The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck consistently points to the fact that migrants’ great suffering is caused not by bad weather or misfortune but rather by their fellow human beings. The disastrous drought of 1930 forces farmers to migrate westward to California. Tom Joad, four years in prison, who exhibits a rare strength, thoughtfulness, and moral certainty, is destined for more than mere day-to-day survival. Tom undergoes the most significant transformation in the novel as he sheds a philosophy for a commitment to bettering the future.
After spending four years in prison, Tom begins his life in his home. He will soon emerge as a leader among his people. Tom admits to Jim Casy, “Night after night in my bunk I figgered how she’d be when I come home again… I knowed it wouldn’t be the same as it was…” (60). If Tom finds himself in a situation similar to the one that landed him in jail, he would behave no differently now. He also proves that he might not do the same as before by saying, “I ain’t got a thing in the worl’ to win, no matter how it comes out” (63).
Tom puts a theory into practice by way of a revolutionary fight for the rights of their fellow man, as he says, “I got thinkin’ how we was holy when we was one thing. An’ it on’y got unholy when one mis’able little fella got the bit in his teeth an’ run off his own way, kickin’ an dreggin’ an ‘ fightin’. Fella like that bust the holi-ness. But when they’re all workin’ together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang – that’s right, that’s holly” (88). Tom picking up where his mentor left off, resolves to unify his soul with the greater soul of human kinds.
As Tom says good bye to Ma Joad, he relates to the bit of Jim Casy’s wisdom. He states, “Lookie, Ma. I been all day an’ all night hidin’ alone. Guess who I been thinkin’ about? Casy! He talked a lot. Used ta bother me. But, now I been thinkin’ what he said, an’ I can remember – all of it. Says one time he went ouy in the wilderness to find his own soul, an’ he found he didn’ have no soul that was his’n. He found he just 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…” (461). This statement not only echoes Casy’s definition of holiness but also lead to the transformation of Tom’s character inspired by his friend’s teaching and his own experiences. Tom no longer focuses his thought only on the present moment. Instead realizing his responsibility to his fellow human beings, he starts on a path toward bettering the future, helping generations of workers yet to come. By this way he turns from just “a little piece of a great soul” to becoming “a whole great soul”.
The death of Jim Casy completes the transformation of Tom Joad into a man ready to take responsibility for the future and to act accordingly. Tom says to Ma, “Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a coop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ – I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry n’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build – why, I’ll be there. See? God, I’m talkin’ like Casy. Comes of thinkin’ about him so much. Seems like I can see him sometimes” (463). Tom assure Ma Joad that regardless of whether Jim Casy lives or dies, his spirit will continue on in the triumphs and turmoil of the world. As the Joad are torn apart, Tom’s words offer the promise of a deep, lasting connection that no tragedy can break unity of all mankind.
A Tom’s political involvement increase, he changes the way he looks toward a problem. Tom asserts that he is interested only in getting through the present day; thinking about the future proved too troubling a task. Now, however, devotes as he is to his family and his fellow migrants, Tom begins to look forward the future and its possibilities. The hardship and hostility faced by Joad family on their journey west serve to convert Tom to Casy’s teaching. During their journey west, Tom assumes Jim Casy’s reluctant disciple. Overall, the disciple emphasizes that a human being, when acting alone, can have little effect on the world, and that one can achieve wholeness only by devoting oneself to one’s fellow human beings.
