grapes of wrath awakening of tom joad

Awakening Of Tom Joad Grapes of Wraith by John Steinbeck portrayed
the awakening of a man's conscience dealing with his troubling trials
throughout the novel. The character that goes through this monumental
change is Tom Joad, son of two tenant farmers from Oklahoma. Tom's
conscience was changed from a loner who cared nothing about the
people to a hardy leader of them. He first looked after his family on their
trip that evolved into including the impoverished migrant farmers in
California. At the beginning of the novel Tom Joad has just been
paroled after spending four years in a state prison. He stops at a roadside
cafe looking for a ride when he sees a truck with a "No Riders" sticker on
it. Tom's conversation with this trucker is his first witness to the
suppression of an honest working man by the larger more wealthy
corporations since his release from prison. The trucker tries to socialize
with him at this point but Tom is too absorbed into his own interest in
keeping to himself. Arriving at his house with Jim Casey, Tom visits the
abandoned house with one corner having been knocked in by a tractor.
His family had been compelled to leave their land through repossession
by the large corporations another example in Tom's life how the larger are
trying to control the less fortunate. This land had been his family's source
of pride and livelihood throughout his life with them and it's loss was the
first sizable impact on Tom's conscience that would lead him to an
awakening. After visiting the land the Joad family had lived on for many
years Tom and Jim traveled to his uncle John's house nearby. There Tom
meets his family as they are making preparations to leave for California.
Tom's family has already sold off every valuable possession they own
while living under cramped conditions on old and soiled mattresses in a
house not built to accommodate the size of the entire family. Tom
realizes that a family cannot survive under these destitute conditions
unless they cling together as one unit. Because of this realization Tom
becomes protective of his family, leaving casting off portions of his
selfishness for the betterment of his relatives. Tom's final awakening

comes when he meets Jim Casy for the final time outside a work camp in
the midst of a strike. There Jim Casy tells Tom that the only way the
worker's can obtain law and order as well as, fair wages, is to unite all the
migrant workers together and fight against the larger controlling
companies. The statement is driven home when he witnesses Jim Casy's
passive resistance in response to the threatened violence by the cops. As
the police advance on Jim Casy he yells towards them, " Listen, you fellas
don' know what you're doin'. You're helpin' to starve kids." moments
before his head is brutally crushed by a pick handle. Enraged by the
actions unfolded before him Tom grabs a pick handle and clubs one of
the officers to death before hastily fleeing from the scene. This event
finally made possible the awakening of Tom Joad. He recognized that if a
common man were to ever get a fair chance to live their life, they would
be forced to do so under a united cause. Tom's awakening came slowly
as he struggled to understand the toils of needing, not only to care for his
family but organize the migrant workers into a force where they can
achieve fair rights. During the final chapters of the novel Tom recognizes
the importance of Jim Casy's work to unify the people bringing about a
final awakening of his conscience.