In John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath the main character, or protagonist of the story would be Tom Joad. He is his parents first and favorite son, although he serves a four year prison sentence for killing a man and was away from home and his family for four years. In my opinion, Tom Joad is sort of a sporadic person, jumping all over the place. It is seen that he regrets nothing, taking life slowly. He shows persistence with life, having been put through difficult times especially for someone who was put in prison, gets out for years late taking a long journey home to find out his entire family is picked up ready to scoot out the door. Tom Joad is a man that keeps his word and despite killing two men, he believes that he always does what is best. I bet that is mostly the reason why he has no regrets. Like when Jim Casy died, Tom Joad assumed his secret role of helping the migrant farmers , finding work and what not(Steinbeck 491). Tom is portrayed as this great guy even though he has done some really extreme and bad things. Tom Joad may represent and idea of reality. He is just a really realistic character. Naturalist may be a better term for describing the sort of idea Tom represents. He does not get caught up in extreme pipe dreams nor decisions. He is a very realistic character which may be easier for readers to relate to since he is just a simple, normal human being. He comes from a family of hard workers relatable to middle class families work. He does not have super powers or amazing talents. He is Tom Joad. He is regretless as a man who will not waste his time the past or future but only the current tense. Most people should take note of this quality and apply it to their own life. Live in the moment and no where else because it is the simplest place to reside in.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.
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