Tom Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath is the story of the Joads, a family of farmers who, like many other families during the great depression, were forced from their land by landowners and banks. Throughout the story, the major theme that is seen consistently is discrimination. Tom Joad, the main character of the film, is released from jail on probation to find that his family is gone, and his land and home are completely vacant. Due to the drought and poor farming conditions in Oklahoma during the 1930’s, otherwise known as a region inside the “Dust Bowl”, the Joads only option was to head west to California which they were told was rich with opportunity and work. So, they travel across the nation on route 66, making several stops along the way, witnessing instances of both discrimination and generosity. Once they finally arrive at “The Promised Land”, they realize that it is a place of low wages and lack of work, contradictory to everything they have been told. Also, they realize that in this new land, they are called “Okies”, and that they are considered to be less than the

The sole reason the Joads and all other farmers are forced to leave their land is because the banks are not receiving enough profit. At first, the farmers blame the landowners for the loss of their land, but the landowners tell them that it is out of their control, and that it is really the fault of the “monster”. “"Fellow was telling me the bank gets orders from the East. The orders were, 'Make the land show profit or we'll close you up" (49). “‘We’re sorry. It’s not us. It’s the monster. The bank isn’t like a man’” (43). For the farmers, the most frustrating aspect of the “monster” is that there really is not one person you can blame, not one person to aim a gun at. Without the banks there would be no conflict in the story, and the Joads would have been waiting for Tom when he got out of prison in their home in