another girl of Tom's situation. Tom is urged by his mother to leave, which he does. He begins working as Casy did, fighting to gain fair treatment for the migrant workers.

The Joads arrived in California with four fewer people then their original party. Two had died, and Noah had left the family because he thought he was a hindrance to it. Connie had also left and Casy would soon follow, although from different circumstances. At Hooverville, the first migrant camp the Joads stop at there is a fight. When the police come, Casy admits to taking part in the fight to save Tom. The Joads did not stay long here, as they were unable to find work. They would face the same situation at the next camp they stopped at. They finally find work at a peach orchard where the workers are on strike. To enter the orchard, the Joads need police protection from the angry strikers. Later that night, Tom sneaks out to find out why the workers were striking. He finds that Casy had been released from prison, and is now the leader of the strike. Casey explains that the workers are just trying to get fair wages. While talking to Casy, the deputies that had been searching for Casy find and kill him. Tom receives a cut on his head, but not before he kills a deputy. The Joads felt sorry for the striking workers, but the only alternative to their starving is to cross the picket lines. For all the danger involved in this they receive five cents for filling a box, barely enough to survive.

On a basic level, The Grapes of Wrath, can be seen as request for the C

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Approximate Word count = 1925
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)