The Moral Development of Tom Joad in the Grapes of Wrath - Essay Example

Essay, English Literature ic and Modern) Topic: The Moral Development of Tom Joad in the Grapes of Wrath Introduction Reformation and rehabilitation for an individual released from the prison is the best thing that can happen in life. Human spirit is essentially free. I personally like the subject of this paper, for I had the opportunity to do extensive research in the reformation process of the prisoners, interview a number of them and took their stories. I also read some of the books on reformation of prisoners. For a prisoner, availability of facilities for reformation, is a build or break situation. Prison is a unique place. Within the confinement of the four walls, one turns a hardened criminal as one has ample opportunities, to interact with other criminals, or one is reformed. As such, I have a fascination for this topic and I am deeply interested in the moral and spiritual growth of individuals like Tom Joad. His moral development in “The Grapes of Wrath,” depicts his sacrifice for the benefit of his family, transcending his own independent personal desires. That passion gradually expands to encompass the entire humankind, particularly, the poor working class. No one is a born criminal. Poor economic conditions drive an individual to criminality and therefore, people belonging to the poor class are in majority in prisons. The conditions of the poor is so bad that the world outside is also like a prison for them. In the character of Tom, John Steinbeck provides the scientific basis for his evolvement in to a socio-spiritual being. It is futile to expect a man to be spiritual on an empty stomach. At the same time morals and spiritual growth of an individual cannot be restricted by the law or any other limiting factors formulated by administrators or law enforcing authorities. Human spirit is essentially free. A man interested in his personal desires is not spiritual in the real sense. Tom sacrifices his own interests for the sake of his family and that philanthropic attitude gradually embraces the class of poor with low wages, constantly exploited by the oppressive landowners. The novel begins with the episode of Tom’s release from the prison on parole; he landed in the prion for having killed a man in a fight. He was not apologetic about killing that individual as he felt that it was an act of self-defense. He had no regrets and asserted that under similar circumstance he would kill the man again. This indicates the moral courage and the internal honesty of Tom. He gives credit about his moral roots to his loving mother. On being released from the prison and on the eve of his reunion with the family, what could have been the mental condition of Tom? He needs the exposure to love and wants to experience a sense of belonging. The process of getting assimilated in the family and society after a stint in the prison, that too on a serious charge like murder, is an arduous task. Tom’s personal development is on the lines of description in Abraham H. Maslow’s book “The Hierarchy of Human Needs-A Theory of Human Motivation.” He describes different levels and explains how systematic the process of human development is. He writes, “The first level, at the bottom of the pyramid, consists of our short-term basic needs, also known as physiological needs: food, water, warmth, sex. The second level consists of longer-term safety needs: security, order, stability. The third level represents the social need for affiliation, also known as “love and belonging”….The fourth level represents the need for esteem…. We want prestige and power.”(HOF NEEDS) Morality is not something that is practiced from the ivory tower and relates to profound aspects of an individual’s life. One, who is intrinsically moral, sees and acts morally when he is confronted with small issues as well. The incident in Chapter 6 indicates Tom is an uncompromising moralist. A true moralist is a leader that finds acceptance by the family members and the society. Tom faces the issues head on instead of avoiding them. When Tom returns from California to visit his abandoned house, he meets Muley, an old and trusted neighbor. Tom’s basic nature is to confront problems, not to run away from them. When a deputy is in search for trespassers, Tom does not like the idea to hide from him on his father’s land. In the same Chapter Tom’s refuses to sleep in a concealed cave in preference to be out in the open. The cave is, symbolically the womb of rebirth or changes that are taking place in the character of Tom. At this stage of the story, however, Tom is not ready for the procedure of change that he will adopt later. His power of discrimination, and seriousness of the grassroots realities that are challenging him, make him adopt a practical stand. Tom is forced to hide from the deputy, because if he is arrested, his parole privileges will be cancelled. After his release from the prison, in Chapter 8, Tom is reunited with the family that is about to migrate to California in search of work. Ma Joad is greatly worried about the impact of prison environment on the life of Tom, and asks him in private, whether he is mad. This doubt arises in her mind with the experience of her encounter with another prisoner who becomes mad. Mad in this context, means an individual who loses the normal state of mind due to pressure. Tom was in prison with the murder charge. Mother wanted her son to remain mentally fit, because she needed a strong man to assume the leadership and keep the family together. Tom gave a positive reply to her that he would tackle the problems on a day to day basis. That was his simple philosophy, (which later develops complexities) approach to the issues right from the beginning of the novel. One more facet of Tom’s personality comes to the fore in chapter 10. Though Ma Toad is the uniting force and provides strength to the family, at times, she reaches out to Tom for counseling. She expresses her doubts about the economic, social conditions in California and the levels of morality practiced by the landowners and those dealing in labor supply and mentions about the dubious handbills that advertise high level of wages. Tom provides inspiration to her and recalls his life in jail and how he lived from day to day without worrying about the future. This is a significant observation from Tom when he mentions about ‘day to day living.’ It indicates the harsh realities of jail life and how Tom manages to challenge that period. No miracle happens about their economic conditions in California. But Tom’s confidence and his moral strength makes the family sail through the turbulent ocean of difficulties. The importance of camaraderie is highlighted in the same chapter with Tom’s encounter with Wilson, undergoing identical issues as that of Joad family. They suffer under land owners. His car is broken down. Broken car symbolically refers to the social immobility of the family due to poor economic conditions. Tom’s willingness to help this family indicates the dimension of his inner development. He helps to fix the broken car and the two families are a close knit of social group now. Tom realizes the strength of numbers and the power of unity. This, ipso facto, is the trade union concept like, united we stand, and divided we fall. The incident related to print of thousands of handbills appearing in the Chapter hastens the process of transformation in Tom. For a few hundred jobs, the landowners have cleverly advertised and offer jobs to a few on poor wages. Tom now clearly thinks on the trade union lines, about the future of workers, and argues that they should unite and fight for their rights. Casy makes a deep impact on the mind of Tom, and he begins to ponder about the course of action to be taken to improve the lot of destitute workers who are treated like animals by the land owners. The condition of child labor at present is no better. HCR Mallya, in his book, “The Animal Forum & Declaration of Third World War,” writes about the confession of a child thus: “We are compelled to work for sixteen to eighteen hours a day and the work-place is like a cage. The conditions are worst and demand physical labor without intermission. The profiteers thrive on our labor.”(46)The deputies are hand in glove with the landowners in this exercise of ill-treating and exploiting the workers. Casy finalizes plans to organize a strike and when the deputy comes to know about it, they attack Casy on the head and kill him. Tom challenges the deputies, loses his cool and lashes out at them. Tom is hit on the face and escapes to his camp. Tom has now reached the state when he realizes that the world is one family. He wishes to continue the good work done by Casy to improve the lot of workers. His involvement with the cause for workers leads him to take a decision to separate from the family as it would hurt their interests, as deputies are after him. He has clear perception of the issues and he has found a mission in life and he is not attached to any individual or a small group but to the entire humanity. Steinbeck’s message is, the people should unite to fight the evil. In chapter 19 he argues, “And the great owners, who must lose their land in an upheaval, the great owners with access to history, with eyes to read history and to know the great fact: when property accumulates in too few hands it is taken away. And that companion fact: when a majority of the people is hungry and cold they will take by force what they need. And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.”(238) Tom fully understands the meaning of this statement and sets himself on the path to achieve something tangible for the oppressed migrant workers. Conclusion From a simple man, in the beginning of the novel, Tom Joad shapes into a man with a missionary seal, with revolutionary approach to the cause of the poor and oppressed working class. He visualizes that the condition of the workers outside is no better than the poor people with the prison. People take to crimes due to poverty, oppression and highhandedness of the law enforcing authorities. Tom realizes that the entire humankind is one family and their unity is their strength to achieve their goals. Works Cited Mallya, HCR. Animal Forum & Declaration of Third World War. FeedARead Publishing, 2012 Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition). Penguin Books, January 8, 2002 HOF NEEDS. The Hierarchy of Human Needs: Maslow's Model of Motivation... Web: Retrieved on October 27, 2012 Read More