The Spiritual Journey Of Tom Joad

The Spiritual Journey of Tom Joad

If one did not learn from each step they take in life, where would the world be now? This question may be impossible to answer, and yet easy to imagine the possibilities. A journey is not only a voyage set on foot, but also an adjustment in mindset. The Grapes of Wrath, a novel by John Steinbeck, paints a vivid picture about a particular journey in which a character learns about life and accomplishment. The book not only tells the tale of the tragically poor, but also an uplifting sense of discovery. To embark on a spiritual journey, one must acquire aptitudes and a perspective, which compels the mind to have hope, and to strive for proud existence.

Murder is something that society frowns upon. At the beginning of the novel Tom Joad, the central character, has learned that fact the hard way. He tells Jim Casy, a former preacher that he spent four years in prison for murdering a man during a fight at a dance. "'I killed a guy in a fight. We was drunk at a dance. He got a knife in me, an' I killed him with a shovel that was layin' there. Knocked his head plumb to squash.' Casy's eyebrows resumed their normal level. 'You ain't ashamed of nothin' then?' 'No,' said Joad. 'I ain't. I got seven years; account of he had a knife in me. Got out in four - parole." (Steinbeck 33). Tom seems to feel no remorse and his reason for killing the man is also less than dignified. He mind-set tells him that his misconduct is a ritual of life everyone must undergo. He also believes that looking toward the future or into the past is a waste of time and Tom prefers to devote his energy to the day at hand.

After Tom is reunited with his family at this uncles farm, he learns that no matter what one's financial status is, humanity can always be demonstrated to others without thinking too much of oneself. For example, Tom witnesses an act of kindness that his mother could not pass up when she states, "There ain't enough. I'm a-gonna set this here kettle out, an' you'll all get a little tas', but it ain't gonna do you no good. I can't he'p it. Can't keep it from you" (Steinbeck 351). Tom's mother cannot ignore the famished children, so she decides to display an act of heart and prove that to be poor, one does not have to be bitter. Tom comprehends that the amount of money one has does not affect generosity. When Tom states, "An' I got to thinkin', Ma- most of the preachin' is about the poor we shall have always with us, an' if you got nothin', why, jus' fol' your hands an' to hell with it, you gonna git ice cream on gol' plates when you're dead" (Steinbeck 571), he acquires the fact that the goal to seek perfection is not worthy, for every lone soul contains a bit of poor quality. He freshly understands that the poor live every moment as the present and without the intense worry of the future, so that the distinct hope will keep them alive. On a vaguely hopeless quest, one must notice that to be poor is not only financially, and that this should not set anyone back from their goal.

In the end adventures can lead to negative outcomes, which is no reason to purpose to let go of one's ultimate dreams. Tom determines that the rich are controlling the poor and that the poor need to retaliate when he declares, "I been thinkin' a hell of a lot, thinkin' about our people