The Grapes of Wrath: Tom, the Wilsons, Floyd Knowles, and Muley Graves

To finish off the Joad family character descriptions, I will detail the life and times of the protagonist Tom Joad. In addition, I will analyze and comment on the rest of the supporting character in the novel. First, Tom Joad is a simply great American character. I do not care one bit that he has killed a man because he did what must be done in that situation. Throughout the entire story, he keeps surprising me with more and more amazing things he does. I would describe him as a fierce protector of the Joad family. In addition, he does his best, which by the way is very well, at providing for the family. Tom is an all around great person. He is the type of person that you put as the starting quarterback on the all-American football team. I truly do have a man crush on him if that is not too weird to say. He is just good-natured, and he deals with all circumstances no matter how grim. Maybe the reason that his family took him back is because he is so great, and he is easily the favorite child. He certainly would be in my family. However, I cannot talk about Tom all day because I have more characters to analyze. For example, the Wilsons, Ivy and Sairy, are a nice couple that the Joads meet while on Highway Sixty-Six. They are so nice that they lend the Joads their very own tent so that Grampa will have a comfortable place to die. They remind me of an elderly couple I met while on the Appalachian Trail. They were so nice and wise, but that is beside the point. In return for the borrowing of the tent, Al fixes their broken down car to help them with their journey to California. Floyd Knowles is a migrant worker who befriended Jim and Tom, and he first convinced them to start labor organizations. Finally, Muley Graves is one of the Joads’ old neighbors from back in Oklahoma. When the bank evicts his house, he boldly stays behind to live outdoors. I think that is a very bold move on his part.