Character+Quotes

A. What do the following characters all say about this theme at various times in the story?

Ma Joad- "Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't no good an' they die out. But we keep a'comin'. We're the people that live. They can't wipe us out; they can't lick us. We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cause we're the people." This quote reflects Ma's thoughts about the people and how their persistence and ability to stick together allows them to go on. The word "we" in the dialogue shows the unity of the people that Ma is talking about.

"She walked for the family and held her head straight for the family." Ma is the center of the family, she is the strongest person in it. She does everything for the betterment of the family unit. Through Ma's character, Steinbeck stresses how important it is to be together. Her mindset is on the family, everything she does is for the family, the family needs to stay whole. This quote is just a small example of how Ma does everything for the benefit of the family. Being united as a family is key to their survival so without it, it would be hard to survive.

Tom Joad- "I been a-wonderin' why we can't do that all over. Throw out the cops that ain't our people. All work together for our own thing--all farm our own lan'." This quote shows how Tom liked the living conditions and society of the Weed Patch Camp because he felt as if they were actually united there and treated fairly. Tom also says, "An' I been wonderin' if all our folks got together an' yelled, like them fellas yelled, only a few of 'em at the Hooper Ranch---." This quote shows Tom's sudden urge to want to unite and start striking. This inspiration came from his talk with Casey, who chose to start striking after learning about the hard times people were having on trying to live on the little money they were making.

Jim Casey- Casy is a big character dealing with unity. He basically says in the novel through his philosophy of one big soul, that unity is essential. He depicts his philosophies in many of his actions, such as organizing strikes with the workers, whch shows unity because they are all uniting for one cause. "Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of". This is just Casy talking about the big soul that everyone is connected to. This big soul is what unites everyone in the world, and its important that everyone works together.

"'Well, they was nice fellas, ya see. What made 'em bad was they needed stuff. An' I begin to see, then. It's need that makes all the trouble. I ain't got it worked out. Well, one day they give us some beans that was sour. One fella started yellin', an' nothin' happened. He yelled his head off. Trusty come along an' looked in an' went on. Then another fella yelled. Well, sir, then we all got yellin'. And we all got on the same tone, an' I tell ya, it jus' seemed like that tank bulged an' give and swelled up. By God! Then somepin happened! They come a-runnin', and they give us some other stuff to eat-give it to us. Ya see?'" This quote shows how they need to unite to achieve their goal. Casey learned this in jail, where he develops his philoshiy of being united by one big soul. It shows that doing things alone in this time is almost impossible, while being united works alot better to achieve their common goal; to survive.

What other characters does Steinbeck use to develop unity?