Tom Joad

John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath [Penguin Edition, p.419] … In the 1930’s, the Joad Family has been forced out of Depression-era Oklahoma only to find themselves destitute and desperate in rural California. Tom Joad has been in prison and must now make his way alone. His parting words to his mother:

“Maybe … a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a big one … I’ll be all aroun’ in the dark. I’ll be ever’where — wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there … 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 an’ 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.”

Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz